SAN DIEGO — The launch of the Buttery Jack burger at the end of January has been a win-win for San Diego-based restaurant chain Jack in the Box.
First, the burger, which features a garlic herb butter that is melted onto the patty, delivered on Jack in the Box’s goal of improving its hamburgers.
“I’ve been here for 14 years, and in that time frame, we’ve never had a product as successful as Buttery Jack,” Lenny Comma, chairman and chief executive officer, said during a May 14 conference call with analysts. “So it’s by far the most successful thing that most of the folks working in the brand today have experienced. And when you look at the work that went into it, what’s nice about what we are experiencing is, we expect similar quality cues and changes across the core menu, coming into next year.”
The Buttery Jack is available in two varieties: classic and bacon and Swiss. The Classic Buttery Jack includes a ¼-lb beef patty, provolone cheese, tomato sauce, lettuce and tomato. The Bacon and Swiss Buttery features a ¼-lb beef patty, hickory-smoked bacon, Swiss cheese, and bacon mayo.
Mr. Comma said the new Buttery Jack burgers have helped drive the lunch and dinner day parts, two areas that haven’t been drivers of success for the restaurant chain in recent years.
The burger also hits on Jack in the Box’s strategy of being a little different.
“We said long ago that essentially, Jack in the Box has to be a differentiated, quality-driven brand,” Mr. Comma explained. “Because we’re not big enough to play in the space of the value driver in the industry. And I think the good thing is that the consumer wants and believes that we are more of a quality-driven brand, differentiation, our quirkiness of our advertising, the weirdness of our menu. Keep in mind, tacos is still a huge seller, and we’re a burger company.
“So we’ve had a history of being able to put things out there that are a just a little different than everyone else, and the consumer has come to expect it. When you look at what some of our competitors are doing, they’re trying to play in a space that is probably not an equity that they currently have, and will take, I believe, a very long time for them to establish that equity. So I’m not saying whether it’s right or wrong. Those are things that the competitors have to figure out for themselves. But what I can say is, our strategy won’t change, because we know the space that we play in. And essentially, we’ve been finding success there, and there’s no reason for us to believe that’s going to change.”
Mr. Comma said Jack in the Box historically has responded well to competition in the marketplace, and he doesn’t expect that to change going forward.
“We’ll stick to our strategy, but as folks try to encroach on our space, we will certainly have a response,” he said. “And that’s something that you can anticipate, as well. So no strategy change. And if we’re going to throw some punches back in the other direction, it’s going to be from the basis of what our strengths are. And you will see us compete that way, going forward.”
Net income at Jack in the Box in the second quarter ended April 12 was $23,005,000, equal to 61c per share on the common stock, up 46% from $15,801,000, or 38c per share, in the same period a year ago. Revenues increased 5% to $358,122,000 from $340,870,000.
For the six months ended April 12, net income was $58,840,000, or $1.53 per share, up 22% from $48,087,000, or $1.14 per share, in the same period a year ago. Revenues totaled $826,743,000, up 4.5% from $790,952,000.A Jack in the Box Bacon & Swiss Buttery Jack™ contains 890 calories, 59 grams of fat and 48 grams of carbohydrates.
According to our website visitors, a Bacon & Swiss Buttery Jack™ is not a healthy and nutritious option from Jack in the Box, with only 19% of voters finding it to be healthy.
Let us know what you think! Review the nutrition facts below and then vote on whether you think a Bacon & Swiss Buttery Jack™ is healthy or not.
Keep reading to see the full nutrition facts and Weight Watchers points for a Bacon & Swiss Buttery Jack™ from Jack in the Box.
A Buttery Jack sounds like one of those things you shouldn’t look up on Urban Dictionary, but they are also burgers you should look up whenever you’re near a Jack in the Box.
Jack in the Box’s Buttery Jack comes in two varieties — Classic and Bacon & Swiss.
