American fast casual hamburger restaurant
Burgerville
(originally
Burgerville USA
) is a
privately held
American
restaurant chain
in
Oregon
and southwest
Washington
, owned by
The Holland Inc.
As the chain's name suggests, Burgerville's sandwich
menu
consists mostly of
hamburgers
. As of May 2005, all Burgerville locations were within a 180-mile (290-km) radius, mostly in the
Portland metropolitan area
.
[4]
The chain had annual revenue of around $75 million in 2010, at which time it had 39 locations and about 1,500 employees.
[2]
In addition to burgers and fries, Burgerville offers other products such as
chicken
and
turkey
sandwiches
,
veggie burgers
,
fish sandwiches
, and
fish and chips
. The chain uses
local ingredients
, such as
Tillamook Cheddar
, and locally grown
strawberries
in its
milkshakes
and
sundaes
. Throughout the year it offers seasonal items such as milkshakes made with
hazelnuts
, pumpkin, fresh raspberries, fresh strawberries, and
blackberries
, and side orders such as
Walla Walla
onion rings
,
sweet potato
fries,
tempura
-style fried
asparagus
and
Yukon Gold potatoes
.
History
Burgerville was founded in 1961 by George Propstra in
Vancouver, Washington
. The first Burgerville was located on Mill Plain Blvd in Vancouver, about three miles east of downtown on the southeast corner of Mill Plain and Morrison.
[5]
The chain uses 100%
wind power
for all of its restaurants and headquarters,
[6]
and is the largest chain in America to do so. Burgerville uses only
trans fat
-free
canola
oil and sends 7,500 gallons per month to be transformed into
biodiesel
.
[7]
In 2004, Burgerville switched to range-fed beef raised without hormones and antibiotics.
[7]
In 2007, it began composting
food waste
which is expected to result in an 85% reduction in waste and $100,000 annual savings.
[8]
In September 2009, after complaints from bicycle commuters, Burgerville began allowing bicyclists to order using its
drive-through
windows .
[9]
The
fast casual restaurant
chain was named by
Gourmet
magazine as having the freshest fast food in the country in 2003,
[10]
with offerings such as a salad with smoked salmon and Oregon hazelnuts.
[11]
As of August 2007, their slogan is, "Choose Fresh, Local, Sustainable. Choose Burgerville." Also in 2007, Burgerville was awarded with the "Better Burger" award at the 1st Annual
Food Network Awards
.
[12]
In January 2008, Jeff Harvey accepted the position of President and CEO of Burgerville after Tom Mears, the former holder of the titles stepped aside, and became Chairman of the company.
[5]
In October 2018, Burgerville disclosed that it had suffered a data breach by the Fin7 hacking group of all customer credit and debit card information processed from September 2017 to September 2018.
[13]
Burgerville Workers Union
In April 2016, Burgerville workers organized and formed a
labor union
, the Burgerville Workers Union, with support from Portland
IWW
, among other groups.
[14]
The company opposed the union organizing effort and sought to discourage workers from joining.
[15]
[16]
In 2018, the workers of one Burgerville restaurant in southeast Portland voted 18-4 in an
NLRB-administered election
to form a labor union; the vote compels the company to officially recognize the Burgerville Workers Union (BVWU) and to
collectively bargain
with it. The BVWU is the only fast food union in the United States with federal recognition.
[17]
[18]
The union has demanded a $5 an hour increase in wages for all workers, fair scheduling, improved health care, and parental leave.
[19]
In October, 2019, the workers union was preparing to
strike
following a breakdown of negotiations with the company over the previous 18 months. The company had offered an increase of $1 per hour for all employees to $13.50, six months ahead of when Portland's local minimum was set to increase to $13.25.
[20]
[21]
[22]
As of October 2019, five Burgerville locations have held successful union drives.
[20]
Locations
As of October 2016, Burgerville had 47 locations throughout Oregon and Washington.
