Burger King, the big fast-food chain famous for its Whoppers, is making big changes to its stores in the U.S. They’re spending $300 million to renovate about 1,100 of their locations. This is part of a bigger plan by their parent company, Restaurant Brands International, to update Burger King and make it more competitive.
This investment plan was announced recently and adds to the total amount of money Restaurant Brands International has spent on improving Burger King in the U.S. It’s now up to $2.2 billion.
Tom Curtis, the President of Burger King in the U.S., said it’s been a while since the company invested so much back into the business alongside franchisees.
This big investment follows some other important moves. Last January, they bought Carrols Restaurant Group, which is Burger King’s biggest franchisee in the U.S., for $1 billion. This purchase will help speed up the remodeling, with another $500 million set aside for updating 600 of Carrol’s locations.
Burger King has a new plan to make their stores better, called the “Sizzle” design. It’s all about giving customers a great experience. They’re adding things like drive-thru pickups for orders made on your phone and self-order kiosks to make things faster and easier. They hope this will not only bring in more customers but also make them spend more when they visit.
The “Sizzle” design is already working well. About 100 stores with this new design have seen a big increase in sales after the renovations. This success is making other franchisees interested in joining the remodeling.
But it’s not all smooth sailing. The remodeling is expensive, and sometimes stores have to close while the work is being done. To help with this, Burger King is offering cash bonuses and discounts to franchisees who complete the renovations.
Tom Curtis is traveling around the U.S. to convince franchisees about the benefits of this big remodeling plan. Starting this project when the economy is uncertain, especially with high-interest rates, shows how much risk Restaurant Brands is willing to take to stay ahead in the fast-food market.
Even though Restaurant Brands didn’t see a big jump in their stock prices after announcing this plan, their quarterly revenue was better than expected by Wall Street. Burger King’s sales at stores that have been open for a while are slowly growing, but it’s still not clear how much the remodeling will help.
By 2028, Burger King wants most of its 7,000 U.S. stores to have this new design. This is a big goal for the future.
This big investment by Burger King shows how serious they are about keeping up with the competition. As fast food becomes more about technology and serving customers well, Burger King’s plan now could shape its future in the industry.
