The Right Stuff

Restaurants and Institutions' annual Choice in Chains survey reveals which restaurant concepts have what it takes to succeed

By Deborah Silver, Senior Editor -- Restaurants & Institutions, 3/1/2001

Taking its cue from the recent election, Restaurants and Institutions' 2001 Choice in Chains survey yields some unexpected results.

Three chains--CiCi's Pizza, Don Pablo's and Ruth's Chris Steak House--garnered enough votes this year to make their first appearances at the top of their categories on R&I's annual list of consumers' favorites. But these newcomers also are front-runners in other ways, outpacing the competition in a number of individual attribute categories. CiCi's surpasses other pizza concepts for variety, service and cleanliness, and outdistances all chains for value. Don Pablo's receives the highest marks in the Mexican segment for quality, variety, service, atmosphere and cleanliness. And Ruth's Chris goes beyond all other concepts in all categories for quality, service and cleanliness in addition to earning top marks among steakhouses for atmosphere.

Based on responses from 1,439 consumers across the country, top category scores were given to Krispy Kreme, Schlotzky's Deli, Piccadilly Cafeterias and Einstein Brothers, all of which moved up from lower positions to lead their segments this year. They did so by scoring the highest in for several key attributes. Krispy Kreme rated at the top for quality, value, variety and service. Schlotsky's bested other sandwich concepts for quality, variety, atmosphere and cleanliness, and Piccadilly excelled over its competitors in the cafeteria/buffet segment for service and atmosphere.

Another first: McDonald's this year shared the distinction of having the highest score of all chains for convenience with Sonic Drive-Ins. In past years, Big Mac has held that title alone.

But several other chains have steadfastly hung on to hard-won honors. The highest overall score belongs for the third consecutive year to Romano's Macaroni Grill, which also maintained its top rating in the dinner-house category (where it was rated highest for food quality, service, atmosphere, cleanliness and convenience).

For In-N-Out Burger, Cracker Barrel, Rainforest Cafe, Red Lobster and Chick-fil-A, hard work to keep their customers' high regard has paid off. They, too, are repeat winners in their categories.

Customer loyalty must be won every day. This year's Choice in Chains winners show how that can be done.

Romano's Macaroni Grill

Walk into a Romano's Macaroni Grill and the atmosphere is lively, yet comfortable and warm. Guests are subtly drawn by an aura that embodies the 156-unit, Dallas-based chain's mission statement: Harvest an Italian Passion.

That passion for ensuring customer satisfaction is what has kept the Brinker International concept atop the dinner house category in R&I's annual Choice in Chains survey for three years running. Romano's won top marks among dinner-house chains for five of the seven attributes (food quality, service, atmosphere, cleanliness and convenience), and ranked high in menu variety.

Even more laudatory is that Romano's once again has received the highest overall score of all chains rated in all categories.

What keeps people coming back and drawing in new guests, says John Miller, Romano's, is its "variety of great food." The menu offers a range of selections for those who "want to manage a check and get out for a pretty good price per head," and for those "who have a pretty high culinary standard." A variety of daily chef features offer ever more surprises.

Marco Fiorini, Romano's executive chef, is the craftsman behind the menu, ensuring that the food is authentic and has the proper ingredients imported from his native Italy. He oversees the team of executive chefs in each location to make sure each restaurant "lives up to [the chain's] reputation and name," says Miller.

Also important to meeting guests' expectations, says Miller, is consistency. "If we have one idea in Dallas and it is interpreted differently in Denver then it doesn't work very well."

In addition to "creating addictive food," another central element of employee training, says Miller, is "providing nurturing service." Employees undergo extensive training so they can anticipate guests' needs and are given great liberty to ensure needs are met, Miller says. If a guest orders samples of all the dessert offerings, that is what the guest will get.

Further Macaroni Grill pays more than lip service to treating employees well. It offers a premium pay and bonus incentive program "that is above the industry norm," says Miller. In addition, 40% of its management "is mined out of the hourly server, sous chef and back-of-the-house ranks," he says. "This is a great opportunity for the people with us through school and college to move up through the company."

