Fabio Souza explains that he was practically born in a kitchen. Originally from Brazil, Souza has been working as a chef around the world for more than 20 years. It was for work that he landed in Catalonia, where in 2021 he decided to settle down and start working for himself. “As soon as I came out of the Covid pandemic, I opened my first hamburger restaurant Ruar Street Burger, on Paral·lel Avenue in Barcelona, ??right in the same establishment that had hosted the Chelsea hamburger restaurant, the first in the city,” explains the entrepreneur. . Another one in Madrid has just been added to this first location, and Souza advances that he is in talks to open four more franchises this year: two more in Catalonia, another in Madrid and one in Valencia. By 2025, the entrepreneur doubles down and plans to grow in seven or ten more locations.
With Ruar Street Burger, the founder combines his knowledge of haute cuisine with street food, his favorite. “Whenever I travel I like to eat at street stalls because that is where the essence of a country’s food is,” says Souza. Hence the chain is called Ruar, which means to wander in Portuguese. The third ingredient of success consists of the use of “high quality” raw materials, according to the entrepreneur.
To launch his first store, which required an investment of 150,000 euros, Souza had the help of Barcelona Activa. For the opening of the Madrid hamburger restaurant, the investment required has been half (75,000 euros), as it is a franchise. The company employs between four and six people in each of the establishments and has four more employees who work from a central kitchen located in l’Hospitalet de Llobregat. This central kitchen is responsible for providing service to all Ruar Street Burger franchises.
Depending on the different openings planned for this year, the founder expects to end the year with a turnover of between 1.8 and 3 million euros.