Chanticleer Holdings buys The Burger Co.

Charlotte-based Chanticleer Holdings said it has bought The Burger Co., a restaurant whose only location is in uptown, in a $550,000 deal.

The purchase, made of $250,000 in cash and the rest in Chanticleer stock, was finalized Wednesday, one day after the companies entered into a purchase agreement.

The Burger Co. is at 1500 W. Morehead St., just west of the Interstate 277 loop. Its owner is David Smith. According to the restaurant's website, it was established in 2009 and grinds its own beef in-house daily.

It's the latest restaurant to be bought by Chanticleer, an investment company that has made multiple acquisitions of other restaurants in the past year as it seeks to achieve profitability.

Chanticleer, whose business model was once based entirely on owning and operating Hooters outside the U.S., changed that focus last year as it began buying other restaurant brands. Chanticleer has said it plans to expand some of those brands into foreign markets.

The Burger Co. is not the first burger restaurant to be bought by Chanticleer. In October, it finalized its purchase of Charlotte-based American Roadside Burgers.

Chanticleer said Wednesday that it has domestic and international franchise plans for The Burger Co.

“This acquisition is an integral step in our strategic growth plan as we prepare to take the better-burger category into our international markets," Chanticleer CEO Mike Pruitt said in a statement.