Casey Biehl Is Leading a Back-to-Basics Reboot for BurgerFi After Acquiring the Brand in Florida Late Last Year

When Fat Boy’s Restaurant Group acquired BurgerFi in Florida in December 2024, the goal wasn’t just to expand — it was to bring a once-beloved better-burger brand back to life by returning to its roots, streamlining operations and reestablishing purpose in a crowded market. “We went in thinking we could convert BurgerFi locations into Savvy Sliders and have a 40-store footprint in the market,” said Casey Biehl, chief operating officer of Fat Boy’s. “But after visiting a few locations, we were like, ‘Oh crap, this is a badass concept. I don’t know what went wrong, but this thing is badass.’”

In a recent episode of the “Meet the Zor” podcast, Biehl shared with Nick Powills, founder and publisher of 1851 Franchise, how he and his team discovered unexpected value in the struggling BurgerFi brand and chose to revive it by returning to its roots, streamlining operations and focusing on profitability and purpose rather than rapid expansion.

Biehl brings experience from the hospitality world, including Caesars Entertainment, where he helped launch concepts like Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen in Dubai. “In many capacities, I was on the other end of it, as a licensee.,” he said. “So, coming into this quest, there were some commonalities — things I could be empathetic toward. The opportunity to branch out and do something on our own was really the thing that interested me most. Getting out of corporate America and being part of a small, family-oriented team that grew to the size we are today.”

Biehl and his team originally sought BurgerFi locations to quickly scale their Savvy Sliders concept in Florida, but the plan shifted once they saw potential in the brand. “[We decided to] go back to where it started — great products, no hormones, no antibiotics, a brand you can trust,” he said. “They’d massaged the quality down and raised prices. We’re just taking out the middle part of the brand’s lifecycle and going back to the beginning.”

Biehl says the turnaround strategy includes reintroducing BurgerFi’s original 75/25 Wolverine burger blend, investing in franchisee support and operations, exploring smaller footprints with drive-thrus and even evaluating co-branding opportunities. “We’re still working on an FDD [Franchise Disclosure Document] for BurgerFi. We have three petitioned FDDs, so I’m not in a position to talk about the growth model yet. We’re evaluating drive-thrus. Ten years ago, 75-80% of BurgerFi’s business was dine-in. Now, 75% is going out the door. We’re shrinking footprints — formerly 3,500 to 4,000 square feet — down to as low as possible. We had a meeting with a modular group that presented a 1,200-square-foot version with a walk-up window and drive-thru.”

Biehl has several initiatives currently underway as part of BurgerFi’s reset strategy. “I’ve never been more excited,” he said. “We had lunch with a franchisee in Atlanta who said, ‘You’re number 16.’ So there’s trepidation. But we’re entering catering. We’re getting rid of seed oil. There’s a huge opportunity for organic awareness through the FDA. I’m blown away by how great the BurgerFi franchisees are. They still love the brand and want to grow.”

A transcript of Powills’ interview with Casey has been provided below. It has been edited for clarity, brevity and style.

Nick Powills: So, Casey, what's your accidental franchise story? I know you accidentally fell into franchising. How did that happen?

Casey Biehl: The story goes back many, many years with a parent company of ours. Deep-rooted into the DNA of our parent company is a family business. It’s truly a remarkable story. The owner and founder of our parent company first got into this business as a 16-year-old boy taking over a pizzeria in downtown Detroit. That evolved into many different opportunities that, due to sudden and quick growth, led to a necessity — required by the state of Michigan — to actually become a franchise. So, it was something that was forced and mandated. He was doing it unintentionally, and that led us to where we are today.

Powills: And that is — Fat Boy’s starts us?

Biehl: No, the genesis of our quest started with Happy Asker and Happy’s Pizza. It started as an inline pizza place in the hard neighborhoods of downtown Detroit. What catapulted the success was essentially being the only pizza place in the city willing to deliver into those rough neighborhoods. There are genuinely some great people in those neighborhoods that didn’t receive services — whether it was police or other essential services. Pizza delivery and food delivery were something that had been taken away. They really quickly accepted and appreciated the willingness of a young entrepreneur to reactivate that platform and option for them.

