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Umami Burger

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Umami Burger
Company typePrivate
IndustryRestaurant
Founded2009; 15 years ago (2009)
FounderAdam Fleischman
HeadquartersLos Angeles, California
Number of locations
25 (2017)
Area served
California, Illinois, Nevada, New York, Japan
Owners
Websitewww.umamiburger.com

Umami Burger is a hamburger chain based in Los Angeles, California.[1] The name refers to the umami (savory) flavor.[2][3] The restaurant was founded by Adam Fleischman, and it is part of the Umami Restaurant Group. Umami Burger offers waiter service, and most locations have a full bar.[4] Its first restaurant opened in Los Angeles in 2009. As of 2017, Umami Burger had over 25 locations across California, Florida, Illinois, Japan, Nevada, and New York.[5]

In 2016, Sam Nazarian's global hospitality company, SBE Entertainment Group, became the majority shareholder of Umami Restaurant Group and announced plans to accelerate the restaurant's global expansion.[6] In 2021, Alvin Cailan was named the head chef of Umami Burger.

History

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Adam Fleischman, an aspiring screenwriter, moved to Los Angeles in 1998.[7] In 2005, while eating a double cheeseburger at In-N-Out Burger, Fleischman pondered the popularity of burger and pizza restaurants in America. The word umami came to mind, a term he had seen on food blogs and in books by British chef Heston Blumenthal. It was then that Fleischman envisioned the financial potential of expanding on the basic burger and its umami properties.[7][8] At the time, he was managing a wine business, BottleRock Wine Bar in Culver City, which he co-owned and later sold.[2][8] He then held various consulting positions and started another wine bar.[8]

In 2009, Fleischman went to Mitsuwa Marketplace in West Los Angeles and bought any ingredient he could find with umami properties. He experimented for a month in his kitchen, mixing seaweeds, miso, fish sauce, soy, cheeses, and pungent dried fish with a blender. He then opened his first Umami Burger with $40,000 from the sale of BottleRock.[3][7][8] Located in Los Angeles on South La Brea Avenue,[2] it replaced a failed Korean-taco shop.[7]

Fleischman later partnered with hospitality group SBE, Nîmes Capital, and Fortress Investment Group to expand the chain.[2][7][9] After multiple openings in Los Angeles,[2] it expanded to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2011.[10] The original La Brea location closed in 2013 after its four-year lease expired; the site could only accommodate 60 people and lacked a liquor license, no longer fitting the company's plans.[9] Later that year, the first East Coast branch opened in Miami Beach, Florida,[11] New York locations were also scheduled to open.[12] By 2019, Umami Burger had expanded into Japan, opening its fifth location in Tokyo and its first in Osaka.[13] Alvin Cailan was named the new head chef of Umami Burger in 2021.[14]

The logo for the burger chain is an abstract graphic resembling a hamburger bun.[8]

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Umami's signature burger featuring a Parmesan crisp and roasted tomato.

The restaurant's burgers are made using 6-ounce (170 g) beef patties, mostly from American Wagyu beef, that are coarsely ground in-house.[4][7] The meat is seasoned with Umami Sauce—which contains soy sauce—and Umami Dust that includes ground-up dried porcini mushrooms and dried fish heads.[8] Their tomatoes are slow-baked overnight with a soy-based sauce to enhance their flavor. Parmesan, which is also umami-rich, is provided as a cheese crisp. The burgers are served on a soft, Portuguese-style bun. [7]

Umami Burger provides over a dozen different burgers, and substitutions are discouraged.[4][8] Priced at over $10, their burgers are more expensive than those at fast food restaurants.[15] Their signature Original Burger includes the Parmesan crisp, shiitake mushrooms, roasted tomato, caramelized onions, and a house ketchup.[16][17] In 2010, Umami Burger was named Burger of the Year by Alan Richman of GQ.[18]

An 'Old Fashion' Burger from Umami Burger
An 'Old Fashion' Burger, only available in Japanese branches

In 2014, Umami restaurants in California announced a partnership with Coolhaus, a Los Angeles-based ice cream sandwich maker, to provide rotating flavors of their ice cream sandwiches on the dessert menu.[19] In May 2017, Umami Burger partnered with Impossible Foods to create the Umami Impossible Burger, an entirely plant-based patty served with caramelized onions, American cheese, miso-mustard, house spread, dill pickles, lettuce, and tomato.[20]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Guerrero, Susana (February 10, 2023). "Popular LA-based burger chain permanently closes Oakland site". SFGATE. Retrieved October 28, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e Gelt, Jessica (August 11, 2011). "Umami Burger's brand sizzles with SBE backing". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 7, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Goodyear, Dana (December 14, 2011). "All Hail The Umami Burger". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on April 16, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c Fabricant, Florence (October 23, 2012). "Umami Burger Is Coming to New York". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 12, 2013.
  5. ^ "Find a Burger Restaurant near you - Umami Burger Restaurants". Umami Burger. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
  6. ^ Jennings, Lisa (October 17, 2016). "SBE takes majority stake in Umami Burger". Nrn.com. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Platt, Adam (May 26, 2013). "Umami Burger Comes to New York, Armed With One Addictive Ingredient". New York. Archived from the original on October 20, 2013.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Bargar Suter, Leslie (May 1, 2012). "Empire of the Bun". Los Angeles. Archived from the original on May 29, 2013.
  9. ^ a b Lacter, Mark (February 26, 2013). "Umami Burger shuts first store, picks up more investors for expansion". LAObserved.com. Archived from the original on June 2, 2013.
  10. ^ Lucchesi, Paolo (January 16, 2013). "Umami Burger taking big bite of Bay Area". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on June 8, 2013.
  11. ^ Doss, Laine (May 10, 2013). "Adam Fleischman, Umami Burger Founder and CEO: "We'll Resonate With Miami"". Miami New Times. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013.
  12. ^ Fabricant, Florence (March 8, 2013). "Umami Burger to Open in Williamsburg". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 3, 2013.
  13. ^ Zavoral, Linda (February 15, 2020). "Umami Burger closes in Palo Alto, leaving these 2 locations in the Bay Area". The Mercury News. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  14. ^ Quintana, Dolores; Catanzaro, Sam (November 11, 2021). "McCall's Meat & Fish Coming to Montana Avenue, P.F. Changs Leaves Santa Monica". Santa Monica Mirror. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  15. ^ Bennert, Jason (April 19, 2013). "Quick Bite: Umami Burger in Palo Alto". San Jose Mercury News. Archived from the original on May 12, 2013.
  16. ^ Hallock, Betty (June 7, 2013). "Small Bites: Umami Burger (II) and Salaryman in Los Feliz; Raphael in Studio City; Philippe on Melrose". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 7, 2014.
  17. ^ "Umami Santa Monica". umami.com. Archived from the original on June 22, 2013.
  18. ^ Richman, Alan (June 7, 2013). "Burger of the Year". GQ. Archived from the original on June 6, 2013.
  19. ^ Luna, Nancy (May 6, 2014). "Burger-ice cream marriage: Coolhaus and Umami hookup". Orange County Register. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  20. ^ Pierson, David (May 17, 2017). "Umami says its new veggie burger tastes like meat — and bleeds like meat". LA Times. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
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