Both feature a new signature 1/4 lb beef patty that’s topped with melted garlic herb butter and a new toasted gourmet bun. The Classic is also topped with provolone cheese, a creamy tomato sauce, green leaf lettuce, and tomato slices. The Bacon & Swiss also has strips of hickory-smoked bacon, Swiss cheese, and a creamy bacon mayo.
If you’re trying to decide which one to try first, go with the Classic.
The beef patty in my Classic Buttery Jack had, I swear, a homemade beef patty flavor to them. It was slightly peppery with a strong beefy flavor. The garlic herb butter sounds like it could overwhelm the entire burger, but it didn’t. It’s mild enough that it enhances the flavor of the beef patty.
But the ingredient I believe makes the burger stand out is the creamy tomato sauce. It’s sweet, tangy, and tastes somewhat like French dressing. And just like the garlic herb butter, it doesn’t overwhelm the burger.
I also liked the new gourmet bun. It’s dense with a little sweetness, and, even with all the smashing I did while handling it, it ended up being quite sturdy. The provolone, which has been used in Jack’s deli sandwiches, didn’t do much in this burger, except keep the tomato slices from falling out. And the green leaf lettuce was more like yellow-green leaf lettuce. Although, to be fair, yellow-green is better than Jack’s usual white-green lettuce.
The Classic Buttery Jack has a lot of flavor and it’s the best burger I’ve ever had from Jack in the Box.
While I think the Classic is great, the Bacon & Swiss is a step down, but it’s still good.
The creamy bacon mayo has tiny bits of bacon, which help accentuate the six strips of bacon under the bun. Yes, SIX strips. I don’t know if I received bonus bacon by accident, because six seems like a lot, but they gave the burger a bold salty, porky flavor. I do enjoy Jack in the Box’s bacon (it’s definitely better than the bacon they used to have), but in the big chain fast food world, I do prefer McDonald’s Applewood-smoked bacon which is thick and usually crispy on the edges.
The beef patty in my Bacon & Swiss didn’t taste as good as the one in the Classic. It was a bit overcooked, but the garlic herb butter helped cover the patty’s dryness. The melted Swiss cheese does give the burger a little creaminess and cheesy goodness, but it’s really the bacon, beef, and butter show. With all of that said, even with the garlic herb butter, it doesn’t taste vastly different than other bacon cheeseburgers.
The Buttery Jacks come wrapped in paper and I highly recommend you keep them on while eating the burger…unless you want to slide down poles faster, because the melted garlic herb butter will get all over your hands.
You don’t want that garlic herb butter on your hands. You want to keep it on these Buttery Jacks because it makes them taste really good.
(Nutrition Facts – Classic – 816 calories, 52 grams of fat, 23 grams of saturated fat, 2 grams of trans fat, 128 milligrams of cholesterol, 1148 milligrams of sodium, 50 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, and 37 grams of protein. Bacon & Swiss – 887 calories, 59 grams of fat, 25 grams of saturated fat, 2 grams of trans fat, 1346 milligrams of sodium, 48 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 11 grams of sugar, and 42 grams of protein.)
Item: Jack in the Box Buttery Jack (Classic and Bacon & Swiss)
Purchased Price: $4.99* (Classic)
Purchased Price: $5.39* (Bacon & Swiss)
Size: N/A
Purchased at: Jack in the Box
Rating: 9 out of 10 (Classic)
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Bacon & Swiss)
Pros: Classic is the best Jack in the Box burger I’ve ever had. Garlic herb butter and creamy tomato sauce. Nice sturdy bun with little sweetness. Bacon & Swiss came with SIX bacon strips. Bacon mayo has tiny bits of bacon in it.
Cons: Expect to get garlic herb butter on your hands if you take it out of its paper wrapper. Provolone didn’t provide much flavor in the Classic Buttery Jack. Bacon & Swiss doesn’t taste vastly different than other bacon cheeseburgers.
*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.