BurgerFuel: History, Key Facts and Reviews

1995-2002: a gourmet burger bar on Ponsonby Road

BurgerFuel started as a single burger bar on Ponsonby Road in Auckland, opened by Chris Mason in October 1995 (Wikipedia). Mason was 29 and, by his own account, planned to stay in fast food for about six months, build up sales and sell (NZ Herald). He worked in the kitchen himself. The idea was a gourmet burger with fresher, more natural ingredients, sold in a loud shop decorated with flames and engine parts. The Bastard, still on the menu, has been there since that first year (BurgerFuel). A second restaurant opened in Takapuna in 1997.

2003-2014: Josef Roberts, the stock market and the Gulf

BurgerFuel turned into a franchise business with export plans after Josef Roberts, the founder of Red Bull Australasia, joined as shareholder and director in 2003. The company listed in 2007 under the code BFG, but raised only about a third of the NZ$15 million it was seeking. Its first store outside New Zealand opened in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, in February 2010, and Dubai’s JBR followed in July. In the Gulf the chain used beef bacon and renamed The Bastard the Monster. By April 2014 the network counted 56 stores in New Zealand, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

2015-2022: the American detour and the retreat

BurgerFuel’s push beyond New Zealand and the Gulf did not last. The first US restaurant opened in Indianapolis in May 2017, and US operations stopped in October 2020 (Wikipedia). No Australian store was left by the end of 2018. Iraq closed for good in January 2020, and most UAE stores shut in March 2022. At home, the group launched a second burger brand, Shake Out, in 2018.

2023-2026: 62 stores in New Zealand and a record profit

Today BurgerFuel is almost entirely a New Zealand chain, run from Grey Lynn in Auckland with Josef Roberts as group CEO. At 31 March 2026 it had 62 restaurants in New Zealand and 3 in the Middle East, according to the FY26 annual report. System sales across the group’s three brands, BurgerFuel, Shake Out and Winner Winner, reached NZ$111.4 million, and net profit rose 91.8% to NZ$1.97 million, the best result in the company’s history. The original Ponsonby store was sold to a franchisee in December 2025, the Jubail store in Saudi Arabia closed in May 2026, and new stores in Huapai and Richmond are planned for late 2026. For the restaurants themselves, read our guides to BurgerFuel in Wellington and BurgerFuel Dunedin.

Key dates

• 1995: Chris Mason opens the first BurgerFuel on Ponsonby Road, Auckland, in October.
• 1997: a second restaurant opens in Takapuna.
• 2003: Josef Roberts joins as shareholder and director.
• 2007: the company lists in New Zealand under the code BFG.
• 2010: first store abroad, in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia.
• 2017: first US restaurant, in Indianapolis; US operations end in 2020.
• 2018: launch of the sister brand Shake Out.
• 2026: 62 restaurants in New Zealand and 3 in the Middle East at 31 March.