A neighborhood Santa Monica, Calif., build-your-own-burger restaurant that gained unexpected fame last year on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" aims to open several stores in Hawai'i.

The emerging chain, named "The Counter," is negotiating for space at Kahala Mall and envisions up to five stores statewide.

Company founder Jeff Weinstein said he'd like to open a store in Kahala by March if a deal works out.

"We think it's a great market for The Counter," he said. "We think the consumers will respond to it."

The Counter, established in 2003, gained national exposure when a GQ magazine columnist in 2005 toured the country sampling burgers and ranked Counter No. 15 in a list of "20 Hamburgers You Must Eat Before You Die." The list was featured on Oprah last year.

The Counter has a handful of signature burgers, but was ranked for general quality and customization.

As a restaurant, The Counter stands out for an ordering process where patrons fill out a checklist on a clipboard for custom-building burgers with ingredients that include some unusual burger items as cranberries, green onions, pineapple, fried egg, peanut sauce, apricot sauce and feta cheese.

The company proclaims roughly 312,000 ingredient combinations are possible.

Other menu offerings include bunless burgers in a bowl, fried pickle chips, sweet potato fries, chili, beer and wine. The average check per person is $12.50.

After the mention on Oprah, Weinstein partnered with experienced franchiser Craig Albert and launched a plan to open additional restaurants through a mix of franchising and company-owned store development.

Today, there are just three Counter restaurants, including one that opened last week in San Jose, Calif.

But the company said it has sold development rights for 95 restaurants to be opened over the next three years. Weinstein said four more stores should be open by the end of the year, including the first outside California that's slated for Plano, Texas. A long-term goal is to have 400 to 600 stores.

In Hawai'i, Weinstein envisions three stores on O'ahu, including one in Waikiki, and perhaps a couple more on the Neighbor Islands.

Weinstein said the company hasn't found a franchise partner for local stores but is searching. A less preferred alternative would be to run company-owned stores here, he said.

"One way or another, we'll get it open," he said.

At Kahala, mall general manager Ron Yoda said preliminary discussions are ongoing for possible sites at the shopping center that would be premature to identify.

"We'd love to have them," Yoda said. "It's a pretty exciting concept."

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.