Burger King Holdings Inc., the second-largest U.S. hamburger chain, said it plans to set up a new, smaller restaurant called the Whopper Bar that will be focused on its top-selling sandwich.
The Whopper Bar will have fewer items on its menu than regular Burger King locations and will be located in areas with little space such as airports, casinos and strip malls, Russ Klein, Burger King’s president of global marketing, strategy and innovation, said in a telephone interview Friday. Burger King will show the concept to franchisees in May and plans to open several franchise and company-owned stores by the end of this year.
Burger King, based in Miami, competes with McDonald’s Corp., the world’s biggest restaurant chain, which is expanding its menu to include more beverages such as lattes and cappuccinos. Chief executive officer John Chidsey is also bolstering advertising.
The franchisee’s demand for information about the Whopper Bar is at “a fever pitch,” Klein said. “Real estate is a challenge for any restaurant. You look for smart ways to get high output, cash-on-cash returns with minimal investment in equipment, footprint and occupancy costs.”
The Whopper Bars will be about 490 square feet, a third of the size of the chain’s traditional locations, Klein said. He declined to specify how many Whopper Bars the company plans to open or how much they will cost to build.
The new restaurants may offer the Texas Double Whopper with jalapeño peppers and bacon, the Angry Whopper, with onion rings and jalapeños and the Chorizo Whopper. The burgers will be assembled in front of diners, who can choose to add or omit ingredients.
Restaurant sales “in airports have been extraordinary,” said Malcolm Knapp, a New York-based restaurant consultant. “In high-volume areas that demand speed, those would be productive ideas and it does reinforce their brand heritage of the Whopper. That’s their biggest deal.”
