Heads up, Florida. Another burger chain is muscling in.
Legendary Southern California-based big burger chain Fatburger has announced plans to expand further into Florida with 40 more locations over the next 10 years, including one opening later this year in Orange Park near Jacksonville, according to a July 2 release.
A Brevard County location also is planned for Viera in 2025, WKMG reported.
Founded in 1947 and name-checked in TV shows and dozens of rap songs, Fatburger, which bills itself as “The Last Great Hamburger Stand,” is known for encouraging customers to throw everything — including eggs, chili and relish — on one of its hefty Fatburgers made of freshly ground beef, cooked and served on a sponge-dough bun.
The chain’s parent company, FAT Brands, entered into a development deal with an existing franchise, Whole Factor Inc, which opened two locations last year in Riverview and Celebration as part of a 14-unit deal starting in 2021, the release said.
“Two years ago, Fatburger made its return to the state of Florida after a 20-year absence, and we are not looking back,” said Taylor Wiederhorn, FAT Brands co-CEO and chief development officer.
“Our Riverview and Celebration locations have exceeded expectations with an incredible fanbase that loves our cooked-to-order burgers, fries, and hand-scooped milkshakes.
“Whole Factor is an excellent partner that understands what makes Fatburger such a unique, beloved brand, and their future growth will cement Fatburger as a key burger player in the state of Florida.”
What is Fatburger?
It started as Mr. Fatburger in 1947 when founder Lovie Yancey started a three-seat burger stand in Los Angeles with her husband, Charles Simpson. Five years later, when they split up, she dropped “Mr.” from the name and carried on.
“The name of the store was my idea,” Yancey said, according to the chain’s website. “I wanted to get across the idea of a big burger with everything on it … a meal in itself.”
Made with freshly ground and grilled 100% pure lean beef, the Fatburger comes on a sponge-dough bun in four sizes, from the single 1/3-pound Original or 1/2-pound Kingburger to the 1-pound Double Kingburger and 1 1/2-pound Triple Kingburger.
For the full Fat experience, choose “The Works” and add lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo, mustard, pickles and relish.
If that’s not enough, you can choose to load on egg, chili, bacon, onion rings and/or cheese, for an additional charge. Or you can go the other direction with the Skinnyburger, a bunless Fatburger made with two patties.
Fatburger also offers the Western Bacon BBQ, the 1000 Island Burger and the vegan Impossible Burger. If you’re not in a burger mood, there’s, the Turkeyburger, a chicken sandwich, a chili cheese dog and wings, either boneless or bone-in, offered with a variety of 12 sauces from Sweet Teriyaki to Scorchin’.
But you might want to try a burger anyway. In May, Yelp ranked it 21st in its list of top 25 burger chains.
Rapper and actor Ice Cube namedropped Fatburger in his songs “It Was a Good Day” and “It Takes a Nation,” and the chain gets mentioned in songs by The Beastie Boys, Childish Gambino, Mac Miller and many more. The Notorious B.I.G listed it as a seduction technique in “Going Back to Cali.”
Basketball legend Magic Johnson bought into the company, although he later sold controlling interest. Former talk show host Montel Williams bought franchises in Colorado.
The chain moved into the Tampa area in Florida in 2003, according to The Tampa Bay Times, but it didn’t last.
According to Fatburger and data company ScrapeHero, Fatburger has more than 80 restaurants in the United States (about half in Southern California) and more than 100 other locations around the world.
Where can I find a Fatburger near me in Florida?
Currently there are two Fatburger locations in Florida:
Where is Fatburger opening in Florida?
So far, Fatburger has announced these new locations:
Find more Fatburger locations around the country at locations.fatburger.com/.
Gary T. Mills, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union, contrubuted to this story.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Is there a Fatburger near me? Burger chain announces plans for 40 new Florida locations
Reporting by C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
