Habit Burger & Grill is taking aim at another burger heavyweight in California, In-N-Out, with a new marketing campaign boasting its number one ranking by USA Today’s reader poll.
Founded in Santa Barbara in 1969, the burger restaurant became a mainstay for locals as the original owners grew the restaurant to include a chain of restaurants throughout the state. Slowly they sold off the company which is now fully owned by Yum! Brands, the same corporation that owns Taco Bell and KFC.
Habit Burger & Grill has grown to over 380 restaurants in 14 states as well as 11 international locations which has set off a robust marketing campaign.
Last October, Habit Burger placed several billboards around Southern California “congratulating” In-N-Out for being named the second-best fast food burger in a USA Today reader poll. This time around, Habit Burger is trolling In-N-Out again, but this time for falling to 4th place.
A new billboard has appeared outside In-N-Out’s drive-thru near LAX, the massive international airport in Los Angeles. The same sign from last year has been recycled, but this time, the “#2” is scribbled over in red and replaced with an even more humbling “#4.” Beneath it, Habit proudly flexes its own win: Voted #1 by USA TODAY’s 10Best. Again.
Just days after the USA Today rankings dropped, headlines broke that In-N-Out’s CEO is relocating to Tennessee, while the brand expands east and consolidates its California operations.
“We congratulated In-N-Out on being #2 last year with a billboard,” said Jack Hinchliffe, Chief Marketing Officer at Habit Burger & Grill. “This year, we were going to send a gift but couldn’t afford the postage to Tennessee, so we saved a few bucks and reused the same billboard. We just had to swap out the 2 for a 4.”
Last year’s billboard sparked viral buzz, lighting up the internet with burger feuds, fan wars, and spicy comment threads. People took sides, doubled down, and debated: Double-Double vs. Double Char. Some even called it the start of the Burger Wars.
As In-N-Out heads east, Habit seems perfectly happy right where they are: on top.
USA TODAY’s 10Best Awards also named Habit Burger & Grill the #1 Best Fast Casual Restaurant and the #1 Best Side, Tempura Green Beans.
Habit Burger’s Santa Barbara History
The Hamburger Habit opened at 5735 Hollister Ave in Old Town Goleta on November 15, 1969. Brent Reichard got his first job there at the age of 16 in 1976. Four years later, Brent and his brother Bruce bought the burger stand.
In 1996, Brent opened the second Habit location in Ventura. Over the next ten years, Brent as CEO and Dave Nordahl as President grew the chain in California to 24 units. In 2007 they sold a majority interest to private equity group Karp Reilly. This transaction did not include the Santa Barbara territory and the Reichard Family continued to own and operate the Santa Barbara County locations.
Brent and Dave remained in their roles with the larger Habit Restaurants until 2009 and both remained on the Board of Directors until 2014 when the Habit Restaurants launched their IPO, remaining a publicly traded company until Yum! Brands acquired the Company in early 2020.
On March 1, 2022 Yum! Brands took over operations of the remaining eight restaurants operated by the Reichard Family including the Original Habit and the other seven Santa Barbara County restaurants.
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Go Habit!
In-n-Out has always been overrated.
Habit has the best burgers hands down.
In-N-Out’s CEO can go kick rocks over to Tennessee. For her to say that California is not easy for businesses and families when she is worth over $7 Billion is absurd. She means politically. Have fun in MAGA land and stop profiting off the state and the people who live it that you hate so much.
They are slightly different restaurants – In N Out has a more limited menu, so it is kind of a difficult comparison – for the price, a double double is hard to beat, but the Habit has the best burgers and more.
The owners of In-N-Out are radicalized far-right Christian nationalists.
So are the owners of Chick-Fil-A. Does that affect the quality of the food? I’m missing the point of your comment on this thread.
It matters to people with a sense of morality.
Agreed, and I base my choices accordingly. But what does it have to do with a story comparing the quality of the food at various chains? That’s all. Good point, wrong place.
Nice of you to be the arbiter of free speech. THAT’S MY PURSE, I DON’T KNOW YOU!!!
Sorry, GT, no restraint on free speech intended or implied. Speak out, that’s the American way. I was only curious about what the OP’s comment had to do with the article or the subject being discussed. No one could answer, fine. But, please, keep exercising your right of free speech while we still have it. Go, Bobby!
All good anon. GO Bobby lol
It WAS answered.
Whoosh!
I haven’t laughed that hard at nonsense for some time.
Tell us what your “morality” is.
I would love to know.
You constantly post nonsense, so you must have built up a tolerance.
It affects the taste and quality of the food if I’m lining the pockets of people who are overly concerned with and want to control who I love.
Just curious: what other food places do you boycott? Chick-Fil-A for sure. How about McDonalds and Habit, which are owned by large corporations – do they meet the test?
That’s an aggro sign! Capitalism and free enterprise in full effect. Like it. In and Out fries are really weak. And the Turnpike location ain’t worth it, sitting in a giant line. But there’s a reason why it’s so busy. Some people only care about politics.
But basic, is In-N-Out better than the burgers you used to make in the galley on the Hornet?
Haha. Never ran the galley on that boat. Just the deckhand. Why do you ask? I know, ‘cause you’re bored.
I’ve got a ton of photos from the decks of the Hornet from back in the day 🙂
“Just the deckhand?” Nah, you said you RAN the deck. Nice backpedal…. again.
Executive Senior Lead VIP Deckhand AKA Galley Gimp
That’s what the deckhand does, guy. You didn’t know that? Didn’t you say you were a regular down there back then? Hmm…
Do you remember the Captain’s name since you rode the boat weekly?
Mike thought you made a mean grilled cheese Basic. You swabbed the head really well but never did get your ticket.
Well you did a crap job at it since I was always tying dropper loops for people around me who didn’t know what they were doing.
Also, Stardust had the best burgers. Hands down. I do miss the Hornet though. I think my buddy’s older brother has a piece of it that Jason gave him back in the 90s.
Good! In n out has always been overrated. Good prices, but Habit has healthier options and better burgers in my opinion.
Very amusing (even if the political/evangelical leanings of In N Out are not), but around here, the stand-alone burger spots like Third Window, Chubbie’s, and Tinker’s in Summerland are so much better that it never occurs to me to go to these big chains?
Chubbies is awesome. Been meaning to try Window
Window Burgers way better.
I still like the Nugget-Summerland!
Never could understand the fuss about In-N-Out, The Habit is way better. But for my burger fix it’s gotta be Chubbie’s.
PS: see also https://www.sfgate.com/centralcoast/article/california-burger-beats-habit-in-n-out-20826461.php
Hmm…Chubbies. Been there a long time. I love how it’s an independent and hasn’t hardly changed at all in what, 30+ years? I sometimes feel like it’s a bit on the greasy side, but haven’t been there for a bit, and since you mentioned it I’ve been thinking I may need to go hit it today for lunch, just to be sure ; )
Long drive from UCSB
Since the Habit was bought by “Yum” (or whatever – the company that also owns Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut among others), quality has been slipping. It’s not our Hamburger Habit from yesteryear. Still good, but not #1.
Edhat this is news? come on ! Get to the point In & Out was smart to leave California. Part of the big exodus brought on by Newsum running and ruining of CA
Maybe you should leave California too. Don’t announce your exit, this isn’t an airport. You could live in Arkansas with the Huckabees! And take Chil-Fil-A with you.
Go find another site to troll if you don’t like it. Why haven’t you left CA yet?
Make room for someone smart.
I don’t know if they’ll keep doing it, it was a special – but the other day I had a terrific smash burger at The Nugget in Goleta – they humored me and put green chiles on it, a la New Mexico!