Grill'd is an Australian-owned multinational casual dining

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

chain specialising in healthy burgers. Founded by Simon Crowe in 2004 in

Hawthorn, Melbourne Hawthorn is an inner suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's central business district, located within the City of Boroondara local government area. Hawthorn recorded a population of 22,322 at the 2021 census. Glenfer ...

, the group now has over 150 restaurants.

History

The chain was originally founded after Crowe was frustrated by a lack of "decent burgers" in Australia and wanted an enticing,

nutritious Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient nu ...

meal combined with the engaging service ethic he often encountered living in Milwaukee, United States while working for Fosters brewing company. By 2006, two years after its founding, Grill'd had over 30 restaurants across Melbourne. In 2011, Grill’d launched its Local Matters program where each customer is provided a token per burger to vote for 1 of 3 restaurant-specific local

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

groups. At the end of each month, $500 per restaurant is donated among the three community groups, totalling over $750,000 each year in donations. As of September 2021, Grill’d have given over $6 million to over 30,000 local community groups, organisations, and projects. Since 2010, all of the company's

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantity ...

and

lamb Lamb or The Lamb may refer to: * A young sheep * Lamb and mutton, the meat of sheep Arts and media Film, television, and theatre * ''The Lamb'' (1915 film), a silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in his screen debut * ''The Lamb'' (1918 ...

is grass-fed and

free-range Free range denotes a method of farming husbandry where the animals, for at least part of the day, can roam freely outdoors, rather than being confined in an enclosure for 24 hours each day. On many farms, the outdoors ranging area is fenced, ...

, and in 2016 all of their

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

became RSPCA Approved. In 2019 Grill'd launched

Beyond Meat Beyond Meat, Inc. is a Los Angeles–based producer of plant-based meat substitutes founded in 2009 by Ethan Brown. The company's initial products were launched in the United States in 2012. History Founding Ethan Brown founded the company in ...

's plant-based meat-tasting pattie with a "Meat Free Day". In November 2021, Grill'd launched the

Impossible Foods Impossible Foods Inc. is a company that develops plant-based substitutes for meat products. The company's signature product, the Impossible Burger, was launched in July 2016. In partnership with Burger King, Impossible Whoppers were released ...

plant-based meat-tasting burgers. Grill’d launched an Emu & Kangaroo burger ''The Coat of Arms'' in 2013, a rabbit burger ''Bunny Burge''r in 2017, and their Healthy Fried Chicken in 2020. In 2019, Grill'd opened their first international restaurant, in Seminyak, Bali, Indonesia. The restaurant extended the company's Local Matters program internationally, supporting Seminyak's local community groups by sharing Rp2,500,000 with three local groups each month.

Community & Charity

The Grill'd Local Matters program started in 2011 as a way for each restaurant to support its own, local community groups. As of September 2021, the program had given back over $6,000,000 to local community groups, including over $120,000 to help tackle

homelessness Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

, and over $800,000 to

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

and

disability Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be Cognitive disability, cognitive, Developmental disability, dev ...

groups. The program has supported over 30,000 community groups, organisations, and projects made up of local

sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...

s groups,

youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. You ...

organisations,

educational services For-profit education (also known as the education services industry or proprietary education) refers to educational institutions operated by private, profit-seeking businesses. For-profit education is common in many parts of the world, making up m ...

animal welfare Animal welfare is the well-being of non-human animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevity ...

and

environmental groups An environmental organization is an organization coming out of the conservation or environmental movements that seeks to protect, analyse or monitor the environment against misuse or degradation from human forces. In this sense the environmen ...

