Halo Burger facts for kids
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Trade name
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Halo Burger |
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| Private LLC | |
| Industry | Fast food |
| Founded | Flint, Michigan, U.S. (1923) |
| Founder | Samuel V. Blair |
| Headquarters |
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United States
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Number of locations
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Area served
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MI: Central Michigan |
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Key people
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| Products |
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| Members | Chance Richie Daniel Stern |
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Number of employees
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350 (2013) |
Halo Burger is a popular American fast-food restaurant chain. It started in Genesee County, Michigan. The company began way back in 1923. It was first part of another chain called Kewpee. Later, in 1967, it became its own company with the name Bill Thomas' Halo Burger. Today, Halo Burger has several locations around Genesee County, serving up tasty burgers and more!
It's a bit tricky to say exactly when Halo Burger started. This is because it grew from an older restaurant called Kewpee. This original Kewpee opened in 1923. It grew into a chain before 1944. That's when Bill Thomas started his own business. He leased the first Kewpee location. This business later became Halo Burger.
Contents
History
The story of Halo Burger began with Samuel V. Blair. He opened the Kewpee Hotel restaurant in downtown Flint in 1923. His idea was very popular. By 1939, there were about 400 Kewpee locations. These were opened by other people who paid to use the Kewpee name.
In 1926, Blair sold the rights to the Kewpee name to Edwin Adams. Adams ran a Kewpee restaurant in Toledo, Ohio. A man named William "Bill" V. Thomas started working at Blair's Kewpee in 1938. When Blair retired on April 1, 1944, Thomas began leasing the original Flint location from him. Blair passed away in 1945. Thomas kept leasing the restaurant and paid Adams to use the Kewpee name. In 1958, Thomas was able to buy the Flint location. He also opened a second Kewpee in downtown Flint in 1951. He did this by buying a building that used to be a Vernor's Ginger Ale shop.
Becoming Halo Burger
In 1967, Edwin Adams changed how he worked with the Kewpee restaurants. He wanted them to become full franchises. This meant they would have to follow more rules. Bill Thomas didn't agree with this new plan. So, he changed the name of his restaurants to Bill Thomas' Halo Burger.
The first restaurant to open only under the Halo Burger name was in 1973. It was on Linden Road. Sadly, Bill Thomas passed away that same year. In 1976, two more Halo Burger locations opened. One was on Pierson Road, and another was in Grand Blanc. In 1979, the original Harrison Street location closed. It made way for parking for the University of Michigan-Flint. The workers from that location moved to a new Halo Burger on Flint's east side.
The 1980s were a time of big growth for Halo Burger. Ten more locations opened! In 1984, another downtown Flint location opened. In 1985, Halo Burger expanded to Birch Run. This location was inside a gas station. More locations opened in Saginaw and Flint's Southwest side in 1986. Another Saginaw location followed in 1987. Also, the Richfield Road and Genesee Valley Center locations opened. Three more opened in 1988: in Fenton, on Atherton Road, and on Corunna Road. Some of these locations, like Saginaw, Genesee Valley Center, and Corunna Road, later closed. The downtown Grand Blanc location closed in 1998. It was replaced by a new one in Grand Blanc Township.
In 2002, Halo Burger opened a location at the University of Michigan-Flint University Center. This location closed in 2008. This was because new student housing offered 24-hour food service.
New Owners and Growth
In 2010, the Thomas family decided to sell the Halo Burger chain. Bill Thomas's son was not interested in taking over. So, the nine restaurants were sold to Dortch Enterprises. This company also runs many Subway restaurants in Michigan. The sale was completed on December 29, 2010.
Dortch Enterprises had big plans for Halo Burger. They wanted to open new locations. They also planned to update the existing restaurants. They aimed for a "fast-casual feel." This meant using warm colors and nicer decorations. In 2011, the company announced plans to add locations in the Oakland County and Detroit areas. They hoped to open 2 to 3 new restaurants each year. Dortch felt Halo Burger would do well near universities. These included Michigan State University in East Lansing and University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. However, plans for these cities were put on hold.
In June 2011, the company started building a 10th location. It was in Grand Blanc Township on Holly Road. Three other spots were chosen for new locations: Fenton, Lapeer, and Davison. The Holly Road location opened in October.
In February 2012, a new Halo Burger opened in a gas station in Mount Morris. In August 2012, Dortch got approval to build a joint Halo Burger-Subway location. This was on Belsay Road in Burton.
In January 2013, the Fenton Halo Burger moved. It went into a building that used to be a Burger King. A new Brighton, Michigan location was set to open in May. This would have been their first in the Metro Detroit area. In March, Dortch announced plans for five Oakland County locations. These were in Troy, Clarkston, Novi, Bingham Farms, and Farmington Hills. An East Lansing location was also planned. The joint Halo Burger-Subway in Burton opened on March 27.
