When Lion’s Choice CEO Fred Burmer needed a stamp of approval for the brand’s new Remix sandwich, he went straight to the source.
“I brought in Marvin Gibbs, the founder of Lion’s Choice, told him that this would be our default sandwich if I was starting the brand today, and asked what he thought,” says Burmer. “He tried it and absolutely loved it. He brought it home to his wife, Christine, and she loved it, too. That’s how much we are trying to respect the legacy of the brand.”
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Launching April 9, the $6.49 sandwich will be available at all Lion’s Choice locations beginning Tuesday, April 9.the Remix features the thinly shaved, medium-rare roast beef and special seasoning that fans have come to love over the past. Instead of a sesame seed bun, however, the meat is piled between golden griddled Texas toast, paired with two slices of melted Swiss cheese, and accented with a drizzle of garlic aioli. It’s part of what Burmer describes as a bold new era for the brand, which he has been spearheading since taking the reins as CEO in April 2023.
As Burmer explains, the reboot comes not because anything about the brand needs to change; it comes because he believes more people should know about it. Prior to coming on board with Lion’s Choice, Burmer worked as chief operating officer for Yum Brands’ largest franchisee in the Mid-Atlantic, a portfolio that included more than a hundred Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Long John Silver’s locations throughout the region. Although he’d never heard of Lion’s Choice before being presented with the opportunity, he found himself drawn to the brand because of the intense loyalty that he saw in its guests. Comparing such brand loyalty to Harley-Davidson’s, he was shocked at the lengths that people would go to show their love for the beloved roast beef restaurant.
“There are people who actually have Lion’s Choice tattoos,” says Burmer. “I thought, What a privilege it would be to be a steward of a brand with that kind of loyalty. What could we do with that?”
Burmer is adamant that any tweaks he’s making are meant to bring more people into the Lion’s Choice pride. “The roast beef is sacred,” he says. In fact, he’s hoping to bring back a focus to the roast beef, which is what he feels the brand does best. In addition to the new Remix sandwich, he and his team are introducing customization options (which will allow guests to pile on additional meat by the ounce), in addition to ensuring recipes are consistent across locations. These efforts are to reinforce the brand’s fundamentals and provide customers with more ways to enjoy it.
“We have three kinds of customers,” says Burmer. “We have the die-hards, who will never order anything but their standard order, which is the original roast beef. Then we have customers who are open to experimentation, who will maybe add the Remix to their rotation. And finally, we have people who have never heard of us. When we came up with this sandwich, we thought, if you are a first-timer, you will never compare us to anyone else—and if you are a regular, we’re just giving you a reason to come in more often.”
