The Counter Concept Grows

"We think the premium burger segment is a billion-dollar category, and we want to own the category because we don't think there are any players nationally who do own it," Weinstein tells GlobeSt.com/Retail. Weinstein, a professionally trained chef and former restaurant owner who sold his interest in an L.A.-area eatery to begin the Counter chain, says the company "absolutely" plans to grow nationally and sees the eventual potential for 400 to 600 Counters.

The new burger chain has been catching the attention of the media, with a mention in GQ magazine, a glowing review by the Los Angeles Times and an appearance on the "Oprah Winfrey" show. Last week, Weinstein spent part of a day with a Food Network crew that was taping a segment for an awards show to be staged next month, with the Counter nominated as a best burger joint and the award winners to be announced on the night of the show.

The company, which typically rents spaces of 2,400 sf to 3,000 sf, is already expanding into other states, with stores under construction in Texas and Florida. Weinstein tells GSR that the chain, which recently opened its first franchised location in Palo Alto, CA, expects to grow primarily through franchising because of the advantages it offers.

Besides its advantage as a means of growing faster, Weinstein says, franchising relies on the local knowledge of franchisees to find the best sites for new stores. "On the leasing and real estate side of it, it puts owners or franchisees in cities where they live. They know their cities and they know the best sites better than someone from out of the area," Weinstein says. To keep the franchise program rolling, the company has a chief development officer, Craig Michel, at the company's Los Angeles headquarters.

The Counter' franchise agreements are all multiple-unit deals, and Weinstein sees the flexibility of the company's location requirements as an advantage for the franchisees. "Anything from A-plus lifestyle centers to more localized neighborhood centers works for us," he says.

Weinstein says that means that a franchisee "can plant a flag in a lifestyle center and then branch off from that into other locations in the area after building brand awareness." The company's flexibility in site selection means that it can go into end-caps, freestanding locations or other types of space, he says. The Santa Monica store, for example, is in a location that Weinstein describes as in a neighborhood that is "a nice mix between residential and business."

Weinstein sees the fragmented nature of the premium burger segment as an advantage for the company in its expansion plans, saying that landlords have relatively few choices if they're looking for a premium burger joint for one of their properties. He says the company's burger quality surpasses that of any others in the category, part of a business plan that is based upon "great food at a fair price."

In addition to quality, he says the company aims to distinguish itself from the competition through its variety. By multiplying all of the different combinations and permutations of burgers that a customer can order--based upon choices of sizes, sauces, buns, toppings and a host of other variables--the company computes that there are 312,000 possible combinations of burgers at a Counter.