. Grill'd was an early participant in

Movember Movember is an annual event involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of men's health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men's suicide. It is a portmanteau of the Australian-Engli ...

from 2006 to 2011, offering a free burger for anyone who grew a ‘Mo', and later became a major sponsor of Polished Man, gifting burgers to guests who donated to the cause. Additionally, the Grill'd Relish membership program gives members a free burger after eight visits which they can take themselves, or give to those in need through the work of the

Society of St. Vincent de Paul The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP or SVdP or SSVP) is an international voluntary organization in the Catholic Church, founded in 1833 for the sanctification of its members by personal service of the poor. Innumerable Catholic parishes have ...

, also known as Vinnies. In 2019, with bushfires raging across Australia, Grill'd started a charity initiative on Instagram, donating 10c for every Like the post received to the Vinnies Bushfire relief. Grill'd then extended their efforts, matching every ace Nick Kyrgios served at the Australian Open with $200 donated to the Vinnies Bushfire Relief. The company extended its efforts again in Feb 2020, donating $2 for every burger a Relish Member bought, and another $2 for every new member signed up, raising a total donation of $236,302 for Vinnies Bushfire Relief.

Product

Quality produce

Grill'd claims to have an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

-first sourcing promise and works with the local

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mig ...

s and suppliers to keep

food miles Food miles is the distance food is transported from the time of its making until it reaches the consumer. Food miles are one factor used when testing the environmental impact of food, such as the carbon footprint of the food. The concept of ...

low and ensure the freshest

ingredient An ingredient is a substance that forms part of a mixture (in a general sense). For example, in cooking, recipes specify which ingredients are used to prepare a specific dish. Many commercial product (business), products contain secret ingredie ...

s. Since 2010, all of the company's

and

grass-fed There are different systems of feeding cattle in animal husbandry. For pastured animals, grass is usually the forage that composes the majority of their diet. Cattle reared in feedlots are fed hay supplemented with grain, soy and other ingredi ...

and

, and in 2016 all of their

became the RSPCA Approved and have used

free-range eggs Free-range eggs are eggs produced from birds that may be permitted outdoors. The term "free-range" may be used differently depending on the country and the relevant laws, and is not regulated in many areas. Eggs from hens that are only indoors m ...

since their inception. The Grill’d food journey is described as being from ‘farm to fingers’ offering a range of higher welfare meat options along with

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

and

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...

options, as well as catering menu options to other dietary preferences of

flexitarianism Flexitarianism or Flexitarism is a semi-vegetarian diet in which people do not eat meat one or more days a week. A semi-vegetarian diet (SVD), also called a flexitarian, is one that is centered on plant foods with the occasional inclusion of m ...

paleo __NOTOC__ ''Paleo'' may refer to: Prehistoric Era, Age, or Period * Paleolithic, a prehistoric Era, Age, or Period of human history People * David Strackany, aka "Paleo", an American folk singer-songwriter Art, entertainment, and media * ''P ...

gluten-free A gluten-free diet (GFD) is a nutritional plan that strictly excludes gluten, which is a mixture of proteins found in wheat (and all of its species and hybrids, such as spelt, kamut, and triticale), as well as barley, rye, and oats. The inclus ...

and

low-carb Low-carbohydrate diets restrict carbohydrate consumption relative to the average diet. Foods high in carbohydrates (e.g., sugar, bread, pasta) are limited, and replaced with foods containing a higher percentage of fat and protein (e.g., meat ...

. In 2017, Grill’d partnered with the

RSPCA The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) is a charity operating in England and Wales that promotes animal welfare. The RSPCA is funded primarily by voluntary donations. Founded in 1824, it is the oldest and largest a ...

to raise awareness about the suffering of hens confined to

battery cage Battery cages are a housing system used for various animal production methods, but primarily for egg-laying hens. The name arises from the arrangement of rows and columns of identical cages connected together, in a unit, as in an artillery batt ...

s as part of the RSPCA's End the Battery Cage campaign.

