You're watching...
Dave Prokupek on how the craving for a better burger has helped the @Smashburger franchise.
Also in this playlist...
Auto-advance: ON
Auto-advance
This transcript is automatically generated
You know on I'm so glad today is Thursday and not Friday because it's -- -- meet on Friday Catholic lookalike -- -- And out we have a major burger company on an -- One idea executive chairman and CEO of smashed -- you my pretty that there is 200 across the nation.
Smashed burger has been a success and a hundred billion dollar.
Industry welcome thank you for coming on that they explore and doing -- on Thursday -- thank you down on Friday during -- They don't actually yeah.
-- we have tickets out.
So you started out how many years ago has event you know not that long ago we just in our fifth to -- -- fifth anniversary OK so back in 2008.
And that area had about eleven stores right.
And now you have 200 thanks growing growing very fast and -- Dublin where they do it how long.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- especially for traveling consumers can check out the different that smashed burgers.
It was interesting about your story is that -- used to be before you were chairman and CEO of smash burger.
Managing director of the private equity.
Firm that put up the that twenty million dollar seed money to start smashed -- why did you do that had a -- was it gut feeling that it would work -- Well doesn't just mean there's a lot of fathers of success so we erection and start quiz -- as part of CCP -- -- -- -- at McDonald's and so it was an illogical idea there was three people controlling all those murders that you talked about but I learned so.
But -- -- dissatisfied.
So we actually get a lot of consumer work to say people wanted to -- more burgers they just weren't happy with the choices that they had -- there that was more than a gut feel but it was a pretty big -- What it with every search show laterally to satisfy the narrow we -- just.
-- -- -- because leading get -- pick our -- meeting get to enjoy the inside the restaurants and you know if you didn't like a burger there wasn't great chicken and -- you couldn't have a beer with dinner and all those kinds of things and in the end that's kind of -- -- -- come to be -- Understand the industry.
And it's it's interesting to me that you let customers kind of create their phone number because it seems like that's the part of -- market that personalization that uniqueness that people are willing to.
Invest time and spend money on.
Absolutely -- -- -- -- we're very consumer friendly it's not the most operationally friendly thing and so what you can today.
Well I mean it's hard to do it you know -- a lot easier to make the same thing over and over and over again and that makes it easy to run the business but consumers don't like that so we've actually gone -- people have what they want.
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- Our overhead we spend a lot of money and so we've kind of gone from zero to you know maybe twenty or thirty million dollars of overhead this year to be able to bring on the senior team to -- them.
You know what's gonna be a billion dollar plus business asylum we we spend a lot of money that it team.
A billion dollar plus business that's where we're headed next reported their careers and have area now -- hundred.
Okay look at that we have on the screen so couple years ago six and a half billion.
Two years from now.
Nine billion and a between 1912 point one on how -- -- you have.
You know we probably have 5000 employees you know throughout the company -- -- through all the restaurants and training everything you know that now.
We're always talking about in the news how -- the restaurant.
And retail industry -- gonna get hit by the new -- Carolina other changes in politics and administration your thoughts on any of that as it affects you.
I'm pretty sanguine about it to be honest with you I think to be competitive in this world -- -- The people what -- but they deserve and so were actually not to -- up about it at this.
Okay how many of your workers are full time gain on -- -- I do I would say certainly.
I would say forty to 50% of the workers now are full time.
A crack which is a fairly big number and how many hours -- peaceful -- thirty hours -- they're in our industry is full time.
Okay great -- that's where all the complications start to -- -- a lot of companies are starting to get that 29 number right.
We're kind of taking approach you need to give people the hours that need to work.
In order to survive -- so we're kind of focus up that way.
OK Bob thank you yeah.
And any us that we -- about what customers need it here in New York says it's only here -- -- yeah.
That's a that's a couple we have a restaurant in Brooklyn and so we've got to we've got to Brooklyn burger that's a burger and also has -- Pastrami and -- -- movie got a New York burger that's actually got a -- fun and New -- quite aged cheddar and spinach and and -- -- have to dance really great.
So a lot of over -- something.
Thank you so much if -- a pack the chairman and CEO smash burger.
We have -- what's that on the screen thank you again.
