The Counter

The Counter is a sit-down burger restaurant concept that builds its menu around customizable, gourmet burgers made with premium beef and alternative proteins. Guests typically order in a full-service or polished fast-casual environment that includes a bar and a contemporary, urban look, which sets the experience apart from traditional quick-service burger chains. The brand leans into lunch and dinner traffic and fits naturally into higher-income trade areas and lifestyle-oriented retail projects where visitors expect a more elevated burger option.

The Counter emerged in the early 2000s as part of the “better burger” movement that moved beyond conventional fast food and pushed toward chef-driven menus and higher-quality ingredients. Over time, the company built a modest but recognizable footprint in select U.S. markets and a limited number of international locations, using a mix of franchising and licensing to enter urban and suburban nodes. Its combination of customizable burgers, craft beverages, and a modern interior helped operators pull in a blend of office workers, shoppers, and nearby residents across both weekdays and weekends.

As of December 2025, The Counter operates as a small, niche chain rather than a mass-market player, and public information suggests a network that has remained limited in size with no clear evidence of aggressive new-unit growth. In recent years the brand’s trajectory has tilted toward consolidation and selective closures instead of large-scale new market entry, leaving a leaner footprint focused on existing strongholds. This smaller scale can reduce national name recognition, but it also allows the concept to act as a distinctive alternative in centers that are already saturated with mainstream burger and fast-casual names.

Over roughly the last five years, broader category trends have shifted strongly toward drive-thru, digital pickup, and smaller dining rooms, while The Counter has continued to carry a legacy of dine-in–oriented prototypes. As the segment evolved, many early better-burger competitors pushed into aggressive expansion, while The Counter’s growth flattened and its portfolio was rationalized around markets where the concept already had awareness and local operators. In practical terms, the brand appears to have evolved from a growth-stage challenger to a more selective, opportunistic player that looks for the right real estate instead of chasing every new market.

For landlords, brokers, and developers, The Counter typically comes into play when there is a second-generation restaurant space that already has kitchen infrastructure, a hood, bar potential, and adequate parking instead of a clean pad built around a drive-thru lane. The concept has historically favored endcaps and inline restaurant spaces sized to accommodate full kitchen and bar operations, positioned between casual dining and fast casual in check average and experience. In the right setting, The Counter can strengthen a merchandising mix by giving a center a polished but approachable dining anchor that supports evening and weekend traffic, particularly in lifestyle centers, mixed-use projects, theater-anchored developments, and urban retail streets looking to diversify beyond purely drive-thru-focused burger tenants.