Healthy Fried Chicken

In 2020, Grill'd launched "Healthy Fried Chicken" with HFC Bites in a campaign that ‘''flipped the bird to fast food giant

KFC KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...

by offering all KFC employees free HFC Bites when they visit a Grill'd store in their uniform. Following the release of HFC Bites, in 2021 Grill'd expanded its fried chicken line with HFC Burgers and publicly released its "No Secrets" recipe for consumers to see what goes into, and how to make their Healthy Fried Chicken. The Grill'd HFC Burgers are significantly lower in

kilojoules The joule ( , ; symbol: J) is the unit of energy in the International System of Units (SI). It is equal to the amount of work done when a force of 1 newton displaces a mass through a distance of 1 metre in the direction of the force applied ...

per 100g than other fried chicken burgers, are high in protein and fibre, low in saturated and

trans fat Trans fat, also called trans-unsaturated fatty acids, or trans fatty acids, is a type of unsaturated fat that naturally occurs in small amounts in meat and milk fat. It became widely produced as an unintentional byproduct in the industrial pro ...

s, an excellent source of

Vitamin E Vitamin E is a group of eight fat soluble compounds that include four tocopherols and four tocotrienols. Vitamin E deficiency, which is rare and usually due to an underlying problem with digesting dietary fat rather than from a diet low in vitami ...

, and provide at least seven essential

vitamin A vitamin is an organic molecule (or a set of molecules closely related chemically, i.e. vitamers) that is an Nutrient#Essential nutrients, essential micronutrient that an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its ...

s and minerals. HFC is all natural with no

artificial colours Food coloring, or color additive, is any dye, pigment, or substance that imparts color when it is added to food or drink. They come in many forms consisting of liquids, powders, gels, and pastes. Food coloring is used in both commercial food ...

, flavours and

preservative A preservative is a substance or a chemical that is added to products such as food products, beverages, pharmaceutical drugs, paints, biological samples, cosmetics, wood, and many other products to prevent decomposition by microbial growth or by ...

s; are

, cooked in Australian extra virgin olive oil, made with higher welfare RSPCA approved chicken breast, and free from added hormones or chemicals.

Plant-based vegan range

In 2019, Monday April 15, Grill'd hosted the "24 Hour Meat Cheat", serving only meat-free options to launch the

Burgers onto their menu''.'' In July 2021, Grill'd, in collaboration with the company Fable and British chef

Heston Blumenthal Heston Marc Blumenthal (; born 27 May 1966) is a British celebrity chef, TV personality and food writer. Blumenthal is regarded as a pioneer of multi-sensory cooking, food pairing and flavour encapsulation. He came to public attention with u ...

, created three new plant-based burgers with patties from mushroom-based protein. In November 2021, Grill'd was the first national restaurant chain to launch

Impossible Beef in Australia. To support the launch, Australian comedy duo The Inspired Unemployed revealed the new ‘meat' with an OnlyFans account.

Marketing and innovation

In 2013, the Coat of Arms Burger was launched ahead of

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port Ja ...

, with all-Australian ingredients, including a meat pattie made from the two animals represented on the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, the kangaroo and emu. In 2017 Grill'd launched the ‘Bunny Burger' with a rabbit pattie to celebrate Easter. In 2018, Grill'd revealed a new Bunny Burger made with 100% vegan ingredients. In 2018, Three Blue Ducks' Darren Robertson created a Splendour in the Grass Burger to celebrate Byron Bay produce. The burger featured slow-cooked belly pork from Bangalow Sweet Pork (a producer just outside of Byron), fennel and cabbage slaw with finger lime mayo, and smoked sea salt from South Australia's

Eyre Peninsula The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north. Originally called Eyre’s Peninsula, it was named aft ...

. The burger was on sale in selected Grill'd restaurants around Australia until July 23, 2018, and the Grill'd Burger Park during Splendour in the Grass on July 21–23. In 2020, to celebrate their activations at the

Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...

