Red Robin Cuts Labor Costs
Have you ever wondered how Red Robin could afford those drink refills? The reason endless streams of lemonade are possible is because the restaurant reduces labor costs to keep things cheap for its customers. By and large, it ends up being its employees who pay the price literally. On average, Red Robin workers are paid $16 an hour, with servers and waiters on the lowest end of the scale . This doesn’t largely differ from the industry’s national average of about $16 per Indeed, but pay rate remains a glaring fact restaurant chains like Red Robin can’t deny: reducing the cost of labor reduces the menu prices. It’s what lays behind the free bottomless fries you get with every burger, no questions asked.
Cutting labor costs is nothing new for the popular hamburger chain. In 2018, Red Robin scrapped busboy and expeditor positions to stave off minimum wage increases around the country . In addition, Kiosk Marketplace reported last year that the chain signed a contract with Ziosk, a tablet device that allows diners to pay for their meal at the table. This kind of automation seems harmless enough who can argue with customer convenience? but the human side of the labor chain will be impacted, whether it’s an outcome Red Robin wants or not. If more automation is implemented at Red Robin locations, there will inevitably be less of a need to rely on workers.
How Do I Get A Free Burger From Red Robin
Free Birthday Burger Reward is conferred on those Royalty Members who choose to: 1) provide their e-mail address 2) provide their phone number 3) provide their month and year of birth 4) validate their phone number and 5) subscribe to receive promotional marketing communications from Red Robin, either by e-mail or
Frequently Asked Questions About Red Robin Gourmet Burgers And Brews
Is Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews currently offering delivery or takeout?
Yes, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews offers both delivery and takeout.
What forms of payment are accepted?
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews accepts credit cards.
How is Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews rated?
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews has 2.5 stars.
What days are Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews open?
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews is open Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun.
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Red Robin Started As A Bar
Red Robin’s specialty wasn’t always delectable burgers and they weren’t always called Red Robin. The chain was originally named Sam’s Tavern, after its owner, Sam, when it opened in the 1940s. According to Red Robin’s history, Sam sang in a barbershop quartet He had a particular love for the song “When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin’ Along,” ultimately leading him to change the name of the establishment to Sam’s Red Robin.
The original location sat close to the University of Washington campus in Seattle, Washington, and it was primarily a college hangout until it was eventually transformed into the burger-slingin’ restaurant we all know today.
A man named Gerry Kingen bought the tavern in 1969 and a few years later, slowly started adding food to the menu. He completed a remodel and reopened with a bang. “I basically created a grownup’s McDonald’s,” Kingen told the Seattle Times. But as for the original location now? It was closed in 2010 after the building was deemed too much of an investment to get the old structure up to par with other restaurants.
Get An Impossible Burger For $350 Less Than At Cheesecake Factory
Whats an Impossible Burger? Its a plant-based patty made from vegetable protein . Impossible Burgers also contain coconut oil, upping their saturated fat content as well.
For $13.49 you get an Impossible Burger with pickle relish, red onions, pickles, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and cheese on a bun at Red Robin.
A comparable Impossible Burger at Cheesecake Factory will run you about $16.95.
TIP: Of course, if youre wanting to get an Impossible Burger for the least amount possible, youre going to want to save at Burger King.
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I Spent 12 Hours In A Red Robin Eating Bottomless Steak Fries
This disaster happened in September 2015, but a recent revisiting of it made me want to make it public somewhere. So hi again, blog.
I cant help but laugh when I see my hostesss nametag. At the command of Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, my home for the next 12 hours, Patience herself stands before me. I walk to her, a supplicant of her virtue and seating chart.
Table for one? she asks.
Yep. Dining alone.
I doubt I have ever dined more alone, in fact, for where I am bound, no friend may pass. From the 11 a.m. open to the 11 p.m. close of this establishment, I seek to eat basket after basket of Bottomless Steak Fries. I seek to get kicked out, die or disprove the restaurant chains ridiculous claim of endlessness. I seek damnation.
The Call to Adventure
My Charonian host ferries me to a snug booth with a vista of the well-appointed dining room. The atmosphere is friendly and red and empty. A human-sized, bird-shaped statue perches on a low dividing wall, giving an off-putting thumbs-up and staring me down with hollow eyes. Its Red, Im told, the chains mascot.
Patience tells me the less-Dickensian-named Jazmine will look after me. She takes her clipboard and her leave.
Would you like our Bottomless Steak Fries to go along with that? she asks.
I most certainly would.
The Threshold
I heard that if we say Red Robin and you dont say yum, our meal is free, the man posits.
Ah, my compatriots. Welcome to the fold.
My sojourn has begun.
Trials and Tribulations
Our Kids’ Meals Go On And On
It doesnt get much easier to snuff out those fiery appetites when every single side and beverage on our Kids’ Menu is Bottomless. Premium beverages have an upcharge, but the refills? No charge. Bam. And here’s a little pro-tip for you our Kids’ Mac It Yours entrée comes with free refills, too! How many? Infinity.
