May 20, 2013

Industry News | February 22, 2013

Meatheads Opens 11th Unit on March 11

Meatheads, a fast-casual restaurant that provides a full-service made-to-order dining experience serving high-quality, fresh, never-frozen ingredients, is opening its 11th restaurant in Elmhurst, Illinois, on Monday, March 11.

Members of the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce will join Meatheads in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday at 10 a.m.

The first 1,000 people to register online will receive a free burger at the Elmhurst location. After signing up, the free burger certificate will be sent through e-mail.

Meatheads is an active community member in all cities that have a restaurant. All profits from soft-opening lunch and dinners will support the Elmhurts YMCA Youth Basketball League and the Elmhurst Baseball League.

In addition to donating proceeds from the opening, Meatheads operates the following charity programs:

  • Meatheads of the Month recognizes exceptional local high school athletes who demonstrate determination, hustle, and hard work. Every month athletes from local high schools are selected to be nominees, the public votes, and once selected, the picture of the athlete is proudly displayed in a Meatheads store for the year.
  • Voracious Reading Program is a summer reading program that encourages kids to read more books. More than 60,000 kids participated in 2012. 
  • Meathead of the Game is a program that celebrates young athletes in organized sports who choose to participate in real games, rather than play video games, and is designed to reward determination, hustle, and hard work in local youth athletes. In 2012, more than 50,000 kids participated.

Meatheads also offers nonprofit groups, schools, and other community organizations the opportunity to raise funds by having a fundraiser at a local Meatheads store.

In addition to serving 100 percent fresh, certified Angus beef, the menu also includes chicken tenders and chicken, grilled cheese, bacon, egg & cheese, BLT, and ALT (avocado, lettuce, tomato and mayo) sandwiches, as well as a New England–Style Hot Dog. 

The menu has “Chef Inspired Burgers” such as the Patty Melt, NY Reuben, Cajun Sunrise, Californian, Texas Ranch, and Hawaiian. The french fries are made with Real Idaho potatoes; they are fresh-cut every day and cooked in 100 percent omega-rich canola oil, part of a 32-step process, cooked by a real chef to create a crispy texture.

There is no microwave on site, and the only item in the small freezer is ice cream for the hand-dipped milkshakes.

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QSR® magazine has always found space to report on the charitable works and deeds of members of the foodservice community. But recently it became important to us to step up our efforts, and the decision was made to consolidate these stories in one place so you, the reader, could easily learn about what the industry is doing when it comes to giving back.

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