Kenzington Burger Bar poised for expansion

BARRIE, Ont. — Kenzington Burger Bar has opened a corporate office in order to meet its “aggressive” expansion plan. 

The Barrie-based restaurant group recently opened its fourth location on Bryne Drive. The new restaurant joins its flagship Dunlop Street location, as well as burger bars in Bradford and Orillia, Ont. Kenzington also operates a seasonal Burger Shack at Centennial Beach in Barrie and a food truck. 

“We have actual head office level employees now,” said the brand’s founder Brandon Clark. “We’ll try to get another two or three locations this year. We’re going to keep pushing from there.”

For expansion, Clark is looking to communities of similar size for the first Kenzington Burger Bar outside of Simcoe County. 

“We’re trying to see if there’s a market where we can pop one central hub into and then expand from there,” he said. “Everything’s basically a 20-minute radius from my house, at this point, so it’s fairly convenient.” 

In 2007, Clark took over an existing deli on Dunlop Street in Barrie, and began selling sandwiches. 

“The food side of the business wasn’t going as well as we had hoped, so we went to a late-night bar,” he explained. 

After about four years operating as a bar, Clark decided to refresh his concept. For reconnaissance, he travelled to Chicago to study their hospitality scene. 

“There was a big swing in craft breweries at the time,” Clark said. “We just took it from there.”

The renewed concept combined craft beer with unique burger options. As well, the restaurant began operating as a live-music venue and bar later in the evening. The decor, featuring barn board, exposed brick, and Edison bulbs, allows each location to make the transformation from restaurant to bar by dimming the lights and turning up the music. 

“We build a lot of the restaurants more like bars than full-on restaurants,” Clark said.

The California Burger, topped with avocado, bacon, Monterey Jack and chipotle mayo, as well as the Rodeo Burger, topped with ranch dressing, mozzarella, bacon and onion rings, have emerged as Kenzington’s most popular menu items. 

“We just have a bunch of fun plays on traditional stuff and do it really well,” Clark said. 

While the bar taps pour local beers, Clark explained they don’t carry anything brewed in Barrie. 

“We try to bring in brands that people in Barrie and the area don’t usually get access to,” Clark said. 

In 2015, Kenzington was featured on You Gotta Eat Here, which helped propel the business. 

“That’s when everything kind of turned around,” he said. 

So far, all Kenzington locations are corporately owned.  However, some of the brand’s long-term employees are starting to buy into the company. 

“We’re trying to keep everything in the brand at this point,” Clark said. “I’d love to sell the brand itself, but from a franchising standpoint, we’re trying to keep all the stores within our group until we build a stronger franchise model.”