All management teams receive stock in Brinker International and twice of year groups of senior managers selected according to performance and tenure are sent on a cultural tour of Italy.

The Olive Garden, based in Orlando, Fla., repeats as the gold winner among dinner-house chains. It received the category's top score for value and rated near the top for all other attributes.

CiCi's Pizza

At CiCi's Pizza, meals are a value proposition and then some. For just $3.99 (recently raised from $2.99), customers get an all-you-can-eat buffet, replete with 16 pizzas, an array of pasta dishes, salad and dessert. The one-two punch of low cost and selection appear to be working: the Coppell, Texas-based company catapulted far ahead of other pizza chains in value and variety rankings this year.

But customers returned for other reasons as well. The 355-unit operation prides itself on cleanliness and service, and patrons took notice, with CiCi's also outranking competitors in those categories. "We've been focused for years on how our restaurants are run, on creating a clean, safe, family-oriented environment that exceeds guests' expectations," says Joe Flanagan, CiCi's vice president of marketing. If customers don't see the desired pizza on the buffet, they "just have to let us know and we'll make it and bring it to their table," he notes. "If we don't get it right, we'll take it back to the kitchen until we do."

CiCi's also is returning to the kitchen for product upgrades this year. Pizzas will be made with fresh vegetables, a higher percentage of real cheese, and sauces and thicker crusts that are created in house daily. In addition, the company will promote more limited-time buffet items to drive up store traffic, based on the successful introduction last year of chicken pizza. "The buffet is our mother ship," says Flanagan. "We have to tend to it because we count on it to take us where we want to go."

So far, it's right on course. Systemwide sales rose 11% to $301 million in 2000, and this year that figure is expected to rise to $345 million.

But there are new paths to follow. CiCi's plans to expand beyond its 17-state base of operations, located primarily in the South and Southwest. This year the company will open restaurants in Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. Plans call for the addition of 60 units each year for the next four years through multiunit franchise operators. Although the concept will remain a shopping-center-based, in-line operation, "we're shifting into high-octane development in that arena," says James Shehan, CiCi's director of franchising.

An aggressive re-imaging campaign is also underway, including a new look (brighter colors), logo (more up to date) and slogan ("fresh pizza at a great pizza," replacing "best pizza value anywhere").

The winner of the gold award in the pizza category is Godfather's Pizza, another regional chain, which earned high marks for food quality.

In-N-Out Burger

"We haven't really changed anything this past year, and we don't plan to in the foreseeable future," says Carl Van Fleet, In-N-Out Burger's vice president of operations.

Uneventful, yes, but when an operation is as successful as In-N-Out, why tinker with it? The Baldwin Park, Calif.-based chain once again has led the burger pack in R&I 's survey, outpacing others in its segment in ratings for quality, value, service, atmosphere and cleanliness.

The fact that it ranked behind some competitors in variety and convenience is not a concern for In-N-Out. The concept prides itself on serving the same basic menu of burgers, fries and beverages that it featured over 50 years ago. It also takes some pleasure in its limited-access, cult status. "We have no plans to add more items and no plans to move beyond the states where we're now located," says Van Fleet. "We're happy following our laid-back growth plan."

That plan included Arizona last year, a new location for In-N-Out, with three restaurants ("That's a big deal for us," notes Van Fleet), bringing the total number of restaurants up to 148 in three states (units are also located in California and Nevada). Two more sites are scheduled to open in Arizona this year. Industry analysts expect the company to maintain steady revenue and unit growth of about 10%.

In-N-Out will not comment on earnings, and it is vocal about its intent to remain family-owned and its rejection of the franchising route on which many other burger chains rely. "The freshness and quality of our products, the friendliness of our service and the cleanliness of our operations are most important to us," says Van Fleet. "It's nearly impossible to maintain those standards when you relinquish control."

