37 years ago 1979 as freddie fuddruckers headquarters houston texas u.s. parent luby s website www.fuddruckers.com fuddruckers restaurant rt. 1 saugus massachusetts 2001 fuddruckers is an american fast casual franchised restaurant chain that specializes in hamburgers . as of 2015 fuddruckers had 77 company operated restaurants and 111 franchises across the united states with one in saskatoon saskatchewan canada four in bahrain one in chile two in italy two in mexico one in panama one in dominican republic one in poland one in puerto rico two in beirut lebanon one in morocco five in united arab emirates and ten in saudi arabia and recently in colombia . the company headquarters is in houston texas . contents 1 history 1.1 founding and growth 1.2 bankruptcy and ownership changes 2 menu 3 business 3.1 headquarters 3.2 franchise model 4 see also 5 references 6 external links history edit the headquarters of luby s parent company of fuddruckers founding and growth edit fuddruckers was founded as freddie fuddruckers in 1979 by philip j. romano in san antonio texas in a location converted to a restaurant from an old bank . 1 he started the chain because he thought that the world needed a better hamburger . 2 the fuddruckers concept was to offer large hamburgers in which the meat was ground on site and buns were baked on the premises and hamburgers and other dishes were offered with lots of fresh sliced tomatoes onions lettuce and vats of cheese sauce . 3 in california fuddruckers competed at the high end of the fast food market against chains such as flakey jake s sometimes with head to head competitions in places such as northridge california . 3 by 1988 there were 150 restaurants in the chain according to a report in the new york times . 2 romano left the chain in 1988 to found romano s macaroni grill . 1 in an interview romano stated that i just felt i had done all i could for the concept . 2 fuddruckers was purchased in november 1998 by michael cannon and later it was purchased by magic brands . the restaurant sometimes made controversial decisions ; for example in 2010 it began enforcing a no weapons policy which insisted that patrons should not carry visible pistols unless they were security officials . 4 laws in some u.s. states allow people to carry guns visibly in public . fuddruckers management had been concerned that the presence of armed patrons might deter unarmed ones from visiting but the move caused controversy among pro gun advocates who threatened to retaliate with boycotts of fuddruckers restaurants . 4 in august 2014 fuddruckers opened the first of its new stores called fuddruckers deluxe in newport news virginia a full service sit down restaurant serving traditional and new menu items with a wait staff full bar and multiple tvs although it does not offer different size burgers or a produce and fixings bar like its traditional restaurants . one of three fuddruckers in colorado that closed in 2010 bankruptcy and ownership changes edit the 2008 financial crisis hit the restaurant industry hard including fuddruckers . on april 22 2010 the parent of fuddruckers austin based magic brands llc announced plans to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection . 5 it originally planned to sell most of its assets including fuddruckers and the koo koo roo brand eateries to the tavistock group for 40 million . 4 6 on the same day the firm announced that 24 fuddruckers restaurants would be closed several of them in the metro washington dc area . on june 18 2010 tavistock was outbid by luby s for fuddruckers assets at auction with a 61 million winning bid . 7 8 a second estimate was that the sale amount was for 63.45 million . 9 luby s acquisition of fuddruckers and koo koo roo was finalized in 2010 . during 2011 there were controversies with previous franchise owners regarding the use of the fuddruckers brand name according to the wall street journal . 10 menu edit cheeseburger fries and dip sauces at a fuddruckers the chain offered the original fudds burger in various sizes from 1 3 pound to 1 2 pound to 2 3 pound to 1 pound . 11 the primary focus is on hamburgers but other options are offered including chicken fish and exotic burgers buffalo elk and wild boar . 12 there is also speciality burgers salads a kids menu and desserts to choose from . 13 the firm in 2006 cooked up a publicity stunt . foxwood executive sous chef scott ferguson and mark collins made one of the largest commercially available hamburgers weighing 29.6 pounds and costing us 250 for the fuddruckers restaurant in the casino . the burger was 18.5 inches wide and 8 inches tall . 14 according to two sources this creation was the world s largest commercially available burger in 2006 . 14 15 in 2008 there was a report that the world s biggest burger title shifted to a sports bar in michigan . 16 the chain experimented with different types of burgers . for example one restaurant offered an elk burger but a food critic writing for slate magazine visiting a restaurant in washington d.c. was disappointed with the taste and described it as looking completely grey and complained about the chain s standards of consistency . 17 in 2011 the firm brought back two hamburgers entitled the southwest and the swiss melt as well as another entitled the inferno burger . business edit headquarters edit the firm has moved its headquarters location several times . currently the headquarters is the near northwest district of houston texas . 18 it has been there since the acquisition by luby s in 2010 . from 2005 to 2010 fuddruckers was headquartered in southwest austin texas ; 19 before that in one corporate place in danvers massachusetts ; 20 before that in beverly massachusetts . 