Kharina Steakhouse
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | |
| Formerly | Tog |
|---|---|
Company type | Chain store |
| Industry | Restaurant |
| Genre | Drive-in, casual dining, fast food |
| Founded | November 14, 1975 in Curitiba, Brazil |
| Founder | Rachid Cury Filho |
| Website | https://kharina.com.br |
Kharina Steakhouse, previously named Tog, is a family business casual dining franchise from Curitiba.[1]
The restaurant was created by Rachid Cury Filho after he felt frustrated in his old job at a tire shop. Inicially calld Tog, the concept came from the drive-ins he saw on American films. He bought one terrain of his father in Capanema, Curitiba (nowadays renamed as Jardim Botânico),[2][3] thus inaugurating the first unit on 14 November 1975.[4]
In 1981, a second unit of Kharina was opened in Batel.[2] The drive-in movement became slower, and the restaurant focused on table service.[5] Cury quickly formed a partnership with Roberto Mehl,[5] but it was dissolved and the restaurant was renamed Kharina. The name was based on a Bhutan legend where a young chef named Karina went to Europe to learn how to cook and, when she came back, she has enchanted the king with her ground meat recipe and has married him.[2][3][5] Cury added a "h" in the name for "cabalistics reasons".[5]
Later, a unit in Água Verde was inaugurated.[6] In 2012, the franchise was reformulated to work with casual dining and the restaurants were reformed,[7] and on 10 July Kharina's logo has changed.[8] In 2013, an unit was opened in Cabral.[9] In 2017, a restaurant was opened in Centro Cívico, working with an all-day model.[10] There's also a unit in Portão.[11]
In the 2010s, teh franchise's growth has stagnated due the arrival of international franchises, such as The Fifties, Applebee's and Outback Steakhouse, and the creation of new restaurants using the same model, such as Madero.[12] In 2017, Kharina invested in expanding the franchise to another states, with the first restaurant inaugurated at Shopping Parque da Cidade in São Paulo.[13] There are also stores at Shopping Anália Franco (SP), Campinas and Londrina.[11] In 2020, during the Covid-19 Pandemic, Kharina operated with take away and delivery, and reinaugurated the drive in.[14]