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Whopper Idea Fits Tiny Space

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By JEFF HOUCK

jhouck@tampatrib.com

Published: March 11, 2009

ORLANDO - Three decades ago, Burger King invited customers to "Have it your way."

On Tuesday, the Miami-based corporation unveiled a Whopper Bar restaurant concept at Universal CityWalk that gives diners the option to choose from 22 sandwich toppings.

The new 700-square-foot quick-serve restaurant is a scaled-down version of a traditional 3,500-square-foot Burger King franchise. Also pared down is the menu, which uses the iconic Whopper sandwich as its cornerstone.

The company is using the new concept to remake its image, with different uniforms for crew members, a more modern and industrial design and a separate T-shirt studio that lets "superfans" buy customized BK garb.

Along with basic burgers, premium bar favorites include a Bourbon Whopper (made with bourbon-flavored sauce), an Angry Whopper (with spicy sauce, jalapeno cheese and onions) and a three-cheese Steakhouse XT burger.

The grand opening was full of fanfare as corporate executives and media gathered outside the restaurant. Even The King, Burger King's giant-headed mascot, got an escort from two leggy models in slinky black dresses. (For the record, Juan Mores, a 21-year-old tourist from Brazil, ordered the first Whopper Bar burger.)

Chuck Fallon, Burger King's president for North America, said the restaurant's smaller operating footprint and streamlined menu make the concept flexible enough to fit in such nontraditional venues as cruise ships, casinos and sports stadiums.

Fallon said the Whopper Bar was inspired by a restaurant in Germany that uses storefronts on opposite sides of its building to serve different menus to customers.

"That was six months ago we saw that," Fallon said. "In our world, that's a lightning-fast turnaround to be able to open today."

Reporter Jeff Houck can be reached at (813) 259-7324.

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