Irene Jiang / Business Insider
- Habit Burger Grill was voted America’s best regional fast-food chain by USA Today readers in a 2019 survey.
- It has a loyal following and is growing at breakneck speed, nearly doubling its locations in the last three years.
- I visited a Habit Burger Grill in Teterboro, New Jersey, to try the so-called best-tasting burger in America.
- While I was impressed by some of the food I tried, the famous Charburger didn’t live up to its reputation.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
I hadn’t heard of Habit Burger Grill until I stumbled across the name in an article on underrated fast-food chains.
Apparently, the California-based burger chain I’d never heard of has earned numerous accolades and a diehard fan following. It was even voted the best regional fast-food chain in a 2019 USA Today reader’s survey.
Habit’s Charburger was voted the best-tasting burger in America in 2014, and the chain continues to rank as one of America’s favorite restaurants, according to Consumer Reports.
It’s also growing at breakneck speed.
Read more: I tried the signature burgers from 5 major fast-food chains, and the winner was obvious
Founded in 1969, Habit Burger Grill has increased its number of locations by over 60% in the last two years. From 172 restaurants in 2017 to 278 locations worldwide in 2019, Habit is continuing its rapid growth with another 35 restaurants opening in 2019.
Lots of those new locations are outside of Habit’s native California. The chain now has locations in 13 states and six restaurants in China.
I decided to visit the Habit Burger Grill in Teterboro, New Jersey, to see what all the fuss was about, as well as to try the so-called best-tasting burger in America:
The exterior looked like an updated set from Nickelodeon teen comedy-drama "Zoey 101."
Irene Jiang / Business Insider
So did the interior.
Irene Jiang / Business Insider
Fake tropical plants sprung from every nook and cranny.
Irene Jiang / Business Insider
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- The top 10 franchises in America in 2019
- We tried Hard Rock Cafe’s new 24-karat gold leaf burger, and we’re not convinced it’s better than a normal burger
- These vintage photos of Burger King’s uniforms show how much the chain’s look has changed over time — along with its identity
Source: Business Insider – ijiang@businessinsider.com (Irene Jiang)