Growth

It's all about the brand

ow do you spell "opportunity"? Nontraditional locations, self-service catering, pop-ups, trucks, kiosks, retail products that's how. "We're looking at a real, long-term shift in the consumer mindset," says Robert J. Nyman, president of The Nyman Group Ltd. "Age and demographics no longer define where you go, because that's not what's driving behavior. Now it's daypart and price point." "It's all about expanding the brand," says Melissa Wilson, a principal at Technomic, pointing to offsite strategies like catering food trucks and pop-ups, as well as retail. A great example of the trend is Butcher's Son food trucks. Rather than opening traditional locations, food-industry scions Jon Wagner and Dain B. Pool have teamed up to launch a fleet of the food trucks, designed as the first-ever national mobile brand. With two in operation already in Dallas, the duo plans as many as 200 of the sausage-and-sandwich dispensing trucks in motion by 2014.

[FIG. 12] NONTRADITIONAL LOCATION

As for retail opportunities

Texas Roadhouse, known for its free buckets of crave-inducing unshelled peanuts, has begun selling this branded, packaged signature at Thorntons gas and convenience stores in five southern and Midwestern states. "They've been a tremendous brand-builder for us," says spokesman Travis Doster," and we plan on making them available to local operators to use in their own marketing." Tucker Curtin, owner of three restaurants in Buffalo, is planning to turn a shuttered local food-processing plant into a USDAcertified meat plant to cut, grind, cook, cure, smoke and package a variety of specialty products for his own use and sale to others.

Nieporent and Jean-Georges Vongerichten are lending their names and culinary chops Alternative business models and locations to the array of foodservice offerings (Daily are emerging that allow for more flexibility Burger and Simply Chicken, respectively) at as well as shared investment. the newly renovated Madison Square Garden. UMAMIcatessen, set to open inside L.A.'s Mariposa Bakeshop and Caf in Oakland, downtown Orpheum Theatre next year, will California, has snagged a coveted in-line house five different restaurant concepts by location in San Francisco's tourist-packed different operators, including a new Umami Ferry Building, after operating a kiosk there. Burger and Chris (Iron Chef) Cosentino's Pigg. Airports have become another opportunity Then there's the tactic of carving off part for foodservice. "Changes in security and in of an existing location to create an addi- the amenities that airlines are offering means tional, different venue, or repurposing it for travelers are spending more time before and a different daypart. between flights in the terminal," says Kevin Marty Fosse, the owner of Acre in Chicago, Westlye, president of San Francisco-based will be turning one room of the American High Flying Foods, which operates Firerestaurant into Ombra, a Venetian-style wood farm-to-table grills and cafes in two "bacari" bar. area airports fig. 12]. "That makes for more The owners of the dinner-only Bresca, in opportunities for local operators"includPortland, Maine, will open the site as Bresca ing the partnership High Flying has made Day for serving pastries, sandwiches and with Peet's Coffee & Tea to open two of the other light meals to the local neighborhood. environmentally responsible coffee outlets And other nontraditional locations: in SFO's new LEED-certified Terminal Two. New York City restaurateurs Drew Joan M. Lang

Nontradltional business models and locations

30

Restaurant Business

December 2011 www.monkeydish.com