Powills: So, you personally — you were at Caesars Entertainment, and you came over as COO for Fat Boys. You're entering the franchise space in a traditional sense at that point. How was that transition for you?

Biehl: It’s been incredible. With Caesars, we functioned in some ways with many different licensing agreements. I had the pleasure of opening Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen at the Caesars Dubai property and was part of that opening team. In the portfolio, you have brands such as Nobu, Cake Boss and, as I mentioned, Gordon Ramsay. In many capacities, I was on the other end of it, as a licensee. So, coming into this quest, there were some commonalities — things I could be empathetic toward. The opportunity to branch out and do something on our own was really the thing that interested me most. Getting out of corporate America and being part of a small, family-oriented team that grew to the size we are today.

Powills: Out of curiosity, because none of these conversations are scripted, it goes wherever it goes — I think about being on the franchisor side. If I said, “Hey, food franchisors, Casey’s looking for something to put in a plant in Caesars,” they would all beat down the door. “Let me in! Let me in! You guys should be licensing our brand!” But you’re looking at franchise brands — most of the ones you mentioned are not franchises. They’re corporate entities that are breaking into the food space. For a franchisor trying to knock on your door, was there anything they could do to gain your attention?

Biehl: Yeah. Especially in the Caesars flags, there's a 40% EBITDA mandate per property. Being a hospitality leader in that space is quite challenging because your vertical is always the one eroding all the gaming margins. So, the lead with any kind of Caesars Entertainment dialogue should first be economics and then second be the complementary experience that is a driver. It’s a competitive space now. To be a brand separator, you need to allow the casino host to offer free food and free entertainment at a venue that’s difficult to get into. That’s definitely a compelling element.

Powills: Was that the same for the food courts? To hold a 40% net for a restaurant brand is incredible.

Biehl: From a philosophical belief or performance standpoint — either/or? I’ll give you an example. When we converted Harrah’s New Orleans to Caesars New Orleans, there was a great deal of dialogue. I was the knucklehead at the end of the table battling with the president of Caesars at the time. They said, “We’re in New Orleans. We need to make this a Creole experience. People come here for the food.”

I’m from New Orleans, and my perspective is that it’s very difficult to recreate the authenticity of that city — especially in a sterile environment like a casino. So I argued, “If we’re going to put a bunch of Creole cuisine in here, what’s going to stop the consumer from walking across the street to the 150-year-old restaurant that knows how to do it?” Eventually, we landed on a celebrity-centric food court — names like Nina Compton, Buddy V, Bobby Flay. It became a repertoire of marketable names. It’s no longer a food court; it’s iconic featured people that are synonymous with great food in a food court environment.

Powills: That’s genius. The argument I make, and this could go to BurgerFi too, is you have to have a “Why you, why now?” The user is going to the casino to gamble, but for these supplementary income areas like food and beverage, there needs to be a theme. That theme has to answer the question of “Why you, why now?” I think Found in Blue going from Miami to opening in a Vegas casino follows that same blueprint — adding the celebrity focus.

Biehl: Sure.

Powills: Let’s get into the brand. So BurgerFi — give the backstory on the business and how you guys took it over.

Biehl: I’ve never been part of an acquisition before. I’ve been inside companies that were acquired, but from an evaluation standpoint, it was kind of terrifying. Am I the person qualified to make this assessment?

One of our brands is Savvy Sliders — about 50 stores with 50 in development. It’s growing fast — about 90% of the growth in our entire portfolio. Two years ago, we signed a lease in Tamarac, outside Miami. It took 19 months to get a temporary permit. Approximately 40 months after lease signing, we just got approval to open our drive-thru. So we realized, if we want to get into the Florida market quickly, we need another way. We thought, “Here’s a distressed business that has a great deal of life.”

We went in thinking we could convert BurgerFi locations into Savvy Sliders and have a 40-store footprint in the market. But after visiting a few locations, we were like, “Oh crap, this is a badass concept. I don’t know what went wrong, but this thing is badass.” You could see the bones were there. So it happened organically.

