Habit Burger Chain Sold for $375 Million

(courtesy photo)

By edhat staff

The Habit Burger Grill chain has sold its non-Santa Barbara County locations for $375 million.

The fast-casual restaurant focuses on char-grilled burgers, chicken sandwiches, hearty salads, ahi tuna sandwiches, milkshakes, and more.

Yum Brands Inc., who owns Taco Bell, Piza Hut, and KFC fast-food chains, announced the acquisition Monday from their Irvine headquarters.

The Habit on Hollister Ave (courtesy photo)

The original location, located at 5735 Hollister Ave, opened in 1969 selling burgers for 24 cents each. In 1980, local brothers Brent and Bruce Reichard purchased the place and grew it to a 24-location chain by 2007 with an investment firm holding a majority of the stake.

The Habit Burger Grill went public in 2014 and soon expanded to nearly 300 locations in the United States and China after the Reichard’s sold all Habit locations outside of Santa Barbara County.

The Reichard Brothers issued a statement Tuesday clarifying the Santa Barbara County Habit Burger Grill locations continue to be 100% wholly owned and operated by the original founding family and the purchase by Yum Brands is limited to those outside the county.

“There will be no impact to our locations in Santa Barbara County from the impending acquisition of the national Habit chain by Yum! Brands. The 8 Santa Barbara County Habit locations are still locally owned, by our family, as they have been for decades. There will be no changes to our operations, menu, or workforce. We remain committed as a local family business to our original motto ‘There is no substitute for quality’, and we appreciate your continued loyal support,” said original founder and CEO Brent Reichard.

Edhat Staff

Written by Edhat Staff

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12 Comments

  1. The In-N-Out Double Double hamburger has plenty of beef. The Habit charges $1 for a single slice of processed cheese. In-N-Out uses real chedder cheese and does not charge extra. In-N-Out has great 50’s vintage car T-shirts and clothing for sale. The Habit charburger is OK, but is sort of bland.

  2. After reading this, the headline is super misleading compared to the storyline. The story is “Santa Barbara County Habits remain locally owned, not part of $375 million sale.”
    Come on, Edhat. You’re supposed to be a local news site…let’s not click bait the puppies here with misleading headlines.

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