Nearly five years after Fuddruckers served its last burger and fries in downtown Silver Spring, the hamburger chain is planning to reopen in its former location on Ellsworth Drive.
On Monday, Houston-based Fuddruckers posted on social media that it would open new locations this fall in Silver Spring and Washington, D.C.’s Chinatown.
Laurie Yankowski, regional marketing director of the Peterson Cos., confirmed with MoCo360 Thursday that Fuddruckers signed a lease to return to its previous location at 819 Ellsworth Drive. The Peterson Cos. owns and manages the downtown development where Fuddruckers will be located.
The MoCo Show first reported Fuddruckers’s return to the county and Washington, D.C.
Yankowski did not provide an opening date for when the restaurant will reopen. Fuddruckers did not immediately respond to MoCo360’s request for comment Thursday afternoon.
In December 2019, Fuddruckers closed its Silver Spring location. At the time, MoCo360 reported that Yankowski did not know why the location had chosen to close. That closure followed the August 2019 closure of the chain’s location at 1592 Rockville Pike in Rockville.
The burger chain offers burgers grilled-to-order on scratch-baked buns that are made daily. Patrons can customize their burgers with a variety of items from Fuddruckers’s extensive topping bar.
Fuddruckers also offers specialty burgers, fish and chips, nachos, chili cheese dogs, veggie burgers, chicken sandwiches, wings, salads, wedge-cut fries, shakes and bakery treats, according to the chain. Plant-based burger options are also available as well as specialty meats such as bison and Kobe beef.
Fuddruckers was previously owned and operated by restaurant company Luby’s Inc.
In 2021, North Carolina-based businessman Nicholas Perkins acquired the franchise for approximately $18.5 million, according to a June 2021 press release announcing the sale. Perkins’s company, Black Titan Franchise Systems LLC, took over ownership of Fuddruckers and its more than 92 U.S. locations.
“We’re excited to be purchasing Fuddruckers and look forward to working with Fuddruckers’ many dedicated, highly capable franchisees to further build this brand,” Perkins said in the release.
“As a Fuddruckers franchisee, I have a vested interest in ensuring that all Fuddruckers franchisees have the resources, infrastructure, and operational and marketing support they need to maximize their return on investment,” Perkins said. “This strategic alignment, when combined with the fact that we sell the ‘World’s Greatest Hamburgers,’ will ensure the long-term success of the brand and our franchisees.”
When Perkins purchased the company, he became the first Black person to have 100% ownership of a national burger business, according to Essence.
In a 2021 interview with Essence, he said the company’s long-term goal is growing its franchise operations domestically and internationally.
“I always wanted to become a part of this iconic brand. I just didn’t realize that one day I’d end up owning it,” said Perkins, who grew up eating Fuddruckers. “You cannot buy a better burger.”