Looking at their P&Ls — $13 million in corporate expenses? We don’t need to do that. We don’t need a $65,000-a-month suite overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. There were just a series of base hits — line-item things. We realized, “This is going to pencil.” We already have the infrastructure. Let’s go back to where it started — great products, no hormones, no antibiotics, a brand you can trust. They’d massaged the quality down and raised prices. We’re just taking out the middle part of the brand’s lifecycle and going back to the beginning.

Powills: I love that. The brand had a point of differentiation when it first came out. Five Guys created the better burger space, but over time, their operations fell. Now it’s wide open. The burger consumer hasn’t changed; the brands just sold to the wrong franchisees, didn’t perfect the operations and lost their core.

Biehl: It appeared as though a lot of their growth happened by seeing a franchisee do really well — then opening another one three miles away. Instead of one great location, they had two mediocre ones. The growth looked like a vine — one here, one there.

What we do is reinvest about half of our royalty into operational support in the market. We layer our corporate payroll with people in-market who drive local area marketing and ensure best-in-class guest experience. Instead of just growing for the sake of growth, our objective is great stores.

None of this has been super hard — it’s just hard work and common sense. About 86% of the leadership now on the BurgerFi payroll are former operators, including people in accounting and marketing. Everything we look at is through the operator’s prism.

Powills: That’s what you did at that board meeting about Caesars and Creole food. You’re creating purpose. And because you fell into franchising later in your career, you’re coming at this from the lens of good business — unlike most franchisors, who think the way to win next year is to sell more franchises. But if you reinvest in the current locations and increase gross margins, your royalties go up.

Biehl: It’s a saying we use a lot: we want a little bit of a lot. We’ve had a lot of discussions with the BurgerFi franchise system. Instead of lowering royalties, let’s match you on the marketing spend. We’re coming out of pocket with the mentality of growth, not cutting our way to success. You invest in marketing, gross sales go up, and you recoup the investment right away through royalty. It’s not hard science.

Powills: Let’s hit the investment. You're taking a distressed brand, rebuilding the foundation — cost to get in? Item 19?

Biehl: We're still working on an FDD for BurgerFi. We have three petitioned FDDs, so I’m not in a position to talk about the growth model yet. We're evaluating drive-thrus. Ten years ago, 75–80% of BurgerFi’s business was dine-in. Now, 75% is going out the door. We're shrinking footprints — formerly 3,500 to 4,000 square feet — down to as low as possible. We had a meeting with a modular group that presented a 1,200-square-foot version with a walk-up window and drive-thru.

At Savvy Sliders in Gulfport, Mississippi, they’re on pace to recoup their initial investment in six months. Not saying that’s the model, but when we mitigate upfront capital — get in for half a million to $700,000 — we can start seeing ROI quickly.

Powills: Early on, BurgerFi was targeting old Burger Kings — not bad real estate, but not aligned with where the market was going. If they’d targeted something like Checkers or Rally’s, it would have worked better.

Franchisees don’t care about bells and whistles — they care about making money.

Biehl: I get a message every day from the Gulfport franchisee about a new site. That’s when we start winning. He left another slider concept, forfeited $75,000 to come to Savvy Sliders. That other brand was doing land leases and modular buildings costing $1.4 million to $1.5 million — hard to site, hard to permit. The top-line revenue might be neutral, but on the bottom line, we win.

Powills: What’s winning in the next year?

Biehl: I’ve never been more excited. We had lunch with a franchisee in Atlanta who said, “You’re number 16.” So there’s trepidation. But we’re entering catering. We’re getting rid of seed oil. There’s a huge opportunity for organic awareness through the FDA. I’m blown away by how great the BurgerFi franchisees are. They still love the brand and want to grow.

Let’s slow-roll it. Let’s roll out smart initiatives based on data. Six weeks ago, on Dec. 13, 2024, we acquired BurgerFi. We went back to the original burger blend — the 75/25 Wolverine patty — and already saw a sales lift.

Powills: People buy from people. When I saw this podcast booked, I was skeptical — but this is really good. You’ve sold me. When BurgerFi first came out, the buzz was huge, but the expectations were misaligned. If you reset those and apply what you’re doing, you’ll see wins.

Watch the full interview above or on YouTube.