California-based burger chain Johnny Rockets will open its first restaurant in Costa Rica – one of two in the region – in August.
The new eatery will be located at Mall Lincoln Plaza food court in Moravia, north of the capital.
Desarrollos Gastronómicos Internacionales, owner of the local franchise, expects to add new restaurants in Escazú, southwest of San José, and in the provinces of Heredia and Alajuela by next year.
The Costa Rica location will open simultaneously with one in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, as the company also owns the rights to open restaurants in that country, as well as in Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador.
Each restaurant will create 30-40 direct jobs and requires an investment of some ₡250 million ($500,000). Most of the materials will be imported from California “to ensure that customers have the same experience as walking into a restaurant in the United States,” Antonio Burgos, a spokesman for the company, told the weekly El Financiero.
Johnny Rockets is a themed restaurant brand depicting 1950s and ’60s U.S. burger joints. There are 300 locations in 30 states in the U.S. and in other 16 countries.
