Have you ever heard of Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers? No? Nicely you’re about to learn an entire article about it, as a result of the chain is headed to the Seattle space subsequent 12 months.
Freddy’s is a fast-casual chain that was based in Kansas in 2002 and now has over 400 places throughout the U.S., primarily within the South and Midwest. Its presence on the West Coast and within the Pacific Northwest is fairly minimal: There are six Freddy’s in California and eight in Idaho, however none in both Oregon or Washington.
That’s set to alter. Final week the chain introduced that it had reached an settlement with an organization known as Puget Sound Bites, Inc., run by Imrit Chattrath and Jasdeep Singh, to convey 10 Freddy’s places to the Seattle space. A spokesperson stated that the franchisees “have their eyes on Puyallup, Marysville, and Everett for the primary a number of places — December of 2025 being after they hope to open the primary, with the remaining rolling out consecutively from there.”
Diners can anticipate a intentionally retro vibe not not like Seattle’s homegrown burger model Dick’s. Freddy’s menu options custard relatively than ice cream and the model’s font and design selections recall Fifties-style Americana. The face and namesake of the chain is Frederick “Freddy” Simon, a World Struggle II veteran whose sons based Freddy’s and named it in his honor. Simon died in 2020 and the chain was offered to the personal fairness agency Thompson Road Capital Companions six months later, so it is a enterprise whose homespun origin story is fairly firmly within the rearview mirror.
Its steakburgers haven’t modified, although, and Seattleites would possibly marvel — what’s a steakburger? In line with the weblog Sandwich Tribunal, the phrase historically denoted a burger created from ground-up steak, a leaner lower of beef than what’s utilized in hamburgers. Essentially the most well-known steakburger chain is Steak ‘n Shake, whose founder, Sandwich Tribunal writes, “was stated to roll a barrel of steaks–T-bone, sirloin, and spherical–into the eating space and grind it in full view of his clients, in order that they’d know that his ‘steakburgers’ had been created from precise steak.” On the Freddy’s web site, the chain brags that its burgers are made with “100% lean floor beef.” The patties are additionally very skinny (clients usually order doubles), so these are principally smash burgers.
Steak ‘n Shake tried to enter the Seattle market a number of years in the past and landed with a thud, so every time it opens, Freddy’s can have the steakburger lane all to itself.
