Restaurant to open between May and June
A Burger King restaurant is due to open in the Algarve town of Lagoa “sometime between this month and June”, just months after Portuguese chain Burger Ranch opened a restaurant near Praia da Marinha – one of the borough’s famous picturesque beaches.
The American fast-food giant is investing €1.2 million to open the new restaurant on Rua dos Vales at the entrance of town, just a stone’s throw away from the EN125 road.
“Burger King in Lagoa is a space that is designed for family and friend gatherings with ample tables for an engaging experience,” said Jorge Carvalho, general manager of Burger King Portugal and Spain.
“It has an ample area (over 300sqm) and is prepared to welcome over 180 clients in a multifunctional space with tables inside and a pleasant outside seating area to enjoy whenever the weather permits it.”
The restaurant will also boast an area for children to “play safely while adults talk and enjoy their meal” and offer drive-thru, take-away and delivery services.
Photo: INÊS LOPES/OPEN MEDIA GROUP
This will be the chain’s first restaurant in Lagoa, a town that it says fits into its expansion plan.
“Burger King defends a proximity policy with its clients and has been implementing an ambitious expansion plan on national territory in recent years. In this context, it makes sense for the brand to be where its clients are and that is why it decided to invest in a new restaurant in Lagoa,” said the general manager.
“This restaurant will strengthen Burger King’s presence in the Faro district where it already has nine restaurants, the last of which was inaugurated at the end of last year in Vila Real de Santo António,” Carvalho said, adding that the Lagoa restaurant will create 25 direct jobs.
Burger King is one of the world’s largest and best-known fast-food chains. It is managed in Portugal and Spain by Ibersol, the ‘masterfranchiser’ behind the chain’s restaurants in the two countries. However, Restaurant Brands Iberia has reportedly presented a €250 million bid to take over the Burger King restaurants in Portugal. According to the latest reports, Ibersol had until Wednesday, May 11 to respond.
Ibersol is also the managing company behind other major names such as Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell.
According to statista.com, Burger King operated and franchised a total of 19,247 restaurants worldwide in 2021. The vast majority of these were franchised (19,196), while only 51 units remain company-operated as more and more were replaced with franchised restaurants.
