Last week, my office cubicle neighbor Richard Bilbao stumbled onto some news that Red Robin Gourmet Burgers debuted two new burgers featuring the hotter-than-hot ghost pepper.
Being a self-proclaimed spice-wuss, I couldn’t mirror his giddiness of this pepper that’s described as 300 times hotter than a jalapeno pepper. So, I deferred to him to demand that Red Robin bring these burgers to the Orlando market just so he could get a taste.
Red Robin has nine Florida locations, the closest eateries to us are in Port Orange or the Tampa area.
But upon further research, it just so happens that Richard’s demands might be answered sooner than we think.
Rumor has it Greenwood Village, Colo.-based Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. Latest from The Business Journals From the WebW.W. Cousins leading Five Guys, Smashburger in pollMrs. Fields CEO: Denver area picked from several sites for HQ Follow this company (Nasdaq: RRGB) is set to ink three deals by early next year. And one of those is on tap for Winter Garden Village at Fowler Groves, according to the mall’s website. Marketing materials from landlord Cole Real Estate Investments showed Red Robin would take over a 4,589-square-foot space left by Urban Flats Flatbread Co., which reportedly closed earlier this year.
SRS Real Estate Partners’ SRS Real Estate Partners Latest from The Business Journals Real estate round-up: N. Austin shopping center sellsFlores invests .5M in new Austin restaurantAustin real estate round-up: June 6 Follow this company John Artope – Red Robin’s real estate representative in Florida – declined to share information about locations, but he said the area is primed for eight to 10 restaurants.
Red Robin had toyed with the idea of looking for sites in Orlando on and off for a few years, but instead focused on other parts of the state and now is looking at filling in the middle. Sources said it has actively been seeking franchisees for about a year now.
And this comes at a time when the gourmet burger industry is exploding nationwide and several concepts are vying for sites in Central Florida. BurgerFi franchisee Eric Koeser is prepping for a Sept. 1 opening in Lake Mary and is close to signing a deal in Altamonte Springs, while franchisee Jim Pagano is gearing up to open his first restaurant in Winter Park this year.
Want to know more about better-burger concepts sniffing around Orlando? Check out my blog from early May.
Meanwhile, if you, like my esteemed colleague, are aching to get your hands on one of those ghost pepper burgers, just be patient. It shouldn’t be much longer now.
What have you been hearing about gourmet burger chains wanting Orlando sites? Leave a comment below or e-mail me.