FSR February 2023

OntheRise BY BEN COLEY

TheNextGenSportsBar Chuck Lager boasts an elevated menu, tight-knit franchisees, and brand lore.

CHUCKLAGERAMERICA’S TAVERN is based on a real person, but the far fetched stories behind the man are what bring character to the restaurant.

Like the idea that he was born during a climb up Mount Kili manjaro and inspired his parents to reach the top. Or that he surfed on the backs of sharks and discov ered so many rare artifacts that archaeologists became jealous. Whi le those are exaggera tions, they do truthfully speak to Lager’s love for travel and the many cuisines he’s tasted along the way. His namesake restaurant

ESTABLISHED: 2019 FOUNDERS: Fabio Viviani, Craig Colby, Michael Colby, Chuck Lager HQ: Chicago UNITS: 4 CUISINE: Elevated tavern/sports bar

MENU ITEMS LIKE THE MOUNT KILIMANJARO BURGER ARE INSPIRED BY THE REAL CHUCK LAGER’S EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES.

conveys that passion in its menu. Chuck Lager refers to itself as decidedly Ameri can, but the menu features a breadth of international influences, thanks to chef and cofounder Fabio Viviani. For instance, there’s the Asian Street Taco with grilled marinated shrimp street corn, pickled red onions, cusabi sauce, teriyaki, lime, and cilantro, and the Greek Burger, made with a lamb patty, arugula, cucumbers, tzatziki sauce, diced tomatoes, red onions, and cotija cheese. Complementing the food is a beverage program featuring bour bons, whiskeys, wines, draft beers, and craft cocktails, like the Elegant French (Absolut Vanilla, Chambord, pineapple juice, and prosecco). “It creates a scenario where if you want to go there with a bunch of friends and

join the game, that’s great. But if you want to go with your wife and kids, you can eat on the side of the restaurant that doesn’t look like a sports bar,” Viviani says. “It’s a combination of things we love, things we brought from our cul tures, and things that make us giggle and laugh. … It’s an elevated approach to a sports bar.” Chuck Lager was born from a collab oration between two entities—Fabio Viviani Hospitality and Colby Restau rant Group. Viviani says his business is known for creating “bangers” and “a lot of hype,” across both quick and full ser vice. As Red Robin andWalk-On’s opera tors, Craig andMichael Colby bring more experience on the franchising side. The brand began with two corpo rate stores in Delaware and New Jersey,

near the home base of Colby Restaurant Group. Then, Chuck Lager debuted its first franchise unit in Tampa, Florida, led by former Red Robin president Eric Houseman and former vice president of franchise operations Brad Clawson. The operators signed on to build 10 restau rants along Florida’s Atlantic Coast, from Palm County to Key West. Because of growing interest, the chain decided to invest in a larger res taurant/training facility in Orland Park, Illinois, close to Viviani’s headquarters. Another franchisee is looking to build five units in the Chicagoland market. “When you buy into a Chuck Lager franchise, you don’t buy a concept. You buy an entire company because we are there every step along the way with the marketing, the PR, the review, the food,

CHUCK LAGER

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FSRMAGAZINE .COM

FEBRUARY 2023