In 2013, there was a disagreement about a Twitter account. A man in Grand Blanc was using the @haloburger name. The company wanted him to give it to them. The man said he wasn't using it for business. He also said Twitter names are given to the first person to claim them. The company decided to drop the issue.
On May 8, 2013, the Halo Burger in Clarkston opened. It was the first in Oakland County. This location had a "fast casual" style. It did not have a drive-through. In October, new locations were being built in Ferndale and Rochester. A Lansing location opened on October 7.
In March 2014, a third fast-casual location opened in Troy. In July, Dortch Halo opened its seventeenth location at the Brighton Mall. By 2016, two locations, Troy and Clarkston, had closed.
Halo Country Takes Over
On January 14, 2016, Dortch Enterprises sold the 15 Halo Burger restaurants to Halo Country LLC. Chance Richie, who works in investments, owns most of Halo Country. During the Flint water crisis, the three Flint and Burton locations gave out free bottled water. They had help from Coca Cola Company.
In March 2016, Halo Burger started making changes to its downtown Flint location. They also planned to update locations in Birch Run and on Linden Road in Flint Township. Offices were added upstairs at the downtown location. Also in March, a new location opened at the Palace of Auburn Hills. This was the chain's first partnership with a professional sports team. Starting in July 2016, Halo Burger also got a food truck. It would be used for community events.
Three locations closed in late September 2016. These were Brighton, Novi, and Fenton Road. They closed because sales were not good. Halo Country thought a drive-through would help sales in the Metro Detroit area. But the cost was too high. By September 29, 2016, the Brighton location had closed. A new restaurant called Burgerland opened there.
Two stores in Genesee County closed on January 6, 2017. The Mt. Morris Township location was in a gas station. Halo Burger could not agree on a new lease there. They are looking for a new spot to reopen later. The Richfield Road location closed due to low sales. It was also very close to three other Halo Burger restaurants. In September 2017, the Holly Road location closed. It was later leased to another restaurant in August 2018.
In January 2017, Halo Burger signed Andre Drummond as its first spokesperson. He is a famous basketball player. He became interested in Flint because of the water crisis. In February 2017, Drummond designed his own burger. It was called the Dre Burger. It joined the menu in April 2017. There was a special event to launch it in May.
Thrillist magazine named Halo Burger one of the 10 most underrated burger chains in February 2017. They said The Beefy Double cheeseburger was the best. They also mentioned the Olive Burger as a signature item. The "drink of choice" was the Boston Cooler. Halo Burger also brought back a special coffee deal. It started on January 3, 2018. A regular coffee cost the same as the high temperature of the day. But it was never less than 10 cents. This deal was only on weekdays.
By March 18, 2018, the downtown Flint location started serving breakfast again. They had stopped about ten years before. The chain plans to offer breakfast at other locations throughout the year.
Menu
Halo Burger offers a variety of tasty items. Here are some of their most popular choices:
- 'Q.P.: This burger was originally called the Kewpee. Its name sounds like "Q.P." The Q.P. also means it's a quarter-pound hamburger. This is still one of Halo Burger's most popular sandwiches. Many people enjoy it with olives.
- Olive Burger: This is a Q.P. burger with olives.
- The Beefy Double: A popular burger with two patties.
- Boston Cooler: A special drink made with Vernor's Ginger Ale.
- Specialty burgers:
- BLT Cheddar Burger
- Hula Burger
- Thai Burger
- Marsala Brie
- HaloPeño Burger
- Dre Burger: This special burger has two patties, bacon, cheese, pineapple, crispy and raw onion rings. It also has a mix of Halo and BBQ sauces.
- Hot dogs: These are supplied by Koegel.
- Coney dog: A Flint-style hot dog.
- Salads
- Turkey burger: Made with Jennie-O turkey.
Notable Location
The Downtown Flint Halo Burger location has an interesting history. It used to be a Vernor's Retail Store and Sandwich shop. That building was built in 1929. A large mural of Vernor's Ginger Ale covers the building next door. It shows the ginger ale's gnome mascot. The artist was John Gonsowski. Inside the restaurant, the iron railings still have large "V" shapes. These are a nod to its Vernor's past.
Awards
Halo Burger has won several awards over the years for its delicious food:
- 1978: Named one of the Top 100 United States Burgers by a national radio survey.
- 1983: Voted Flint's #1 hamburger by a Flint Journal Newspaper survey.
- 2000: Voted Michigan's #1 hamburger by a Detroit News Reader Survey.
- 2011: Won Best Hamburger in the Genesee Readers' Choice Awards from The Flint Journal.
See also
- List of hamburger restaurants
