Chamber Champion | Big Wheel Burger
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Big Wheel Burger was born out of a dream in 2011 by Calen McNeil who says he loved the classic American cheeseburger, but wanted to do things differently. “Everyone always opens a business to be successful but no one ever thinks about what will be best for the community and environment around them” says McNeil “if you look after your neighbourhood, if you uplift the community around you, a business will see success. Businesses thrive in communities that thrive.”
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 SINCE 2020
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By 2013 Big Wheel Burger became Canada’s first Carbon Neutral Fast Food Restaurant and today only 0.4% of our restaurant waste goes to the landfill. Our customer area is 100% trash free since all of our packaging is completely compostable. We divert a minimum of 90% of our waste, recycling soft plastics, cartons, styrofoam and other items that are typically thrown out.
Composting keeps our landfills from piling up and prevents unnecessary methane, a greenhouse gas, from being released into our environment. Big Wheel Burger was founded on the idea that FAST food didn’t have to mean JUNK food. We’ve put thought into every step, from what we serve our customers, to how we run our shops and how we impact the environment and local communities. Our burgers are ground in-house everyday using hormone-free, range-fed, AAA beef, brought to you with fast, friendly service. We source locally from Island Farms, Berryman Brothers Butchery, Hoyne Brewing, Phillips Brewing and Malting, Phillips Sodaworks & Island Bakery. Big Wheel Burger is quintessential local eating. Not to mention our delivery van runs on biodiesel created from our own fryer oil! From waste and emissions management to community engagement and restaurant design, every piece of building Big Wheel was well thought out on how it would impact the community and environment around us.
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Waste Management:
Emissions Management:
Community Engagement:
Restaurant Design:
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But the environment is only one of the components of Big Wheel with the Community aspect of our business taking shape in 2018 with the start of the Big Wheel Burger Community Foundation. Expanding on the idea that businesses thrive in communities that thrive, the BWBCF created a way for us to reinvest back into the community using funds raised by the community itself through choosing to dine at, work at, or be a supplier to, a Big Wheel Burger.
The BWBCF is now fully committed to supporting the neighbourhoods they serve and to meeting its needs not only through selling burgers at Big Wheel locations, but by raising and matching funds to support the most vulnerable in those areas. A portion of all sales at each Big Wheel Burger location is donated directly back into that community through organizations we are proud to partner with including The Mustard Seed, Loaves and Fishes, Victoria Hospice, Nanaimo Hospice, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, and Tillicum Lelum Aboriginal Friendship Centre. |
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It’s pretty rewarding to know that by dining at a Big Wheel Burger, not only are you getting fresh food made to order with local ingredients, but you are also giving back to your community and supporting the environment. There are currently 4 Big Wheel Burger locations on the Island with a 5th opening in Courtenay Spring 2022.
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