Checkers, the drive through burger joint based in Florida, hopes to open soon in Greater Boston.
Thomas Grillo
Real Estate Editor- Boston Business Journal
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Is there room for another burger joint in Boston?
Jennifer Durham, vice president of franchise development at Checkers-Drive-In Restaurants, the Tampa-based retro hamburger eateries, thinks so.
“We are looking at sites in the Back Bay, Somerville, Brookline, the Fenway, and the hot spots around Greater Boston,” she said. “There are plenty of working class folks in the Boston area who have a strong need for value and convenience. Our average check is $6.50.”
Given the zoning rules in the downtown, it’s unlikely Checkers will be able to open a 900-square-foot drive thorough in the Back Bay. In places where drive through is prohibited, Durham said they would open a 1,400-square-foot restaurant. They hope to open 200 stores over the next two decades and up to 10 sites by the end of 2014.
With more than 800 stores nationwide, Durham sees the competition as the big three: McDonalds, Burger King and Wendy’s. But the competitors more likely include any casual place that sells a hamburger like Five Guys and Tasty Burger.
The region is popular with franchised restaurants. Firehouse Subs has set it sights on a New England expansion as well. The chain expects to open 85 stores, generally around 2,000 square feet in size, in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine over the next five years. Of that number, the chain is looking to open as many as 16 stores in Greater Boston, with a goal of finding locations in Kenmore Square, the Fenway, Downtown Crossing, North Station, the Seaport District and Cambridge’s Kendall Square. So far, Firehouse has restaurants in the Back Bay and Danvers, with another expected to open soon in Woburn.
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