ReBurger heading to Palmy

PHOTO: ZOMATO.COM

Yup, the rumours are true - ReBurger is headed to Palmerston North. The iconic burger store is estimated to open around the start of June in the Palmy North City Centre, located on the corner of Broadway Ave and Princess St. ReBurger has four locations so far in Dunedin, Mosgiel, Timaru, and Tauranga. Famously known for serving big, juicy burgers amongst other options such as loaded fries, tacos, and more, ReBurger was an overnight hit with Otago students in Dunedin. 

However, in 2020, the University of Otago’s student magazine Critic Te Arohi spoke to eight former employees of ReBurger who alleged that the company had a “toxic” work environment. These allegations spoke of illegal employment practices, a lack of food safety training, and inappropriate comments. When Massive reached out to ReBurger for a comment, owner Boris Reiber responded: “Without wanting to dredge up history too much, we have obviously grown up and gotten our acts together, and want nothing more than happy and healthy staff loving the work.” He also notes the majority of his staff that were there at the very beginning have stuck around, meaning the culture is “not just toxic, aggressive, and otherwise unorganised as it perhaps looks”.  

The franchise is currently on the search for multiple positions at their Palmerston North location such as management, chefs, and hospitality crew. Their ad specifically advertises a “happy & healthy work environment with supportive management”, conflicting with the reporting in Critic’s piece. This potentially means that the managers are expected to be totally new and not the employees referred to in the piece. However, there is an opportunity for prospecting employees to join ReBurger’s Union named “Unite”. We love a good union.