, Grill'd launched the Grand Slam Burger, featuring smashed avo, charred pineapple, crispy bacon, RSPCA Approved chicken breast and sweet chilli mayo. The burger was available at select Grill'd restaurants in Melbourne, and at the Grand Slam Oval and Ballpark pop-ups at the Australian Open. In August 2020, Grill’d announced their menu of burgers, sides and sauces were all

natural Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...

with no artificial colours, flavours and preservatives (with the exception of Beyond Burgers, Bacon and Vegan cheese), marked by the launch of their "100% Natural" campaign. The company worked with independent nutritionist body, Food and Nutrition Australia, to review the entire burger menu, reformulating the ingredients to remove any artificial additives and to further reduce kilojoules and sugars, resulting in 73% of their burgers providing less than a third of the daily energy intake for adults. In 2021, Grill'd partnered with streaming service,

Binge Binge or Binges may refer to: Behavior Binge, a behavior engaged in excessively over a short period of time, such as: * Binge drinking * Binge eating * Binge-watching Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Binge'' (EP), a 2018 EP by Machine Gun Kel ...

, to launch season 10 of The Walking Dead with a limited edition burger creation available in each state of Australia containing a panko crumbed and deep-fried lamb brain, in-between a charcoal bun, topped with oak leaf lettuce, tomato, rhubarb, beetroot ketchup, and dripping in a specially-made ‘brainnaise’ sauce. The burgers sold out within hours across the country and the campaign was shortlisted in the

Mumbrella ''Mumbrella'' is an Australian marketing and media industry news website. It was started in December 2008 by Tim Burrowes, and has since gone on to become a popular source for news, analysis and commentary on the advertising, PR, and media ind ...

CommsCon Awards for Best Use of Owned Media. Partnerships & sponsorships Grill'd have been a Premium Partner of the

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998. ...

NRL Club, since 2020, and in the first year of partnership, Grill'd supported Storm on their journey to win their fourth Premiership. To celebrate the partnership, Grill'd created a Storm Burger exclusively for members and fans. Six of the Storm players had a hand in developing the perfect combination for the Storm Burger: Brandon Smith,

Christian Welch Christian Welch (born 19 July 1994) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Melbourne Storm in the NRL. He is a NRL premiership winning player of 2020 and played for Queensland in the 2019 State of Origin ...

Cooper Johns Cooper Johns (born 14 July 1999) is a professional rugby league footballer who currently plays as a and for the Manly Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League (NRL). Background He is the son of former Newcastle Knights player Matthew Johns, n ...

, Harry Grant,

Josh Addo-Carr Josh Addo-Carr (born 28 July 1995) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the National Rugby League (NRL) and Australia at international level. He began his career with ...

and

Ryan Papenhuyzen Ryan Papenhuyzen (born 10 June 1998) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League (NRL) in Australia. He is a NRL premiership winning player of 2020. Early life Papen ...

. Each player nominated their favourite ingredients, bringing their wish list together to design Australia's first burger created by an NRL team. Grill'd have been the healthy eating partner of the

Melbourne Boomers The Melbourne Boomers are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. The Boomers compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play the majority of their home games at Melbourne Sports Centre – Pa ...

since the 2020 season. Boomers General Manager, Christy Collier-Hill said "we're so excited to welcome Grill'd as a team sponsor for WNBL Season 2020 and we are looking forward to a very healthy, long-term partnership.

Sustainability

Grill'd were the first restaurant group in Australia to go plastic-straw free in 2018, saving 1.7 million plastic straws from landfill each year. All of the takeaway packaging paper and

cardboard Cardboard is a generic term for heavy paper-based products. The construction can range from a thick paper known as paperboard to corrugated fiberboard which is made of multiple plies of material. Natural cardboards can range from grey to light b ...

