Burger Lounge is an American fast casual restaurant chain that specializes in hamburgers made from American grass-fed beef, salads, shakes, French fries and onion rings.[1][2][3] Burger Lounge is headquartered in San Diego, California.[4] In 2007, J. Dean Loring and Michael Gilligan founded the company in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego.[5][6] J. Dean Loring is the President and CEO of Burger Lounge.[1][5]
J. Dean Loring, the son of a butcher, opened three restaurants prior to founding Burger Lounge.[5] Loring established Stars Hamburgers, in Northern California's Humboldt County, in 1989.[8] In 2007, he partnered with Michael Gillian, a bank CFO, to open the first Burger Lounge in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego.[5][9][10] Burger Lounge partnered with Karp Reilly, a private equity firm based in Connecticut, in 2011.[11][12] In 2012, Forbes travel guide included Burger Lounge in its list of "America's 10 Best Burgers".[4] Fastcasual.com ranked the restaurant 21st on its list of "Top 100 Movers and Shakers" in 2012.[7]
In April 2013, Burger Lounge opened its second North County location in San Diego County.[13] That year, the restaurant opened seven locations in the San Diego area and four in the Los Angeles area.[13][14] LA Weekly named the restaurant "Best New Restaurant" in 2013.[15] The restaurant was also voted "Best Burger" by San Diego Magazine in 2014.[16] The restaurant previously received the title in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012.[17] In 2014, the restaurant group had 13 locations.[7]
