By Katie Byard
Beacon Journal staff writer
West Akron hamburger joint Metro Burger is beefing up, signing a deal for 22 franchises in Florida.
”It’s pretty exciting,” Metro Burger founder and co-owner Scott Burford said. ”This is our first franchise deal. We just started franchising in March.”
Two central Florida entrepreneurs, Tony Rende and Marlene Mejia, plan to open the Metro burger outlets over the next few years.
They found out about Metro Burger — billed as a gourmet hamburger place — by searching on the Internet for franchise opportunities.
”We just liked the name and the concept,” Tony Rende said. ”Everybody’s offering an Angus burger.” At Metro Burger, he said, ”you have options — a turkey burger, a veggie burger, a chicken burger.”
Burford, a 47-year-old Chicago transplant, opened the first — and only, so far — Metro Burger in June 2007 at 854 W. Market St. in Akron’s Highland Square neighborhood.
The plan was to ”test market” the concept of burgers in beef, chicken, turkey and veggie, and with a host of toppings, before offering franchises, he said.
The menu includes fries (regular and sweet potato), onion rings, chili and fried dill pickles.
A Metro Meal — a 1/3-pound hamburger with toppings, regular-size order of fries and a drink — costs $8.25.
The franchise fee, which normally runs $30,000 per restaurant, will be discounted because of the large number of stores, Burford said. Burford said franchisees pay 5 percent of revenues, minus taxes.
Rende said he will pay to equip the units.
The first Florida store is set to open in the fall in a former Pilates studio in the Heathrow-Lake Mary area. The second outlet is scheduled to open in the spring in the Orlando area and also will likely be in existing space.
An upside of the economic downturn means there could be deals on leases, Rende and Burford said.
Burford previously ran a full-service Italian restaurant outside Chicago.
Burford and his wife, Lisa, moved from Illinois to West Akron in 2005 to be closer to Lisa’s parents. Lisa is a co-owner of Metro Burger.
That year, he opened the Market Street Cafe in Akron’s Wallhaven neighborhood. He closed the cafe this spring to focus on Metro Burger and offer franchises.
Metro Burger’s growth comes amid what restaurant industry watchers call the specialty or premium burger trend. McDonald’s rolled out its Angus burgers nationwide in 2009.
Burford’s inspiration for Metro Burger was an article in GQ titled ”The 20 Hamburgers You Must Eat Before You Die.”
Some research revealed, he said, a gap in the burger market between fast-food and full-service restaurants.
Katie Byard can be reached at 330-996-3781 or kbyard@thebeaconjournal.com.