, knife sleeves and kids pack packaging is PEFC and FSC Certified which comes from sustainably planted forests; for every tree cut down, another one gets planted in its place. In 2021, Grill'd partnered with

not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

environmental organisation

Greenfleet Greenfleet is an Australian not-for-profit environmental organisation focused on protecting the climate by restoring native forests. History Originally developed as a project of The Foster Foundation, Greenfleet was launched in October 1997 to o ...

as part of the company's Tree Day Tuesday initiative, aiming to plant 10 forests by 2022 that will be protected for 100 years. Every Tuesday, $1 from every burger purchased by a Grill'd Relish member goes towards planting trees, working with the

Dja Dja Wurrung Dja Dja Wurrung (Pronounced Ja-Ja-war-rung), also known as the Djaara or Jajowrong people and Loddon River tribe, are an Aboriginal Australian people who are the Traditional owners of lands including the watersheds of the Loddon and Avoca riv ...

people to offset carbon emissions. Working with the Dja Dja Wurrung people, Greenfleet planted native trees that revegetate their area and help restore the natural

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

. Grill'd was named one of Australia's top 10 brands in the 2021 Forces of Good Report, and the number 1 brand in the food category for

Corporate Social Responsibility Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a form of international private business self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropic, activist, or charitable nature by engaging in or supporting volunteering or ethicall ...

which analysed 190 brands. "We’re always thinking bigger and doing better to further reduce our footprint," Grill'd said in a statement, "sustainability is a driving factor in our decision making, with everything from the local sourcing of our ingredients to the recycled furnishings in our restaurants". Grill'd has also recycled over 660,000 litres of

cooking oil Cooking oil is plant, animal, or synthetic liquid fat used in frying, baking, and other types of cooking. It is also used in food preparation and flavoring not involving heat, such as salad dressings and bread dips, and may be called edible oil. ...

to create

biodiesel Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat (tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil with ...

, and has converted 62 of its restaurants to

green power Green Power is a non-governmental organisation in Hong Kong founded in 1988, concerned with the city's environmental issues. Activities and works Environmental education Green Power established the first Green Schools Network in Hong Kong ...

Controversies

In June 2015, it came to public attention that the

Toowong Toowong is a riverside suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Toowong had a population of 10,830 people. Geography Toowong is situated between Mount Coot-tha and the Brisbane River and is made up of rolling hills w ...

franchise had selected

pro-life Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...

group Cherish Life to receive funds from the Local Matters program. Founder Simon Crowe apologised for the alleged mistake, stating that Grill'd is

pro-choice Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...

. The restaurant chain encountered controversy in July 2015 when allegations arose that Kahlani Pyrah, a former employee of the

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...

franchise, had been removed from her position after beginning a wage case with the

Fair Work Commission The Fair Work Commission (FWC), until 2013 known as Fair Work Australia (FWA), is the Australian industrial relations tribunal created by the ''Fair Work Act 2009'' as part of the Rudd Government's reforms to industrial relations in Australia ...

to overturn a contract which set pay below the minimum award rate. Grill'd officially denied the allegations, claiming that her bullying of managers was the reason for the dismissal. Pyrah launched a Federal Court case in a bid to get her job back. An interim Federal Court ruling ordered Grill'd to reinstate her, allowing the wage case hearing to go ahead. At the hearing, a ruling by the Fair Work Commission forced Grill'd to raise the wages of employees at its Camberwell franchise to be in line the award rate. Jess Walsh of the hospitality union

United Voice United Voice was a large Australian trade union, with over 130,000 members. United Voice members worked in a wide range of occupations including hospitality, childcare, teachers' aides, aged care, property services (cleaning, security, maintenan ...

said that the ruling was an "enormous win" for Pyrah and Grill'd employees. A planned dismissal hearing at the Federal Court was called off after Pyrah and Grill'd reached an out-of-court settlement. In 2019 serious allegations were made against Grill'd by ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' and ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' concerning misuse of government subsidies to reduce staffing expenses. The coverage also include allegations of "serious" food safety concerns at 1-in-10 company-owned Grill'd restaurants. Allegations also included franchises being mistreated by the company and founder Simon Crowe falsifying signatures of his business partner on two liquor licenses.