In-N-Out loses best fast food burger title to surprising nationwide chain

In-N-Out is often thought of by Californians as the best fast food burger in the US, but according to a recent ranking by USA Today, another California chain has it beat.

The apparent champion of grab-and-go burgers is The Habit Burger Grill, which has 380 restaurants based primarily on the West Coast with a smattering of locations on the East Coast.

The Habit's Double Char burger came in at number one, topping the runner-up Double Double from In-N-Out.

The Double Char comes with two thick beef patties, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato, pickles and a toasted bun.

BurgerFi's BBQ Rodeo Burger clinched third place, while burgers from Jack in the Box and Five Guys rounded out the top five on USAToday's list.

Pictured: The Habit Burger Grill's Double Char burger, which was ranked as the number one fast food burger by USA Today

Pictured: In-N-Out's Double Double alongside an order of fries and a drink. This burger came in second place

Further down on the top ten came burgers from Texas-favorite Whataburger, Burger King, Carl's Jr. and White Castle.

Originally known as the Hamburger Habit, The Habit opened its first restaurant in 1969 in Santa Ana, which is a little over 30 miles from downtown Los Angeles.

It set itself apart from other chains by advertising how it grilled patties over an open flame instead of a flat top griddle, giving their burgers a more home-made taste.

'We're all about cooked-to-order food, chargrilling over an open flame for that authentic, smoky flavor our fans love. It's not just about the taste, though. It's about the entire experience,' Jason Triail, The Habit's director of culinary innovation, told SFGate. 

In 1976, Brent Reichard worked at the original Habit Burger at age 16, and four years later, he bought the restaurant with the help of his brother Bruce, according to the Santa Barbara Independent.

The Habit Burger Grill was founded in 1969, its first restaurant opening in Santa Ana. The Reichard brother later purchased the original location and grew the brand for decades until it was acquired in March 2020

The two brothers ran the growing number of restaurants decades until Yum! Brands acquired The Habit in March 2020. The Reichards sold the remaining eight restaurants to Yum in December 2021.

Yum also owns KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut.

Younger than In-N-Out by over 20 years, The Habit still has some catching up to do with its competitor in terms of its physical footprint and sales.

Although In-N-Out is almost entirely concentrated on the West Coast, it still has nearly 400 locations, about 20 more than The Habit.

In-N-Out also boasted about $1.8 billion in sales in 2022, according to an estimate by Restaurant Business. 

The Habit recorded $661 million in system sales over the same time period, representing the smallest segment of its parent company's revenue sources.