2022 was a transition year for BurgerBusters. Throughout our now 36-year history, BurgerBusters was always growing, whether it was by development or acquisition. All that changed when we sold 87 businesses to Charter Foods in December 2021. While we succeeded in our goal to become even more efficient and well-operated, halving the size of our company still required adjustments across the company. On top of internal changes, over the past year, BurgerBusters, our employees, and our customers have also had to deal with other issues like economic challenges caused by rapid inflation and supply chain delays, as well as societal and economic reintegration challenges post-COVID. As always, I am extremely proud of all our dedicated employees as everyone accounted for themselves exceptionally well during this difficult year. Every single BurgerBusters employee did a tremendous job working as a team, from the Home Office to Operations to our Field Support Staff. While it is easy to say something like that, the results speak for themselves. In 2022, BurgerBusters increased sales by 10.15%, well above the national Taco Bell average. I am very proud of these sale numbers, as they are testament to the quality of our operations despite all the challenges these last few years have brought.
In addition to our sales successes, I am also proud to share with you all how successful BurgerBusters has been in development. 2022 was a difficult year for development in general as delays in getting approvals and supplies have, unfortunately, become the norm. Despite this, BurgerBusters was still able to push forward and continue with its development objectives.
Since I last shared with you, we were able to complete and open two new locations for BurgerBusters (Unit No. 36466 Chesapeake, VA and Unit No. 37336 Richmond, VA), one offset and two news stores that were part of the Charter deal (Greensboro, NC; Harrisonburg, VA; and Kernersville, NC), completed three major remodels (Unit No. 15857, Midlothian, VA; Unit No. 16635 Mechanicsville, VA; and Unit No. 17977 Fredericksburg, VA), and completed a freezer addition and pantry project (Unit No. 5142 Richmond, VA). There is currently one new store under construction (Portsmouth, VA), as well as another three slated to break ground shortly (Strasburg, VA; Haymarket, VA; and Stafford, VA). There are currently two major remodels under construction (Unit No. 4841 Midlothian, VA and Unit No. 33515 Newport News, VA). The remainder of the year should see three further new stores under construction, seven successor remodels, and two mid-term remodels. BurgerBusters continues to develop and grow as it continues its never-ending pursuit to provide world-class service and facilities.
As always, none of our company’s accomplishments would be possible without the leadership provided by the BurgerBusters Senior Team. Their hard-working examples provide the blueprint for this company’s success. COO Joe Mangano, CFO Greg Rowland, and Director of Human Resources Kirk Jester are leaders in their fields and we are lucky to have them working on our behalf. I am thankful to them for all their diligent efforts in making BurgerBusters the extraordinary company that it is. In conclusion, I would like to thank each and every one of you as you all have had a hand in this company’s success. This past year was just the beginning, as I know that we will continue to rise to new heights in 2023. Many blessings to all for a strong and prosperous new year.
By: Tassos Paphites
Chairman/CEO