There's little chance of In-N-Out letting its high standards slip. Company butchers are on staff to insure quality control, and quality, friendliness and cleanliness inspectors make a surprise visit to each store monthly. The majority of product preparation is handled in house. Fries are sliced in each restaurant from whole potatoes, and lettuce is hand-leafed. Burgers are cooked to order, buns are baked at an In-N-Out facility and delivered fresh daily and microwaves and freezers are banned from all premises.

That translates into business as usual at In-N-Out. "I wish I could come up with something exciting to say," says Van Fleet. "On the other hand, I'm glad I have nothing more exciting to say, because what we're doing seems working very well, thank you."

Oklahoma City-based Sonic Drive-Ins, another chain with a very loyal consumer base, wins this year's gold award. Although it operates in only 27 states, Sonic tied the ubiquitous McDonald's with the convenience category's high score.

Cracker Barrel

Every coin has two sides. And so it is with Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. For several years, the unit of Lebanon, Tenn.-based CBRL Group Inc., has topped the family dining category in R&I's annual Choice in Chains survey. High scores from guests in the chain's own surveys that measure repeat business also echo that fact. But for a span of several fiscal quarters, starting in 1998 and extending into 1999, the other side of the coin showed something quite different: negative same-store sales figures.

After serious self-assessment, officials of the nearly 440-store operation concluded that "we were pricing a little too aggressively and we had let our execution standards slip," says Mike Woodhouse, president of CBRL Group. So it was with renewed vigor that Cracker Barrel focused on its simple mission statement: pleasing people.

"We have some pretty good training programs," says Woodhouse. "But we can't have a policy and procedure in the manual for everything that comes up. So we rely on the basic principle of pleasing people and doing the right thing for the guests."

This empowerment comes within the company's basic grounding for employees, which emphasizes three primary points. Cracker Barrel is a "fast-service, high-table-turnover environment," says Woodhouse. "We have very specific expectations of employees in terms of how long each step of the process will take."

The second also is basic to any foodservice operations: "Get the hot food out hot, the cold food out cold, and always make sure guests are served in sequence," says Woodhouse.

Third is the acknowledgment that no one and no operation is perfect. "We really believe that once in a while in a large environment, someone will make a mistake," says Woodhouse. "But if you handle it right, and apologize and correct the situation, you actually get a positive benefit from that."

Cracker Barrel makes a commitment to its employees, offering its hourly employees incentives as they make their way through each of the four levels of training. As they complete each level, they receive higher pay and better benefits. "We treat our hourly employees as professionals in what they do," says Woodhouse.

"Obviously, employees who have been around [for a period of time} and have been through the training are going to perform better," he says. "It really helps."

Meanwhile, Cracker Barrel has plans to revise its menu, "but we're not ready to talk about it yet," says Woodhouse. But both regular and new customers will like it, he predicts.

Bob Evans restaurants is this year's gold winner in the family-dining category. The Columbus, Ohio-based chain received the highest score for convenience.

Chick-fil-A

Will 2001 be the year of the chicken?

If the pattern holds, the answer is sure to be yes for Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A. With its chicken-only policy shaping a sturdy menu of sandwiches, salads, soup and sides, the chain has had devotees coming back for more than 30 years.

The secret to inspiring such loyalty, says Donald Perry, director of public relations, is consistent delivery of fundamental service points while occasionally tossing in a few new wrinkles. The result: Customers are finding something more than palatable poultry at Chick-fil-A's roughly 960 locations. They're coming in for the food and coming back to an environment of what Perry calls "unexpected fun."

Consumers once again ranked the atmosphere at Chick-fil-A well above even its closest competitors, and the chain saw a significant increase above its rating from last year as well.

A key contributor to Chick-fil-A's fun and quirky image of late is the nationally recognized "Eat Mor Chikin" advertising campaign. In comical television commercials, billboards, newspaper ads and in-store materials, cows plead with consumers to "Eat Mor Chikin" and save their hides by choosing Chick-fil-A products over beef. The five-year-old campaign has spurred more than an image boost for the company: By the end of this year, revenues from cow-theme merchandise are expected to total more than $13 million.

