HANS IM GLÜCK
A premium burger-grill with a forest interior — fresh burgers and a cocktail bar in a cozy full-service restaurant.
HANS IM GLÜCK is a premium, design-led German burger-grill restaurant with a cocktail bar. It's known for its unmistakable interior built around a forest theme — clusters of birch trunks from floor to ceiling create a warm, cozy, immersive dining room that clearly sets it apart from a fast-food setting. The menu rests on freshly prepared burgers with beef, chicken, vegetarian, and vegan options, served as full-service sit-down dining alongside an extensive bar.
As a franchisee you get the established brand and a turnkey concept, marketing programs, central purchasing and supplier framework agreements, quality assurance, training, menu innovation, IT, and hands-on support with financing and the restaurant build-out, plus regular partner meetings. What stays on you is the individual restaurant's daily operation — chiefly staff recruitment and management and the hospitality and operations on the floor. HQ provides the system and the brand; the host's result is on you.
The main revenue is the sale of food, burgers, and the bar on-site in a full-service sit-down format; the franchisor takes an entry and training fee and an ongoing fee on net sales, and a meaningful equity contribution toward the build-out is expected of the partner. The main costs are the costly build-out, premium rent, wages, and fees. The result rests on the location, average spend, and the quality of hospitality.
A forest interior instead of fast food
An unmistakable birch-forest interior creates a cozy atmosphere instead of a fast-food look. That scene is the core of the brand and the main difference a customer remembers.
Full service with a cocktail bar
A full-service restaurant-and-cocktail-bar position, not counter quick-service, lifts the average spend. That's a different league of experience and revenue.
Premium fresh burgers including vegan
Premium, freshly made burgers with a genuine vegetarian and vegan offer appeal to a wider audience. That quality is beyond an ordinary burger chain.
A strong brand story and support
A recognizable brand with a Brothers Grimm fairy-tale story and extensive HQ support in purchasing, training, marketing, IT, and build-out give a head start an individual can't reach alone.
Dim light glows among the birch trunks as guests sit at tables over fresh burgers. At the bar the bartender mixes cocktails; a server carries plates from the open kitchen. A group celebrates at a large table, a couple has the vegan option. Music plays from the speakers, the atmosphere invites you to linger. The staff switch briskly between kitchen, bar, and floor, evening reservations filling the room late into the night.
What operators value
An established premium brand with a footprint. An established, recognizable premium brand with a proven differentiated concept and an existing multi-country presence gives you a head start over your own restaurant from scratch.
Extensive franchisor support. Extensive support in purchasing, training, marketing, IT, and build-out takes a lot of the uncertainty out of launching, so you don't build the operation alone.
Higher spend from the positioning. A premium, on-trend position with burgers, a bar, and an experiential interior holds a higher average spend than fast food.
What to watch out for
High capital and equity. Entry requires very high capital and an equity contribution for a single unit, so it's among the more expensive food franchises and carries financial risk.
Fees and a long contract. An ongoing fee on sales and a long multi-year contract reduce flexibility and squeeze the margin, so you run the operation within firm bounds.
A demanding full-service model. The full-service model is operationally demanding on staff, premium premises, and wages, and is exposed to swings in spending and the hospitality sector.
This fits a passionate, hands-on host with hospitality experience and strong people leadership, who can put in meaningful capital and equity and operate a sizeable full-service restaurant on a long-term contract. It isn't a passive investment.
👤 Ideal operator
The ideal operator is a passionate host with food-service experience and strong people leadership, who has capital and an equity contribution and can handle a sizeable full-service operation. Hospitality, staff management, and long-term commitment are key.
📍 Ideal location
It fits high-footfall urban spots — prominent city-centre high streets, premium shopping and lifestyle districts, transport hubs, and airports — large enough for the signature restaurant-and-bar format with a forest interior.
HANS IM GLÜCK is a German franchise of premium burger-grill restaurants with a forest interior, fresh burgers, and a cocktail bar in a full-service format. It pays off most for a passionate host with food-service experience and capital. Its biggest asset is the unmistakable experiential concept and a higher spend; its biggest risk is high capital, fees, and the demands of full service.
- Who it's for
- A passionate host with food-service experience, people leadership, and capital.
- Where
- A prominent centre, a premium shopping or lifestyle district, or a transport hub.
- Strongest point
- An unmistakable forest interior, full service, and a higher average spend.
- Biggest risk
- High capital and equity, fees, and the demands of a full-service operation.
- How to start
- Via the official franchising portal → consultation and business plan → site selection and restaurant launch.