Fatburger adds pair of Las Vegas Strip locations
Where’s the beef? For Fatburger, the beef lies in a choice center-cut portion of the Strip.
Namely, the food court of The Venetian, where the chain that dubs itself “The Last Great Hamburger Stand” just opened an outpost. The Venetian launch follows the debut of another Fatburger in Excalibur in May. The openings mark the first Fatburger locations in Strip resorts and reflect a continuing growth strategy of debuting outlets in gaming properties.
“Burgers, shakes and fries do well in casinos. What does everyone want late at night gambling in Vegas? They want a burger,” said Andrew Wiederhorn, CEO of Fat Brands, parent company of Fatburger.
The new Strip restaurants join Fatburgers in four other Vegas casinos — Green Valley Ranch Resort , Red Rock Resort, Santa Fe Station and Sunset Station — bringing the casino total to six. The other five Fatburgers in Vegas are standard restaurants.
Wiederhorn said casino stores bring in from two to five times the annual sales of a standard Fatburger, with an average Fatburger generating about $1.2 million in sales a year and a casino store generating anywhere from $2.5 million to $6 million or $7 million.
“You’re getting that late-night business you wouldn’t normally get in a suburban restaurant,” Wiederhorn said.
Fatburger isn’t just pursuing the casino strategy in Nevada. There also are more than a dozen Fatburgers in casinos across Arizona, California and Washington state.
According to Fat Brands research, the first Fatburger arrived in Vegas in the 1980s, long before its purchase by the parent company. Fifth Avenue Restaurant Group is the franchisee of the new Fatburgers.
One burger, not explicitly listed on the menu, is already popular on the Strip. It’s an original Fatburger accessorized with a fried egg, bacon, cheese and other add-ons. Fittingly, it’s called a Hangover Burger.
Contact Johnathan L. Wright at jwright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ItsJLW on Twitter.
