Burgerville

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]

Burgerville, LLC
Burgerville
TypePrivate
IndustryFast Casual
Founded1961 (1961)
FounderGeorge Propstra
HeadquartersVancouver, Washington
Number of locations
47 (2016)[1]
ProductsFast food, including hamburgers, french fries
RevenueApprox. $75 million (2010)[2]
Number of employees
1,300 (2013)[3]
ParentThe Holland Inc.
Websitewww.burgerville.com

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
The 1969-opened Burgerville in central Beaverton, Oregon, retained its original appearance until its closure 50 years later, in 2019.

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
A billboard on Interstate 84 cautions drivers that the Burgerville in The Dalles is the "last Burgerville for 24,800 miles".

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
  1. "Burgerville". Burgerville. Retrieved 2017-11-07.
  2. 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.
  3. Hayes, Elizabeth (July 31, 2013). "Burgerville serves up generous health plan, mandate or not". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 2015-04-30.
  4. Smith, Rob (May 13, 2005). "Burger joint shakes it up". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved 2008-01-01.
  5. "Burgerville: About us - Company Profile". Archived from the original on 24 June 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  6. "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.
  7. Trevison, Catherine (3 February 2008). "Burgerville chief's sustainable vision". The Oregonian. Retrieved 3 February 2008.
  8. "Burgerville Rolls Out Composting and Recycling Program to All Units". QSR Magazine. 23 November 2007. Retrieved 3 February 2008.
  9. Horovitz, Bruce (20 August 2009). "The tweet heard 'round Burgerville". USA Today.
  10. Gottfried, Miriam (8 January 2007). "Want a Cause With That?". Volume 179; Issue 1. Forbes.
  11. Wallace, Hannah. "Shaking It Up". GOOD Magazine. Retrieved 1 January 2008.
  12. "Food Network Awards 2007". Food Network. Archived from the original on 18 April 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2007.
  13. Hatmaker, Taylor (3 October 2018). "Northwest fast food chain hack exposed customer credit cards". TechCrunch. Oath Inc. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  14. "Burgerville workers form union, rally for higher wages". KATU. 27 April 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  15. 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.
  16. "Portland fast-food workers fighting for their $15". Roar Magazine. 12 July 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  17. Zielinski, Alex (23 April 2018). "Burgerville is Forced to Recognize its Union". Portland Mercury.
  18. Herron, Elise (23 April 2018). "Southeast Portland Burgerville Employees Vote to Become the Nation's First Fast Food Union". Willamette Week.
  19. Solomon, Molly (March 27, 2019). "Burgerville Workers Give Company 48 Hours To Recognize Union". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  20. Kavanaugh, Shane Dixon (October 17, 2019). "Portland Burgerville workers plan to strike amid union bargaining deadline". The Oregonian. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  21. Powell, Meerah (October 19, 2019). "Burgerville Employee Union Preparing For Strike After Failed Negotiations". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  22. Hanson, Nate (October 19, 2019). "Burgerville Workers Union on the verge of striking over wages". KGW. NBC News. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
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