Los Angeles Fatburger chain coming to Staunton
Laura Peters
STAUNTON - A West Coast burger chain is coming to the Shenandoah Valley this year.
An exact location hasn't been set, but according to Rebecca Campbell, a spokeswoman with the burger company, a new FAT Brands restaurant would be in the College Park area of Staunton.
The College Park area of Staunton is near the Terry Court Shopping Center off Augusta Street down into the neighborhood of College Park on College Circle.
"As the location is still in development, we do not have a set address to share," Campbell said.
FAT Brands is the parent company of Fatburger and Buffalo's Express. The new restaurant would be a co-branded Fatburger and Buffalo's Express restaurant.
Staunton is one of 10 new restaurants announced by the company yesterday. Others will be throughout California, Arizona, Texas, Pennsylvania and Virginia, which are expected to open sometime in 2019.
Fatburger, a Hollywood burger chain, was founded by Lovie Yancey in 1952 at a single burger stand.
The chain serves signature, made-to-order Fatburgers, hand-scooped milkshakes and skinny (shoestring) or fat (steak) fries as Yancey served at the original Fatburger stand 70 years ago, a release said.
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Fatburger’s Georgia-based, sister brand Buffalo’s Express serves as a complement to Fatburger’s menu offering fresh, boneless and bone-in chicken wing options with over 13 proprietary wing sauce options, the release said. Buffalo's Express has been around for more than 35 years.
Building on the company's Los Angeles roots and success has now paved the way for an additional expansion in Virginia, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Texas furthering FAT Brand’s mission to bring the iconic burger and wing brands to fans nationwide.
“It is very exciting to see the expansion of Fatburger and Buffalo’s Express across the country,” said Andy Wiederhorn, CEO of FAT Brands, in a release. “We are eager to serve our signature, all-American offerings to consumers within these markets and expand the national reach of both brands.”
Other new locations in development include other California locations in Monrovia, Bakersfield, Cerritos and Lake Balboa.
Fatburger has a loyal fanbase, many of whom include A-list celebrities and athletes.
Fatburger has been franchising since 1990 and has more than 200 franchise units, according to its website.
FAT Brands is a leading global franchising company that strategically acquires, markets and develops fast casual and casual dining restaurant concepts around the world, a release said. It currently owns six restaurant brands — Fatburger, Buffalo’s Cafe, Buffalo’s Express, Hurricane Grill & Wings, Hurricane BTW and Ponderosa and Bonanza Steakhouses, that have over 300 locations open and more than 300 under development in 32 countries, a release said.
Follow Laura Peters @peterslaura. You can reach her at lpeters@newsleader.com.