[1]
On major highways leaving Burgerville's reach, there is usually a
billboard
resembling an overhead
highway warning sign
alerting drivers that there will not be another Burgerville location for approximately another 24,700 miles (39,750 km), which is the distance to the next Burgerville should one continue around the globe in that direction. The distance reported on each sign varies depending on the actual location of the billboard.
See also
References
- ^
a
b
"Burgerville"
. Burgerville
. Retrieved
2017-11-07
.
- ^
a
b
Joner, Cami (July 3, 2011).
"Burgerville chief hopes to use lessons of first 50 years as guide for next 50"
.
The Columbian
. Vancouver, Washington
. Retrieved
2015-04-30
.
- ^
Hayes, Elizabeth (July 31, 2013).
"Burgerville serves up generous health plan, mandate or not"
.
Portland Business Journal
. Retrieved
2015-04-30
.
- ^
Smith, Rob (May 13, 2005).
"Burger joint shakes it up"
. Portland Business Journal
. Retrieved
2008-01-01
.
- ^
a
b
"Burgerville: About us - Company Profile"
. Archived from
the original
on 24 June 2012
. Retrieved
24 August
2012
.
- ^
"The Holland Inc. Standardizes on 100 Percent Wind Power"
(Press release). The Holland, Inc. 15 August 2005. Archived from
the original
on 2 July 2007
. Retrieved
1 January
2008
.
- ^
a
b
Trevison, Catherine (3 February 2008).
"Burgerville chief's sustainable vision"
. The Oregonian
. Retrieved
3 February
2008
.
- ^
"Burgerville Rolls Out Composting and Recycling Program to All Units"
. QSR Magazine. 23 November 2007
. Retrieved
3 February
2008
.
- ^
Horovitz, Bruce (20 August 2009). "The tweet heard 'round Burgerville".
USA Today
.
- ^
Gottfried, Miriam (8 January 2007). "Want a Cause With That?".
Volume 179; Issue 1
.
Forbes
.
- ^
Wallace, Hannah.
"Shaking It Up"
. GOOD Magazine. Archived from
the original
on 5 January 2008
. Retrieved
1 January
2008
.
- ^
"Food Network Awards 2007"
.
Food Network
. Archived from
the original
on 18 April 2007
. Retrieved
1 January
2007
.
- ^
Hatmaker, Taylor (3 October 2018).
"Northwest fast food chain hack exposed customer credit cards"
.
TechCrunch
.
Oath Inc.
Retrieved
3 October
2018
.
- ^
"Burgerville workers form union, rally for higher wages"
. KATU. 27 April 2016
. Retrieved
7 November
2017
.
- ^
Kneese, Tamara (29 April 2016).
"Portland Fast Food Workers Don't Just Want a Raise?They Want a Union Too"
. Yes Magazine
. Retrieved
7 November
2017
.
- ^
"Portland fast-food workers fighting for their $15"
. Roar Magazine. 12 July 2016
. Retrieved
7 November
2017
.
- ^
Zielinski, Alex (23 April 2018).
"Burgerville is Forced to Recognize its Union"
.
Portland Mercury
.
- ^
Herron, Elise (23 April 2018).
"Southeast Portland Burgerville Employees Vote to Become the Nation's First Fast Food Union"
.
Willamette Week
.
- ^
Solomon, Molly (March 27, 2019).
"Burgerville Workers Give Company 48 Hours To Recognize Union"
.
Oregon Public Broadcasting
. Retrieved
October 23,
2019
.
- ^
a
b
Kavanaugh, Shane Dixon (October 17, 2019).
"Portland Burgerville workers plan to strike amid union bargaining deadline"
.
The Oregonian
. Retrieved
October 23,
2019
.
- ^
Powell, Meerah (October 19, 2019).
"Burgerville Employee Union Preparing For Strike After Failed Negotiations"
.
Oregon Public Broadcasting
. Retrieved
October 23,
2019
.
- ^
Hanson, Nate (October 19, 2019).
"Burgerville Workers Union on the verge of striking over wages"
.
KGW
. NBC News
. Retrieved
October 23,
2019
.
External links