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They Serve Minute Maid Lemonade
Sipping strawberry lemonade in those fun twirly glasses is always a treat, especially when you know a refill is on the way from your server. The reason the fruit beverage is able to flow the way it does is because Red Robin doesn’t make its lemonade by hand. On the contrary, they use store-bought lemonade to craft their drinks. Minute Maid Lemonade, that nostalgic childhood fuel, serves as the base of the burger joint’s Freckled Lemonade and Flavored Lemonade that’s available in raspberry or peach. The chain doesn’t hide the fact that it relies on the longtime juice brand. As a matter of fact, the name is blasted all over the restaurant website and promotional materials, letting you know the partnership goes all the way to the bottom .
To be honest, it’s unclear what Red Robin’s lemonade supply looks like. What we do know, however, is that Minute Maid is reliable, easy to find, and most importantly, cheap. It’s carried by most major retailers like Target and Wal-Mart and sold for between $2-6, depending on its packaging . Red Robin can pump out an unlimited supply without footing the bill on fresh juice and the labor needed to extract it. Customers only pay the menu price once, as the refills are already factored into the total. Is freshly-squeezed lemonade poured from a pitcher better than its artificially-sweetened counterparts? Yes, probably. Is it cheaper? Definitely not.
There’s A Red Robin Secret Menu Sort Of
If you read Red Robin’s history closely, you’ll notice that they launched their “secret menu” in 2011. And while a secret menu for chains like In-N-Out means a hodge-podge of cult favorites, for Red Robin it really just means ultimate customization.
With the launch of their iPhone app, as well as online ordering, guests were given the opportunity to customize pretty well any burger to their liking. Choosing a bacon cheeseburger through their menu system, for example, would now give you the option to choose from seven different types of cheese, but the options go even further than that. A variety of options can be added on as well, included an extra patty, avocado, sautéed onions, an egg, and more.
According to Entrepreneur, Red Robin did try to offer a secret, solely word-of-mouth burger on New Year’s Day in 2015, directed to help those struggling with a hangover after their New Year’s Eve festivities. The “Cure Burger” was topped with a sunny-side up egg, bacon, and chili, but only mentioned through media coverage, social media, or word of mouth. But even if guests missed the memo, each of the burger components are still available to recreate the perfect hangover cure at any time through their customizer feature.
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Get Free Red Robin Birthday Burgers For Everyone In Your Household
Once you set up your own Red Robin Royalty Rewards account, add your kids to your account. Heres what youll see when your kids birthdays roll around:
- Kids 10 and under: Get a free Kids Meal certificate.
- Kids 11 and 12: Choose between a free Kids Meal or one of Red Robins Fire-Grilled Gourmet Burgers.
- Kids 13 and older: Get a free Red Robins Fire-Grilled Gourmet Burger of their choice.
Have every adult in your house sign up for their own Red Robin Royalty account, too. Free birthday burgers all around!
Get A Free Red Robin Birthday Burger During Your Birthday Month
Red Robins birthday burger reward can be used on one of 24 Gourmet Burgers and bottomless fries.
Just select your birth date when you sign up for Red Robin Royalty. The reward will be valid for your entire birth month, so be sure to come in before the month ends.
Royalty members will get an email once the reward is available on their account .
Be sure to tell the server if youre celebrating a birthday, because youll get a free ice cream sundae, too.
TIP: You can earn lots of food freebies on your birthday.
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The First Red Robin Franchisees Were Regular Customers
In 1979, business was going well for Kingen and his burger joint, growing in popularity among University of Washington students. The spot proved to be a hangout for many, including the two customers who launched the company’s first franchise.
Red Robin regulars, brothers Mike and Steve Snyder, loved the chain so much they opened the first franchise in Yakima, Washington, after forming the Snyder Group Company. The following year, the up-and-coming chain expanded into Portland, Oregon to open its second location and continued to grow from there. In 2000, the Snyder Group merged with Red Robin, and together opened the chain’s 150th restaurant, continuing their nationwide expansion. Red Robin continued to grow, opening another 100 locations in the next four years.
There’s still an operational Red Robin in Yakima, but not in its original building. The original franchised location was remodeled into a shopping plaza, now hosting shops and restaurants, and a new Red Robin building was constructed in 2014 not far from the original building.
Red Robin Sold America’s Most Unhealthy Meal
Burgers aren’t exactly known for their healthy qualities, but Red Robin took that one step further. In 2014, Red Robin took the cake for the unhealthiest meal combination in America. The meal essentially combines the most unhealthy options on the Red Robin menu including the “Monster” double burger, paired with bottomless fries and a milkshake, all rounding out to 3,540 calories.
The Monster double burger, with up to 1210 calories in just the burger, is still on the menu, but with Red Robin’s custom menu options, you could easily top that number. The Royal Red Robin burger comes with 1110 calories, but any Red Robin burger can be “made a monster” by adding another patty and another 410 calories. Pair that double burger with a Monster shake and a few orders of fries and you could easily blow past that 3,500 calorie mark.
