In the habit of giving

The Habit Burger Grill, an Irvine-based restaurant chain, opened its first location in Huntington Beach on Wednesday.

But first, the restaurant held three fundraisers to benefit local charities and organizations, said Mike Mirkil, the growing chain's vice president of marketing.

"We're excited to be in Huntington Beach," he said.

Though the restaurant didn't officially open for business until Wednesday, it opened twice on Sunday and once on Monday to raise funds for three charities in Huntington Beach.

The Habit, 18001 Beach Blvd., opened from noon to 2 p.m., then from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday to serve customers, but 100% of the proceeds went to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Huntington Valley and the Bolsa Chica Conservancy, respectively, Mirkil said.

The Habit also opened to customers from noon to 2 p.m. Monday, with proceeds going to the Huntington Beach Educational Foundation.

More than $1,000 was raised for each charity with a total of about $3,500, Mirkil said Wednesday.

"We like to do our part," Mirkil said. "As we move into new communities and as we grow, we want to be good neighbors, and so we want to reach out to charities in the local community, and we also use it as an opportunity to train our new employees."

The new Huntington Beach location is one of four the company plans to open in Orange County by the end of the year, Mirkil said. The three other locations are planned to be in Costa Mesa, Irvine and San Clemente.

Each time a new restaurant opens, the Habit will hold three fundraisers to benefit organizations and charities in their respective cities, Mirkil said.

mona.shadia@latimes.com

Twitter: @MonaShadia