A well-known chain from Berlin enters Poland. Her boss explains why they don't start from Warsaw
I think we will have at least 20-40 restaurants in Poland in the coming years, Robert Fügert, CEO of Burgermeister, tells us. Currently, the company is known primarily in the German capital. The president tells how the first restaurant was created, which once served as… a public toilet.
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Mateusz Madejski, journalist of Business Insider Polska: When does the Burgermeister chain enter Poland?
Robert Fügert, CEO of Burgermeister: I would like to point out at the beginning that we are growing very fast – we are the fastest growing chain in Germany, we also have the highest revenue per location, not counting McDonald's [śmiech — red.]. We are extremely happy to be entering the Polish market. Of course, everyone asks why we go to Szczecin first and not, for example, Warsaw.
Exactly. Why?
Szczecin is, above all, very close to Berlin, where our network was born. This will make our debut much easier, which will be Burgermeister's first location outside Germany. I must also admit that we have simply great business partners in Szczecin. But I'm already answering the question when we open. This will happen on October 27, but then only the delivery option via Pyszne.pl will be available. We also do this to simply test everything and train our crew. Of course, we are sure that the crew will do a great job, but we want to test the technology first. You know, we have euro, you have zloty, all this needs to be properly tested. We are planning the grand opening on October 28. Then you will be able to come to the restaurant and eat a burger on the spot. It will be a really large restaurant – two levels, 550 sq m. We are extremely pleased to be entering Szczecin. It's a great city.
What's next?
We want to make Poland our second big market. We want to enter Gdańsk, of course Warsaw, but also other cities. Moreover, we intend to invest in drive-through premises in Poland – and this will be our first market with this solution. I think we will have at least 20-40 restaurants in Poland in the coming years.
“We are looking for partners”
Do you want to operate through franchising?
Yes, exactly. We are entering Poland with Polish franchise partners who know this market well. Of course, we are ready to cooperate with other franchisees. We are looking for partners who have high standards, appropriate experience – but also start-up capital.
Who is your competition on the Polish market?
It's hard for me to answer this question because I'm convinced that no one makes burgers like we do [śmiech — red.]. We care about the highest quality, our products are always fresh and quite attractively priced. Of course, we have great respect for chains such as Max Burgers or McDonald's, but we offer a different product.
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When was your network founded?
In 2006, it was founded by my business partner Cebrail Karabelli, the first restaurant opened in Berlin. The first restaurant was established in a former public toilet, dating back to 1895. Of course, this restaurant at the Schlesisches Tor metro station is still in operation – and is the most visited burger joint in all of Europe. The next location was opened only 10 years later. Then the founder decided to expand the business and I joined the company. Burgermeister has invested in its own food production, which means it has its own bakery and meat processing plant, and prepares everything itself from fresh ingredients, using the best Irish beef. Our production capacity would be sufficient to supply over 100 Burgermeister restaurants around the world. So we can still scale. And we do it.
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Burgermeister is planning a major expansion
What about other countries?
We are also thinking about this – for example about Great Britain and about Spain, Austria, Croatia. We may be on the Islands next year.
What does Burgermeister mean?
It was just supposed to be a joke. Burgermeister is, of course, German for burger master, but also… mayor. But it's more of a joke, there's no big story behind it. Of course, we wanted people to recognize us as burger champions. However, we do not want to have a too large menu, we only have five types of burgers on offer. Of course, it's also vegan, but most are with meat.
Which is the most popular?
Cheeseburger, our classic.
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