The daily recommended amount of calories is, on average, 2,000 for women and 2,500 for men. Luckily, there are lighter fare options at Red Robin, as well as bottomless broccoli as a side, because if you’re not careful, a meal at Red Robin could easily set you back almost two days’ worth of calories.
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Unquenchable Thirst Meet Bottomless Refreshment
When it comes to endless refreshments, these aren’t your typical free refills. Dine-in with us where signature beverages like Freckled Lemonade® and Poppin’ Purple Lemonade are flowing non-stop. Guests can also endlessly indulge in our Bottomless Root Beer Float made with Barq’s Root Beer and soft-serve ice cream. As if that weren’t enough, our Orange and Raspberry Cream Sodas are you guessed it Bottomless. So keep chugging. We’re stocked and ready.
Red Robin Gave Kids The Chance To Develop Burgers For The Menu
With the focus of gourmet burgers on the menu, Red Robin has constantly introduced new combos to impress their burger-loving guests. Often introducing something new and craveable, there are more than two dozen burgers on the menu, and over the years, Red Robin has utilized the help of youth cooks along the way to gain inspiration.
Red Robin hosted their Kids Cook-Off contest annually for a few years, with the first competition held in 2006. In 2007, 11-year-old Joey Yarwick won the prize with his “Au Brie Burger,” featuring melted brie cheese and au gratin potatoes on a toasted croissant, and it was put on the menu the following summer for Red Robin guests to try.
The following year, Charlie Beckett, a 7-year-old from Idaho made up the “Holy-Peno Burger,” featuring Pepper Jack cheese and jalapenos. Oddly enough, Red Robin still features a Burnin’ Love Burger on the menu with Pepper Jack and fried jalapeno coins. The last mention of the contest in Red Robin’s history listing the winners was in 2010 when 12-year-old Donovan Duggins won the grand prize with his “Mt. Vesuvius Burger.” It appears the Red Robin test kitchen has taken recipe development into their own hands from now on though, since the registration website for the contest is now defunct.
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Cutting Calories Get A Bottomless Salad With Your Entree
Sides like steamed broccoli, apples, and mandarin oranges arent just for kids!
You can order any of these sides with your burger for a healthier option. You can also choose carrots or a side salad. Theyre all bottomless, and subbing in one of these options cuts calories.
TIP: Just not feeling it with the broccoli? Splurge on Zucchini Fries at Red Robin at 260 calories, theyre 200 calories less than Sweet Potato Fries!
Join The Red Robin Rewards Program To Get A Free Burger Every Ninth Burger
When you sign up for the free Red Robin Royalty Program and buy nine burgers, wraps, salads, or any other entree, youll get your 10th free whether youre eating in store or ordering to go. It will ring up as a $9.99 credit on your bill.
Best part? Even your free birthday burger counts towards those nine burgers to get your freebie. More on that in a sec.
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Get A Donatos Pizza At Red Robin But Only If There Isnt A Donatos Near You
Ohio-based Donatos Pizza has teamed up with Red Robin to be their pizza supplier, but if youre thinking about getting a Donatos Pizza, check to see if there is a Donatos near you.
Red Robins Donatos Pizzas are 10.3% more expensive than the Donatos prices for their regular pizzas , and 9.2% more expensive than their premium pies, like the Founders Favorite or The Works.
Red Robin Has Dished Up Bottomless Fries For More Than 20 Years
One of Red Robin’s most popular claims to fame is their bottomless fries. And while some may think it was a recent gimmick to attract more customers, it’s actually been going strong for decades. In 1994 the chain introduced their bottomless steak fries concept, allowing guests to eat as many fries as they possibly could with their burger. Some guests take it even further and request an appetizer of fries to come out first before their main meal.
But bottomless steak fries aren’t the only thing you can consume absurd amounts of. You can also order bottomless garlic fries or sweet potato fries . Or, if you’re watching your waistline, bottomless broccoli is an option as well.
And for some customers, those bottomless fries are serious business. According to one former Red Robin manager on Quora, those basket numbers can skyrocket. “One time we had a table of 3 regular size guys that went through 31 baskets of fries along with the meals they’d ordered,” she wrote. “Ones like that will stick with you because you’d never think that they’d reach that amount.”
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Red Robin Tried To Launch A Fast
After the full-service burger joint continued on their winning growth spree, they decided to kick it up a notch. Red Robin announced their “fast-casual” model, introducing their new brand Burger Works, in 2011. The model was the perfect idea offer a BYOB menu, with the option of beef or chicken, along with 13 free topping options, and 10 “fancy” option that came at an additional cost. The chain also served fries, as well as beer and wine, and items were offered at a lower price point than its big brother Red Robin.
The first location opened in Denver, Colorado, but it didn’t last long. After opening a total of 12 Burger Works locations, Red Robin decided to call it quits in 2016, closing nine of those locations and re-branding the remaining three as Red Robin Express.
Red Robin’s Senior Director of Communications, Kevin Caulfield, told the Chicago Tribune the fast-casual environment was pretty competitive and the trial units weren’t performing as well as the company would have liked.
