I grew up working in my father’s seafood restaurants in Virginia Beach, VA. After college, I opened and operated a few small restaurants of my own. A few years later, my partners and I opened our first Taco Bell location in Harrisonburg, VA. Today, we own and operate 133 franchises across five states. Furthermore, BurgerBusters currently has an acquisition transaction pending that would add an additional 30 franchises to our already robust system. BurgerBusters has become a first-class organization, on par with the finest in the country. It gives me great pride to see how this company has grown in both size and stature. Last year, the company did approximately $150 million in sales, an increase of almost 17% over 2016. In the very near future, BurgerBusters will be a $200 million company, a feat that I could have scarcely imagined all those years ago.
Unit development has been one of the key drivers to this growth. Since our last newsletter, BurgerBusters has constructed and opened four new Taco Bell restaurants (Unit No. 32171 Newport News, VA; Unit No. 33186 Bermuda Run, NC; Unit No. 33491 Quinton, VA; and Unit No. 32164 Chesapeake, VA) and remodeled three existing restaurants (Unit No. 4794 Greensboro, NC; Unit No. 17200 Charlottesville, VA; and Unit No. 17779 Charlottesville, VA). At this moment, BurgerBusters has another four restaurants under construction (Fredericksburg, VA; Inwood, WV; Henrico, VA; and Midlothian, VA), all of which are set to open soon. Currently, there are four more new Taco Bell locations scheduled to be built in 2018 along with remodels to be done on another five existing restaurants and an additional scrape and rebuild of another location.
Furthermore, BurgerBusters is always looking for ways to improve our restaurants to better serve our customers and allow our employees to work in the best environment possible. Over the last year, BurgerBusters has completed ten “cooler bump out” projects at existing restaurants, with two more on the way the rest of the year. At each of these locations, the old cooler is removed from inside the kitchen and a new cooler is put on the outside of the building. This allows for more space and storage in these restaurants, allowing for higher sales volumes, greater efficiency, and a more comfortable restaurant environment for our employees. At another restaurant location, BurgerBusters has purchased the adjacent property to improve the parking, accessibility, and traffic flow to a high-volume location. All these changes and additions are not par for the course for our industry, but rather the sign of a company willing to spend a little more to ensure peak performance from its assets and employees while taking the long-term view that today’s efforts will lead to rewards tomorrow.
Of course, this growth and macro-level decision making would not be possible without the quality leaders we have throughout our company. They are led by the tireless efforts of the BurgerBusters’ Senior Team, Joe Mangano, Greg Rowland, and Kirk Jester. Each of these gentlemen have raised the bar through their leadership and dedication. I would like to thank each of them and all of you for the vital roles all of you have played in this company’s success.
Lastly, I would like to emphasize that with all this store unit growth and increased sales volumes, new opportunities are created. More in-store manager, District Manager, and Vice President of Operations positions continue to be created and filled with deserving candidates. We are blessed to have a terrific bench of excellent leaders who are now being given opportunities that would not have otherwise been available. BurgerBusters has taken the step to a new level and I am excited that we are able to share that success through all levels of the company.
“BurgerBusters has become a first-class organization, on par with the finest in the country. It gives me great pride to see how this company has grown in both size and stature.”
By: Tassos Paphites
Chairman / CEO
