Business Insider Poland Interview: A Well-Known Berlin Chain Is Entering Poland; Its CEO Explains Why They Aren’t Starting in Warsaw

29. October 2025
News, Press Releases

Mateusz Madejski, journalist at Business Insider Poland: When is the Burgermeister chain coming to Poland?

Robert Fügert, Chairman and CEO of Burgermeister:
First, I’d like to point out that we are growing very quickly – we are the fastest-growing chain in Germany, and we also have the highest revenue per location, excluding McDonald’s (laughs). We are extremely happy to be entering the Polish market. Of course, everyone asks why we’re starting in Szczecin and not, for example, in Warsaw.

So why?

Szczecin is, above all, very close to Berlin, where our chain was born. That makes our debut much easier – and it will be our first Burgermeister location outside Germany. I’ll admit we also simply have great business partners in Szczecin. But to answer your question about when we’re opening: it will happen on October 21, although at first we will only offer delivery via Pyszne.pl. We’re doing this to test everything and train our staff. Of course, we’re confident the team will do great, but we want to give them some time to get into the swing of things – and also test the technology. You know, we have euros, you have złoty (laughs), so everything needs to be properly tested. The grand opening is planned for October 28. Then people will be able to come to the restaurant and eat a burger on-site. It will be a really big restaurant – two floors, 550 square meters. We are extremely pleased to be entering Szczecin. It’s a great city.

And what’s next?

We want to make Poland our second major market. We plan to enter Gdańsk, of course Warsaw, and other cities as well. Moreover, we intend to invest in drive-through locations in Poland – and it will be our first market with this solution. I think we will have at least 20–40 restaurants in Poland in the coming years.

Do you plan to operate through franchising?

Yes, exactly. We are entering Poland with Polish franchise partners who know this market well. Of course, we are open to working with other franchisees. We are looking for partners with high standards, the right experience – and the capital to start.

Who is your competition in the Polish market?

It’s hard for me to answer that, because I’m convinced no one makes burgers like we do (laughs). We care about the highest quality, our products are always fresh and fairly priced. Of course, we have great respect for chains like Max Burgers or McDonald’s, but we offer a different product.

When was your chain founded?

In 2006, by my business partner Cebrail Karabelli. The first restaurant opened in Berlin. It was located in a former public toilet dating back to 1895. Naturally, that restaurant at the Schlesisches Tor metro station is still operating – and it’s the most visited burger spot in all of Europe. The next location, however, didn’t open until 10 years later. But then the founder decided to expand, and I joined the company. Burgermeister has invested in its own food production, which means it has its own Burgermeister bakery and burger patty production, and they make absolutely everything themselves from fresh ingredients, using the best Irish beef. And our production capacity is sufficient for over 100 Burgermeister stores worldwide. So we can still scale – and that’s exactly what we’re doing (laughs).

And what about other countries?

We’re thinking about that too – for example, the UK, Spain, Austria, and Croatia. We could be in the UK as early as next year.

Which one is the most popular?

The cheeseburger – our classic.

Link to the original Business Insider Poland interview in Polish.