"It's kind of fun to come in and see the billboards that always have these clever sayings," Perry says. "We typically do six promotions a year, and with each promotion there is a fun atmosphere with the cows coming up with a reason why you need to take advantage of the latest promotion from Chick-fil-A versus taking advantage of the cows."

Another popular draw, Perry says, is Chick-fil-A's unique take on the kids' meal. Rather than playing up the latest children's movie or toy craze, the restaurant presents educational selections designed to please both children and parents. One recent promotion, for example, offered a series of seven books created especially for children by Stephen R. Covey, the best-selling author of "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People." Other premiums have included "Grow With Zoom" garden tools and seeds, and even abbreviated versions of C. S. Lewis' classic series of books, "The Chronicles of Narnia."

Paired with perpetual top-notch ratings for food quality and customer service, these features serve to further persuade consumers that when chicken's on the menu, Chick-fil-A is the place to be.

For second-place honors and the gold award, tiebreakers give the edge to Popeyes, over KFC and Church's Chicken.

Red Lobster

The greatest catch at America's preferred seafood chain is not on the menu, but in the kitchen, at the front desk and on the floor: the Red Lobster crew.

"The way we look at it is, you don't get the customer loyalty until you've started with crew loyalty and satisfaction," says Jim DeSimone, director of public relations. "If our managers provide a good experience for the crew, they turn around and provide a good experience for our guests."

Behind the strength of this team, Red Lobster maintains its loyal customer core even as the restaurant continues to evolve. From kitchen to corporate, Red Lobster holds its core customers in the highest esteem, always careful not to take their loyalty for granted.

For example, among the chain's latest initiatives--including a comprehensive remodeling program--Red Lobster is reaching out to a group DeSimone calls "MAHI," middle-aged, higher-income people, who research has shown will eat out in both good economic times and bad.

Even as it seeks to broaden its appeal, however, the restaurant keeps its eyes on the prize. All changes also have been tracked against the traditional core customers as well. "They love the changes we're making, too," DeSimone says. "And that was just as important."

Furthermore, from veterans to first-time visitors, today's Red Lobster customers have something else in common: higher expectations.

"Good food at a good price is not enough anymore," DeSimone says. Accordingly, Red Lobster's remodeling program employs a three-pronged strategy to give consumers what they want: great food, a great atmosphere and a knowledgeable, hospitable server.

First, in all remodeled markets, restaurant staff both old and new receives extensive hospitality training. Next come the physical changes, which lend to an atmosphere consumers continue to rank well above the company's nearest competitors. Finally, in some markets Red Lobster is peppering its national menu with local favorites, such as conch fritters in Tampa, Fla., and steamed mussels in Detroit.

Through all these changes, faithful crew and customers keep Red lobster on top. "We're always trying to broaden and create more loyal customers," says DeSimone, "but we'd never try to appeal to another consumer group in a way that would alienate our loyal customers."

Shoney's Inc.-owned Captain D's of Nashville, Tenn., is this year's gold award winner in the seafood category.

Schlotzsky's

"Love is a word we hear a lot from customers," says John Wooley, president and CEO of the roughly 720-unit Schlotzsky's Deli chain. "It's all a response to the Schlotzsky's Original sandwich. The folks who invented it were trying to recreate a New Orleans muffuletta, but they came up with something quite different, something with a little magic to it. And we've built our chain around it."

Magical, maybe. Complex, definitely. The Schlotzsky's Original combines hot deli meats and melted cheddar, Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, dressed with onions, lettuce and tomato, and finished with a muffuletta-style sprinkling of black olives marinated in olive oil, garlic and spices, all nestled into a freshly baked sourdough bun.

