Halo Burger to open 2 more locations in Genesee County in 2011, expand to Oakland County
Thursday, June 02, 2011, 3:50 PM
By Kris Turner | The Flint Journal MLive.com
FLINT, Michigan — Metro Detroit will have multiple opportunities to take a bite out of a Flint staple in 2012.
Halo Burger plans to build two to three new stores in Oakland County next year as part of a franchise expansion, said Lou Dortch Jr., president of Dortch Enterprises, which owns Halo Burger.
Dortch isn’t sure where he’ll build the stores but said he has a few ideas of where he might start.
“Maybe we’d want to be in Clarkston and then down in Auburn Hills,” he said, noting that he isn’t eyeing any properties at the moment.
Dortch announced earlier this year that he wanted to spread Halo Burger across Mid-Michigan, but said Thursday that next year seems like the right time to bring the restaurant to Oakland County, he said Thursday.
That expansion will follow the construction of two new stores in Genesee County. Halo Burgers will be constructed near Grand Blanc High School East Campus and on Lapeer Road in Davison.
“We’d like to grow first within Genesee County, but as we expand, we will look at North Oakland and Oakland County and grow centrally from there,” Dortch said.
The new restaurants will cost about $750,000 to $1 million to construct and will have an updated design, Dortch said. For each store that is built, 20 to 30 jobs will be created, he added.
Halo Burger now employs about 200 people and doesn’t release its sales figures to the public.
The menu will be a bit more streamlined but won’t venture far from the current staples, such as olive-covered Kewpee burgers.
“The core menu items will not change,” Dortch said.
Halo Burger originally was Kewpee Hotel Hamburgers, which began in Flint around 1923. Kewpee eventually was taken over by Bill Thomas, who created Halo Burger in the late 1960s.
The franchise was passed to Thomas’ son, Terry Thomas, who expanded beyond Flint to its current locations across Genesee County.
The Thomas family sold the Halo Burger empire last year — turning it over to Dortch — who also about 40 Subway restaurants throughout the greater Flint and metro Detroit area.
Thursday, June 02, 2011, 3:50 PM
By Kris Turner | The Flint Journal MLive.com
FLINT, Michigan — Metro Detroit will have multiple opportunities to take a bite out of a Flint staple in 2012.
Halo Burger plans to build two to three new stores in Oakland County next year as part of a franchise expansion, said Lou Dortch Jr., president of Dortch Enterprises, which owns Halo Burger.
Dortch isn’t sure where he’ll build the stores but said he has a few ideas of where he might start.
“Maybe we’d want to be in Clarkston and then down in Auburn Hills,” he said, noting that he isn’t eyeing any properties at the moment.
Dortch announced earlier this year that he wanted to spread Halo Burger across Mid-Michigan, but said Thursday that next year seems like the right time to bring the restaurant to Oakland County, he said Thursday.
That expansion will follow the construction of two new stores in Genesee County. Halo Burgers will be constructed near Grand Blanc High School East Campus and on Lapeer Road in Davison.
“We’d like to grow first within Genesee County, but as we expand, we will look at North Oakland and Oakland County and grow centrally from there,” Dortch said.
The new restaurants will cost about $750,000 to $1 million to construct and will have an updated design, Dortch said. For each store that is built, 20 to 30 jobs will be created, he added.
Halo Burger now employs about 200 people and doesn’t release its sales figures to the public.
The menu will be a bit more streamlined but won’t venture far from the current staples, such as olive-covered Kewpee burgers.
“The core menu items will not change,” Dortch said.
Halo Burger originally was Kewpee Hotel Hamburgers, which began in Flint around 1923. Kewpee eventually was taken over by Bill Thomas, who created Halo Burger in the late 1960s.
The franchise was passed to Thomas’ son, Terry Thomas, who expanded beyond Flint to its current locations across Genesee County.
The Thomas family sold the Halo Burger empire last year — turning it over to Dortch — who also about 40 Subway restaurants throughout the greater Flint and metro Detroit area.