Elevation Burger

History

The initial idea of an organic fast casual restaurant was conceived in 2002 by founder and owner Hans Hess. He opened the first restaurant in September 2005, in Falls Church, Virginia, and was called "the first organic burger joint" by Saveur magazine.

In Spring 2008, Elevation Burger decided to expand from its original location through franchising with the help of Fransmart the company behind the franchise success of a competitor. Subsequently, they announced franchising deals for new restaurants in the Washington Metropolitan Area (April 2008), Baltimore, Maryland (September 2008), Austin, Texas (October 2008), Montclair, New Jersey (November 2008), Florida (March 2009), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (May 2009), New York City (May 2009), Dallas, Texas (June 2009). The Austin & Dallas stores are closed and now its only two Texas locations are in Houston & Katy.

Elevation Burger’s corporate parent and founder appeared in a Wall Street Journal article from June 2009 as one of the companies recently targeted by fake Twitter profiles. The respective Twitter profile, created in the name of Elevation Burger but promoting a rival, was discovered in March 2009, then suspended after a letter from Hess's lawyer.

Products

The menu consists of burgers made with organic meat, fresh cut french fries cooked in olive oil, a burger that can be made with as many as 10 patties (vertigo burger), two kinds of veggie burgers and hand-blended milkshakes.

The meat for non-vegetarian burgers is USDA-certified organic, grass fed, free range beef and the cheese is 6 month aged cheddar. The beef is cooked on griddles heated by steam, rather than gas flame, for ensuring a more uniform surface temperature and faster temperature recovery. The veggie burgers are cooked in a conveyor, keeping them away from the griddle where beef is cooked. The fresh french fries are cooked in olive oil, after a process patented by Hans Hess. The milkshakes are made from hand-scooped ice cream.

Awards and innovative ideas

Hess was the 2008 winner of the "Visionary" category in the Greater Washington Green Business Awards hosted by the Washington Business Journal and the Greater Washington Board of Trade. This category was designed for "an individual who has made an outstanding and lasting impact on environmental awareness through his or her advocacy, conservation and preservation efforts". Besides the restaurant chain, he became known as an eco-friendly businessman through the policies implemented at another firm he founded in 2007: EnviroCab, the all-hybrid taxi fleet based in Arlington County.

The buildings of the Elevation Burger chain typically pursue LEED certification regulated by United States Green Building Council. Because of the commitment required, this step is uncommon in the fast-casual restaurant business. The restaurants use environmentally sustainable and non-hazardous architectural finishes, equipment and construction and operating practices. They are equipped with compact fluorescent bulbs and other energy-efficient equipment and finished with renewable and non-polluting materials and surfaces, like bamboo flooring, compressed sorghum tabletops, acoustic ceiling tiles and bead board made of recycled and recyclable material.

Besides the choice of organic ingredients, Elevation Burger seeks a green approach by recycling the waste produced (for example, the waste olive oil is donated for conversion into bio-diesel).

Reception

Elevation Burger was named as one of fast rising casual restaurant chains, catering to health-conscious clients. Its restaurants were praised for the quality of their food and they were included among the local attractions and best restaurants of Washington D.C., Baltimore and other cities.