Schlotzsky's bread is a key point of difference that it believes distances it from other sandwich shops and strengthens customers' loyalty. "When the recipe was first formulated years ago, the manufacturer told us it wasn't a bread recipe, it was closer to a pancake," Wooley recalls. "We say that the bun's a distant cousin of Italian ciabatta bread."

The buns are mixed from scratch daily as well as baked in each unit. "We have a 30-year history of paying attention to the bread," Wooley says. Operators must monitor 42 points of precision, from mixing and rising to the size of gas bubbles in dough and the color of the baked product.

"We tell new operators that they may be confused the first few months, but if they get the bread right and the cheese melted at 165F, then any combination of ingredients will taste great. It's the bread and melted cheese that gets the response."

Schlotzsky's research finds pregnant women are especially avid fans of the chain's bread. Wooley doesn't try to explain that, content with the result. "Kids from those families grow up loving Schlotzsky's as well. We were, after all, sort of their prenatal care," Wooley says with a laugh.

First Lady Laura Bush is another fan. In her days as a librarian in Austin, Texas, she occasionally led elementary school children on tours of Schlotzsky's National Training Center to show them a full-scale European-style baking center.

Even devotees of Schlotzsky's Original may occasionally want to try something new, so the chain will add a Fiesta Chicken Sandwich for a six-week engagement this spring. A Turkey Bacon Club sandwich on jalapeño-spiked bread makes an appearance this fall.

An interactive Web site keeps Schlotzsky's and its loyal customers in touch. And for those who can't remember the spelling of the chain's name, it can be accessed at www.cooldeli.com as well as www.schlotzskys.com.

It took a tiebreaker to separate Schlotzsky's and this year's gold award winner, Subway, the top scorer for value, service and convenience.

Ruth's Chris

Customer satisfaction depends on excellence in product and training. At Ruth's Chris Steak House, employees can master their jobs by trading cards, so to speak.

Two years ago, the 70-unit concept instituted a job-skills training and testing program. Each position has a color-coded job card the size of a business envelope that details responsibilities and core skills. Used as a training device, it enables employees to master a job and advance to the next position at their own pace.

Such uniformity of training results in consistent quality and excellence among all Ruth's Chris units, says Deborah Hinson, director of marketing. It keeps customers happy and returning to the 35-year-old steakhouse chain.

The card-based training program, called S-MAC (Self-Managed Audio/Cards), can be accessed in English or Spanish. It can help a bartender remember the difference between a shot and a jigger. It can answer a prep cook's question, "How big is a dice of potato?" One explains to a new employee how to clock in correctly or reminds about the Ruth's Chris dress code (such as how many pierced earrings are allowed per ear). It underlies the chain's training credo: see it, say it, do it.

Having mastered his or her job, the employee is tested and certified. Then, the go-getter can learn the skills necessary to advance to the next job. The two-year-old system of learning, testing and evaluation keeps training uniform, and it also encourages cross training.

Since the system was introduced, it has resulted in fewer customer complaints and greater employee retention, according to Hinson.

The system motivates people, especially those who seek career advancement. There's friendly competition among employees to get all the colored cards. About twice a year, employees are retested to reinforce skills.

Since food is Ruth's Chris's main attraction, executive chefs are invited to participate in the annual management meeting with managers from all units. Getting chefs involved in strategy and overall operations is an idea mandated by William L. Hyde, president and CEO.

Such collaboration gave rise to a successful seafood promotion and fall game menu. "Not only did it tap a new market of seafood lovers, but regulars loved the surprise element,'' adds Hinson.

Tied for the top honors in food variety and the steakhouse category's highest-rated chain for convenience, Stuart Anderson's is this year's gold award winner.

Don Pablo's

The Millennium Twins, America's first babies born in 2000, will always have a special link to Don Pablo's Mexican Kitchen. After all, their expectant mother went to a Don Pablo's in Indianapolis seeking the chain's spicy salsa, hoping to hasten labor. It worked and Tim and Julie Wallman, along with children Jordan and Jacob, were awarded free Don Pablo's meals for the rest of their lives.

