Chili burger returns
Chili season has arrived early at Farmer Boys.
The Riverside-based restaurant chain has added a chili burger through the end of the year.
It’s been about five years since Farmer Boys has had a chili burger on the menu, marketing manager Daisy Alvarez said. It also used to serve open-faced chili sizes.
The new item, called the Double Chili Cheeseburger, a “revised and improved recipe” based on customer feedback.
“We asked guests what they were looking for in a chili burger, and what we heard back was obviously chili and cheese, but they didn’t want a lot of produce except for the onions and the pickle. So that’s what we did,” Alvarez said.
Farmer Boys’ chili features beef and spices, but no beans.
Farmer Boys used social media to pave the way for the chili launch. In July, it tested the burger at select locations promoted to members of its app-driver Very Important Farmer Loyalty Club. Last week, VIF members were given the chance to preview the burger by booking restaurant reservations online, an unusual move for a fast casual chain.
The burger costs $4.99 and will be on the menu through Jan. 1.
Farmer Boys is using it to promote its other chili items, including chili cheese fries, which are always on the menu. During the promotion, customers can upgrade to chili cheese fries on any combo for $1 extra. Farmer Boys’ Orange County locations are Laguna Hills, Santa Ana, Orange, Anaheim (2), Fullerton, Buena Park and Brea.
— Fielding Buck, fbuck@scng.com
New gym for Anaheim
Chuze Fitness continues its muscled march across Southern California with a new location slated to open early next year in Anaheim.
It will be the fifth Chuze Fitness for Orange County.
The company, a family-owned business founded in Carlsbad in 2008, is developing a 44,800-square-foot health club at the intersection of Beach Boulevard and Lincoln Avenue in the city’s southwest neighborhood. The gym will serve as a co-anchor along with Walmart Neighborhood Market in a shopping center at 135 Beach Blvd.
Chad Iafrate, a senior director with Cushman & Wakefield’s Carlsbad office, said Chuze operates 24 clubs across California, Arizona and Colorado — with Denver as a prime growth area of late — with “more locations in the West planned.”
Chuze Fitness offers a range of workout and training equipment as well studio fitness classes including Zumba, Pilates, Kickboxing, Boot Camp, Aqua Fit, Indoor Cycling and more. The fitness center also offers team training, hydromassage, a kids club, pool, sauna and cardio cinema.
For more visit chuzefitness.com.
Steal a Taco
The World Series hasn’t even started, yet Taco Bell is already making plans to feed America free tacos.
The Irvine-based chain announced plans Monday to bring back its annual “Steal a Base, Steal a Taco” World Series promotion.
If a base is stolen in game one or two, fans will get a free Doritos Locos Taco on Wednesday, Nov. 1. The giveaway is from 2-6 p.m. (local time) at all participating Taco Bell locations.
If the first stolen base of the World Series takes place in game three or later, the taco giveaway will be held Tuesday, Nov. 7 from 2-6 p.m.(local time).
This is the 6th time in 10 years that Taco Bell has done the promotion. Baseball players Jacoby Ellsbury, Jason Bartlett, Ángel Pagán, Lorenzo Cain and Francisco Lindor have stolen bases in the previous five promotions.
Glassbaby lands at Fashion Island
Glassybaby, a maker of blown glass votives and drink cups, has opened a temporary kiosk at Fashion Island in Newport Beach.
It’s the company’s first expansion to Southern California.
Glassybaby was founded by Lee Rhodes 17 years ago. Its glassworks are hand-blown by artisans based in Seattle and Berkeley.
The company got a big boost in 2005 after Rhodes appeared on Martha Stewart’s television show. “Things went insane,” Rhodes told Forbes. “We had thousands of orders on our website.”
Rhodes told Forbes her company expected to make $20 million in revenue in 2016. Glassbaby employs some 338 people and has nine brick and mortar stores in California and Washington. The cups retail for $55, the votives $50-$75, depending on how they’re made.
For the holidays, glassybaby has designed several new votives, including “starry night” and “holy night,” which will be released in early November.
Lee, a three-time cancer survivor, contributes 10 percent of all glassybaby sales of votives and cups to nonprofit organizations. The same will be true of the Fashion Island sales, with proceeds going to Hilarity for Charity. The organization was founded by Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen in 2012 to help millennials better understand Alzheimer’s disease.
Glassybaby’s kiosk will be adjacent to the koi pond, and where the annual Christmas tree is located, near Anthropologie and Restoration Hardware.
If you’re in a hurry, glassybaby also will soon be available via Amazon Prime Now and delivered within two hours.
Muscle Maker plans IPO
Muscle Maker Grill, a wellness-focused restaurant brand whose owner is based in Irvine, announced plans last week to raise nearly $20 million in an initial public offering.
The fast-casual restaurant chain sells salads, “skinny” flatbreads, fruit smoothies, protein shakes, wraps and vegetarian dishes made with lean meats such as turkey bacon.
The Houston-based chain has 50 locations throughout the country including Irvine, Santa Ana and Angel Stadium. It was purchased in 2015 by Irvine-based American Restaurant Holdings, which has a majority stake in the company.
Muscle Maker, which also provides meal plans for pick up and delivery, said it will list itself on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker MMB. The IPO will be a Regulation A+ filing — a relatively new non-traditional offering that allows easier access for small businesses and early-stage companies to raise capital, according to the NYSE. The company listed its starting share price at $6.
The IPO appears to be a last-ditch effort to shore up capital for the financially strapped brand.
In 2016, the chain widened its net loss to $4.2 million, down from a $1 million loss in 2015. In its regulatory filing, the company said it will “continue to report losses and negative cash flow.”
As a result, the company’s independent auditors said “there is a substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern,” according to the federal filing.
Still, CEO Robert E. Morgan said Muscle Maker Grill is experiencing growth as more consumers seek healthier versions of mainstream dishes. “We are excited to be in a position to offer this investment opportunity that gives our customers a chance to also be our shareholders,” he said in a statement.
Muscle Maker Grill was founded in New Jersey in 1995. In 2016, American Holdings president Tim Betts appeared on the popular CBS reality show “Undercover Boss.”
New Southern California locations are planned for Fountain Valley and West Hollywood. Irvine-based American Restaurant Holdings owns a majority stake of the chain. American Holdings also owns Canyon Fireside Grille, Fresca’s Authentic Mexican Kitchen and JoJo’s Pizza Kitchen.
Free food at Quiznos
Quiznos, whose presence in Orange County has diminished over the years, is trying to win customers by going Greek.
The Denver-based chain has added three new Greek meals to its menu: a Gyro submarine sandwich, a Greek salad, and a Greek flatbread. On Wednesday, Oct. 25, Quiznos is enticing diners to try the flatbread, a pita bread folded and stuffed seasoned beef and lamb, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, feta cheese, banana peppers and cucumber tzatziki sauce.
The freebie is available with the purchase of another menu item (soda, bag of chips, dessert, soup, sandwich) at participating Quiznos. The freebie only applies to the flatbread, which cost $4.70. Quiznos operates 45 restaurants in California, including Orange County stores in Orange, Newport Beach and Costa Mesa.
New store for Stater Bros.
Stater Bros. is opening a new supermarket Wednesday, Oct. 25 in Tustin. The market is part of the new Village at Tustin Legacy development at 15150 Kensington Park Drive.
The nearly 44,000-square-foot market features full-service departments for hot bakery items, deli, butchered meat and seafood. The store will also feature fresh hand-cut sushi.
The store opens after an 8 a.m. ribbon cutting. After Wednesday, the stores daily hours will be from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
