Type Public Website www.habitburger.com | Traded as NASDAQ: HABT Number of locations 147 | |
 | ||
Area served Arizona
California
Florida
Idaho
Maryland
Nevada
New Jersey
Utah
Virginia
Washington
Rhode Island Key people Jairo Rocha (CEO)
Ira Fils (CFO) Stock price HABT (NASDAQ) US$ 17.70 +0.38 (+2.16%)31 Mar, 4:00 PM GMT-4 - Disclaimer Headquarters Irvine, California, United States CEO Russell William Bendel (Jun 2008–) Founded 1969, Santa Barbara, California, United States Areas served Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Rhode Island Profiles | ||
The Habit Burger Grill, commonly referred to as The Habit, is an American fast casual restaurant chain focused on hamburgers, salads, sandwiches, shakes, and french fries. Its headquarters is in Irvine, California. The first Habit Burger Grill restaurant opened in November 1969 in Santa Barbara, California. Between 1969 and 2007, the chain slowly expanded around the Los Angeles metropolitan area to 23 restaurants.
Contents
In 2007, a private equity firm, KarpReilly, purchased a majority stake in the company, and the chain rapidly expanded. By 2014, it had 109 locations either open for business or under construction. The company is one of the fastest-growing fast food chains in the United States, with a 40% sales increase from 2012 to 2013.
History
The Habit Burger Grill was founded in November 15, 1969 in Goleta, California as a family-owned business. In 2007, it was purchased by KarpReilly, a private equity firm that began to rapidly expand the chain, including franchising. Multiple newspapers reported in 2013 that Habit Burger LLC, the parent company to the chain, was planning an IPO. On November 19, 2014 the company raised $83.7 million in an initial public offering (IPO).
Menu
The Habit offers items such as hamburgers, salads, sandwiches, shakes, and french fries. Their most popular item is their signature hamburger called the "Charburger", containing a fresh ground beef patty with "mayonnaise, pickle, fresh tomato, lettuce and caramelized onions on a toasted bun." The Habit also offers variants of the Charburger containing ingredients such as pineapple, mushrooms, and avocado.
Locations
The Habit Burger Grill currently has at least 187 restaurants established or near completion. The majority of their locations 143 are in California but they also have locations in other Southwestern states and along the East Coast. They plan to open multiple locations in places such as Las Vegas and Seattle. In early 2015, they announced plans begin construction in Northern Virginia.
Reception
In mid-2014, The Habit's Charburger was named the best burger in America by Consumer Reports, scoring an 8.1 out of 10 among 53,745 participants.