Cheeseburger Bobby’s takes aim at big chains

After building and then selling a 35-unit pizza chain, brothers Bob and Richard Stoll said their next venture, Cheeseburger Bobby’s, had a simple motivation.

A good hamburger has consumer appeal, they said.

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HYOSUB SHIN/hshin@ajc.com

After building and then selling a 35-store pizza chain, brothers Richard (left) and Bobby Stoll have gone into the burger business.

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“It’s what people crave,” Bob Stoll, 45, said.

“It’s what we crave,” Richard Stoll, 40, quickly added.

The Stoll brothers opened their first Cheeseburger Bobby’s in August 2007 in Hiram. By the second quarter of 2009, they plan to open seven more outlets in metro Atlanta.

The second Cheeseburger Bobby’s is expected to open in October in Marietta. The Stoll brothers also are negotiating leases for sites in Acworth, Suwanee, Dawsonville, Snellville, Alpharetta and Canton. The parent company, Cheeseburger Bobby’s International LLC, is based in Kennesaw.

The Stolls hope to have 50 stores by the end of 2010, challenging other gourmet burger restaurants such as Five Guys Burgers and Fries. About 20 percent of the stores are expected to be company owned, the Stolls said.

Cheeseburger Bobby’s marks the second concept for Bob and Richard Stoll. They started Stevi B’s, a chain of pizza buffet restaurants, in 1996 before selling the company this year to Atlanta-based Argonne Capital.

The Stolls said they sold Stevi B’s to concentrate on Cheeseburger Bobby’s.

“To be fair to the franchisees, it’s good to focus on one concept,” Bob Stoll said. “We decided to get behind Cheeseburger Bobby’s 100 percent.”

Cheeseburger Bobby’s features gourmet burgers, fresh-cut fries and frozen custard. It offers a classic burger as well as specialty burgers, such as the smokehouse, the black and bleu and the chili cheeseburger.

Guests can top their own burger from a dressings bar. Prices for a combo range from $7 to $9.

Cheeseburger Bobby’s enters a growing segment of fast-casual burger restaurants, said Darren Tristano, executive vice president of Technomic, a Chicago-based restaurant research and consulting firm.

Although some fast-food burger chains have leveled off in recent years in the United States, a higher class of burger chains is emerging, Tristano said. These chains appeal to consumers seeking a product and experience a notch above fast food but without the price of a full-service restaurant, he said.

“It’s a great way to compete not only with casual dining but also traditional fast food burger chains,” Tristano said.

Cheeseburger Bobby’s, though, won’t be alone, he said. A host of chains has entered this niche, including Virginia-based Five Guys, Colorado-based Smashburger and The Counter, based in California.

The Stoll brothers say they understand their new chain will face competition, but they also see opportunity. The pizza business was fiercely competitive, too. Domino’s, Pizza Hut, Papa John’s and CiCi’s Pizza had more outlets and resources.

“We competed against brands that were better capitalized and had national advertising,” Richard Stoll said. “It was David and Goliath, and we fared very well.”

The best way to compete with the larger chains is provide good customer service and a quality product in each restaurant, they said. “We have to market well within our four walls,” Bob Stoll said.