Char'd is expanding to Montgomery County with a new location planned for 11881 Grand Park Avenue at Pike & Rose. It has a lot in common with the previous tenant of that space, BurgerFi. Char'd is a fast-casual burger chain, albeit one that is local in origin as a food truck, and orders are placed at electronic kiosks. The Char'd burgers are grass-fed halal beef, smashburger in style, and their fries are fried in duck fat. Prices are fairly nutty though, with the Original Char'd ringing in at $16.49 for the burger alone, a modest serving of fries at $8.99, and a milkshake for $10.49 (!!).
It will be interesting to see if Char'd can thrive where BurgerFi failed. With no drive-thru, and parking at Pike & Rose being a nightmare, nobody but the shrillest New Urbanist YIMBY can say that lukewarm burgers and fries are appealing after the long struggle to get out and get home. That leaves dine-in and residents of the buildings at Pike & Rose to get the real Char'd dining experience, particularly at those high prices. And with demographic trends in the County heading steadily downward income-wise, can fast-casual at this price point draw a large enough crowd?
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