That was happenstance for Don Pablo's, but when it comes to customer satisfaction, the Madison, Ga.-based chain seeks to leave nothing to chance. "We rate cleanliness, food quality, hospitality and service in each restaurant on a 100-point scale every month," explains Chief Executive Officer Robert Andreottola. "Our goal is to be at least in the 80-90 point range in all areas, for all units."

Don Pablo's managers will go an extra step to tap into what customers want. Beginning in February 2001, 50 guests per unit are randomly invited each month to share their opinions about all aspects of their Don Pablo's dining experience by calling a toll-free number and answering questions about Don Pablo's service and food. As thanks, participants receive a dinner coupon.

Andreottola says he expects this program to be "the best research we've ever done, and will help us better position the brand for the future."

Another first for the chain is a series of seven limited-time-offers scheduled this year, developed by Scott Nordon, vice president of research and development. Fajitas are the focus for February and March: barbecued chicken melt fajitas ($8.99) and pepper cheese steak fajitas ($9.99). "They dominated about 40% of total fajita sales in test markets in Tampa, Minneapolis and Pittsburgh," Andreottola says.

Top-selling specials will be blended into the regular menu, joining favorites such as the fajita combination platters, chocolate volcano desserts (7-inch-tall masses of chocolate, fudge and ice cream) and the giant "Margatini," a tequila-based mixed drink served in a hand-blown 27-ounce glass. Under Nordon's R&D leadership, Don Pablo's plans to add about 18 new menu offerings a year.

The look of Don Pablo's restaurants also is getting an upgrade. A new prototype that opened in Brooklyn, Ohio, features a smaller footprint with the same number of seats and a bigger, more inviting bar--with correspondingly higher liquor sales. The food-to-liquor sales ratio at the new unit is 75:25, compared to 80:20 at existing restaurants.

"It's a proven sales getter," Andreottola says. "This is the look we'd like to carry going forward for new restaurants."

Chi-Chi's is this year's gold award winner in the Mexican chain category.

BASKIN-ROBBINS

If it's March, it must be Peanut Butter Buzzer Beater time at Baskin-Robbins. The nutty new ice cream of the month, coinciding with the NCAA Basketball Tournament, features peanut-flavored ice cream spiked with a ribbon of chocolate fudge and chocolate-covered peanut butter cookie balls.

Peanut Butter Buzzer Beater is only the latest on a list of nearly 1,000 flavors developed by the chain over its 55-year history. Variety rules at Baskin-Robbins, and customers respond, giving the chain the top score in this category. Seventy-five to 100 flavors rotate through each store's menu annually. The job of keeping the hits coming falls to an eight-member research and development team led by Director Patty DeGrazzio.

The consistency coupled with variety is the secret to Baskin-Robbins' staying power. "We consistently deliver high quality ice cream products, develop flavors that are relevant to consumer tastes and trends, and continue to build on our heritage and commitment to innovation," says Debra Newton, manager of communications and promotions.

Today the chain's ice cream empire includes about 4,700 locations in more than 50 countries, more than half of them in the United States.

A close watch on consumer taste trends shapes new flavors. With demand swinging from lower-fat products back to high indulgence, Baskin-Robbins has responded with creations like Chocoholics Resolution (Swiss chocolate ice cream packed with caramel-filled chocolate, white chocolate and dark chocolate truffle cakes and a fudge ribbon). Eleven of the 24 "classic permanent ice cream flavors" feature chocolate.

Some of the all-time best selling flavors include Pralines n' Cream, Love Potion #31 (white chocolate and raspberry ice creams swirled with raspberry-filled chocolate hearts, chocolate chips and raspberry ribbon), and Jamoca Almond Fudge.

The company has extra fun with "seasonal" links, which is why April's flavor of month will be Tax Crunch, a mild coffee-flavored ice cream with chocolate covered crunchies. "The coffee to help you stay up all night preparing taxes, the chocolate to soothe," Newton explains.

