Gourmet burger chain relishes a global roll-out, starting in Canada
Andrew Meade for National PostRivers Corbett co-founded Relish Gourmet Burgers, three years ago in Fredericton, N.B. and the chain now boasts locations in Saint John and Moncton, N.B., St. John’s, N.L., and Halifax.
- Rivers Corbett hates to cook, yet he’s fully immersed in the restaurant industry and is working to push his regional restaurant chain across Canada and around the world. He co-founded Relish Gourmet Burgers, three years ago in Fredericton, N.B. and the chain now boasts locations in Saint John and Moncton, N.B., St. John’s, N.L., and Halifax. A second Fredericton location is slated to open in late November. Mr. Corbett, the University of New Brunswick’s entrepreneur-in-residence, says he is in talks with a Dubai-based investment group about a funding plan that would fuel a major Relish expansion. If completed, the deal would lead to the construction of 54 Relish locations across Canada in just two years. A similar expansion is being discussed for the Middle East and the United Kingdom. Construction could start this spring. Mr. Corbett would like to see up to 400 Relish restaurants within five years — a combination of corporately owned and franchised locations. He recently discussed his lofty expansion goals — and the accompanying challenges — with Quentin Casey. The following is an edited transcript of their conversation.
Q Are you confident this deal will be completed?
A It ain’t done until the money is in the bank. But I can tell you the dialogue gets more encouraging. They’re extremely interested in making a deal happen, it’s just a matter of the finer details. It’s not a done deal. But the dance is definitively turning into a waltz.
Q Why did you go into the burger business?
A That’s a really good question because I swore I’d never be in the restaurant business. My business partner, Chef Ray Henry, exposed me to the gourmet burger opportunity. We made a business plan and like most stupid entrepreneurs, we said, ‘Let’s just give it a try. Let’s spend $75,000 and see what happens.’ The community embraced the first one. It was an instant love affair. I said, ‘OK, this works. Let’s go do another one.’ That started us on the journey.
Q The gourmet burger industry is growing. Smashburger, in the U.S., has more than 220 restaurants around the world, and expects to open 50 locations in 2013. They recently reported three-year sales growth of 254%. What explains the popularity of the gourmet burger market?
A The first thing is our aging population. There’s a heightened interest in quality food versus quantity. As the population gets older, people are much more selective about the type of food they’re eating and how it’s prepared. Plus, the burger has passed the test of time. From the time of Ray Kroc [the builder of the McDonald’s empire], the burger has been through recessions, wars and so on. The popularity of the burger remains consistent.
Rodney MannRelish Gourmet Burgers' California Dreaming burger.
Q What do you put on your burger?
A I’m a Big Texas guy. That’s the one I like. It has barbeque sauce, crispy onion frites, pepper jack cheese and bacon.
Q What’s your biggest challenge?
A Finding the right people to run the franchise locations. You need people to embrace the culture and vision of the business. They also need to realize that they’re buying into a system and that they really shouldn’t mess around with it. Franchises are about following a system. We want people to say, ‘Show me the way and I’ll follow it.’
Q The location in Miramichi, N.B., flopped. What did you learn from that experience?
A The community has to embrace the gourmet food mindset and a premium price. It has to be more than a meat-and-potatoes type of community. Miramichi wasn’t ready for a gourmet burger experience. And we ran after the money, versus running after the right team.
Q So you chased the franchise money too eagerly?
A We were in growth mode. We were in a mode of excitement and enthusiasm. We had four locations in two years and everyone was telling us, ‘You’re growing so fast. It’s fantastic.’ We were king of the hill. So we said, ‘Let’s go in and do the Miramichi.’ We got excited by the momentum. You get caught up in the moment and you forget about the true fundamentals of what’s needed to make the business work long-term.
Q You have five locations now and you’re talking about hundreds more. Isn’t it a bit crazy?
A Yeah, it’s nuts. It’s absolutely wild. But that doesn’t mean it’s not plausible. I’m 50 years old now. I want to go on an adventure. I want to have some fun. It’s crazy, but I’ve done a lot of crazy things.
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