21 22 when it shifted headquarters from the boston area to austin in 2005 it spent 1 million and laid off 30 employees which allowed the firm to operate more efficiently according to chief financial officer matt pannek . 23 within six weeks of the move the company hired 30 new employees for the austin headquarters . by september 2005 the company employed 80 people in 16 000 square feet 1 500 m2 of space in two temporary offices in the monterey oaks corporate park in southwest austin . by december 2005 the company planned to move into about 16 000 square feet 1 500 m2 17 000 square feet 1 600 m2 of space in an adjacent building and turn one of the original austin facilities into a training center and test kitchen . pannek said that the central location of the headquarters allows the company to more easily communicate with its franchisees across the united states . 23 franchise model edit while some fuddruckers restaurants are company owned the majority are owned by individual franchisees . 4 in 2010 there were 135 franchisee owned fuddruckers around the united states . 4 in 2011 fuddruckers had 200 restaurants throughout north america of which two thirds were owned by small business owners and 59 were company operated locations . 24 by the end of 2015 fuddruckers directly operated 77 locations with 111 franchises and 35 licensed locations . 25 fuddruckers expanded outside of the united states and had branches in several middle eastern countries with the first middle eastern location opening in may 1994 in jeddah saudi arabia by arabian food supplies . 26 fuddruckers opened restaurants in argentina in 1988 ; later however sales fell and fuddruckers left the country . 27 in 2013 fuddruckers opened its first restaurant in santo domingo dominican republic . in 2014 fuddruckers opened its first restaurant in santiago chile in south america and in varese lombardy being the company s first location in europe . in september 2015 a franchise restaurant was opened near como italy . see also edit food portal companies portal list of hamburger restaurants references edit notes a b cuff daniel f. 1988 11 09 . founder of fuddruckers goes on to next course . new york times . retrieved 2009 05 21 . a b c daniel f. cuff november 9 1988 . business people ; founder of fuddruckers goes on to next course . the new york times . retrieved 2011 06 22 . why did philip j. romano open a restaurant called freddie fuddruckers in 1979 i thought the world needed a better hamburger he said . ... a b daniel akst june 25 1985 . fuddruckers flakey jake s cry copycat burger chains duel in northridge . los angeles times . retrieved 2011 06 22 . fuddruckers and flakey jake s are franchising as fast as they can all over the country selling fresh ground one third pound and half pound hamburgers in purposefully rough hewn surroundings . ... a b c d e vanessa o connell april 29 2010 . fuddruckers chain feeling heat from pro gun advocates . the wall street journal . retrieved 2011 06 22 . the hamburger chain fuddruckers is unleashing the raw anger of pro gun advocates after a move by its austin texas corporate parent to begin enforcing a no weapons policy . baertlein lisa june 18 2010 . update 1 luby s buys fuddruckers for 61 million . reuters . retrieved june 23 2011 . magic brands llc announces agreement for asset sale with tavistock group . reuters . retrieved april 2010 . check date values in access date help bankruptcy forces 2 california fuddruckers to close today retrieved 4 20 10 nathan olivarez giles june 18 2010 . luby s cafeteria to buy fuddruckers and koo koo roo for 61 million . los angeles times . retrieved 2011 06 22 . ... fudds luby s based in houston has agreed to buy the majority of the assets of fuddruckers and koo koo roo s parent company magic brands for about 61 million in cash ... the assets from magic brands which filed for chapter 11 protection in april were sold to luby s in an auction ... bill rochelle jan 13 2011 . general growth innkeepers fuddruckers bankruptcy . bloomberg . retrieved 2011 06 16 . houston based luby s bought the fuddruckers business for 63.45 million in a sale approved by the bankruptcy court in june . rachel feintzeig february 23 2011 . taking the fuddruckers out of a burger shop . the wall street journal . retrieved 2011 06 22 . ... he s updated business licenses recalled and canceled advertising that bears the fuddruckers name and handed out fliers to customers to get the word out about the change . ... but he s still advised managers to cross the fuddruckers name off of any offending receipts with black marker . fuddruckers . pittsburgh post gazette . 2011 06 24 . retrieved 2011 06 24 . in the know fuddruckers coming to south fort myers our full menu . retrieved 2016 07 27 . a b brian wallheimer may 26 2006 . foxwoods fries up monster burger . norwich bulletin . retrieved 2011 06 22 . ... foxwoods executive sous chef scott ferguson made the world s largest commercially available hamburger thursday weighing 29.6 pounds and costing 250 for the fuddruckers restaurant in the casino . guinness world records verified the result . the burger is 18.5 inches wide and 8 inches tall . nicole weston jun 3 2006 . record breaking burger . slashfood . retrieved 2011 06 22 . ... the guinness book of world s records officiated at the weigh in of a 29.5 pound burger at the foxwoods resort casino s fuddruckers restaurant . they granted the 18.5 in . wide by 8 in . tall burger the title of world s largest commercially available burger . ... sara schwartz july