The chain plans at least two special treats this spring. Its annual Free Scoop Night will be May 2, from 5 to 10 p.m. at participating stores, when everyone receives a complimentary scoop of their favorite flavor. And, beginning in spring, Baskin-Robbins operators will add "Freeze Frame Ice Cream Cakes" to their lineups. Freeze Frame uses a special scanning system that transforms photos by printing them in edible ink onto edible "paper." The image is then placed onto the cake top for further decoration.

Häagen-Dazs, which consumers rated the highest for food quality, wins this year' gold award.

Krispy Kreme

Krispy Kreme is one doughnut that found its window, and its clientele. The 63-year old doughnut manufacturer from Winston-Salem, N.C., is raising the American staple to one of affordable indulgence. Famous for its signature feather-light glazed doughnut, sold warm, the company keeps its formula secret, but its growth and success now are well-known.

Customers wax poetic. The appeals are simplicity and freshness that tempt young and old. Krispy Kreme scored highest in its category for food quality (as well as menu variety, value and service) and that high opinion holds across all age groups.

The experience of buying doughnuts at Krispy Kreme borders on entertainment. The design of each of its 165 units enables customers waiting in line to watch the doughnut-making process. Their appetites are stoked near the cash register and packing area where the parade of hot finished doughnuts, dripping glaze, juggle down a conveyor belt. Such sensory appeal is as arresting as the neon sign outside that snags pedestrians and drivers with "Hot Doughnuts Now."

Analysts are bullish on the future of the chain, whose initial public stock offering was the most successful of 2000. Krispy Kreme's high-tech production capability and strong franchise system attract well-capitalized area developers who develop multiple stores. Proprietary formulas, mixes, equipment and processes maintain Krispy Kreme's one-of-a-kind position.

An 18,000-square-foot store/factory opened in Elk Grove Village, Ill., is a prototype for future facilities, producing up to 1,200 dozen doughnuts per hour. It also features a 24-hour drive-thru.

Expansion is on the agenda. Krispy Kreme franchisees will open up to 45 new stores by end of fiscal 2001. More growth is slated via penetration of existing markets through retail stores. The company will also maximize store productivity by selling off-premises to grocery and convenience stores.

Co-branding with selected customers and entering more institutional markets are on the calendar. Plans are also in the works to remodel, and, in some instances, to close and relocate some older company stores to attain the design format and capacity levels of newer units.

Several initiatives are underway to improve on-premise sales. Stores built before 1997 were targeted as wholesale bakeries. The older units will be remodeled to approximate the new design or to include more of the amenities. In a few instances, older stores will be closed, then relocated to higher traffic areas within the area. The move not only will increase same store sales levels but also will balance seasonal sales.

Another success story, Starbucks, is this year's gold-award winner in the category. It scored highest for atmosphere and cleanliness.

Piccadilly

Although they might seem old hat, good food and good service can be hard to come by. But judging from the responses to R&I's 2001 Choice in Chains survey, that is not the case at Piccadilly, which took top honors in the cafeteria category this year (but only after tiebreakers were employed). Founded in 1944, 230-unit Piccadilly was rated highest for menu variety and service, and tied for the top score on food quality.

Brian Von Gruben knows its sounds clichéd when he explains what Piccadilly Cafeterias does to please guests, but he knows it is true. "We focus on our inside-the-four-walls experience," says the executive vice president of the Baton Rouge, La.-based operation, "always trying to make it better, make it simpler for our customers, new and old, and continue to strive to do what we do best."

Which, he says, is to "serve the highest quality, best-tasting food of anybody, anywhere." Employee training is the critical element in making the Piccadilly experience enjoyable, says Von Gruben. "When our employees are well-trained and well-informed, it ensures confidence and allows the employees to interact effectively with the customers."

Training takes place on a daily basis. "We try to carve out a piece of every day for little training sessions during our lineup meetings," says Von Gruben. During these sessions, employees are presented with questions they are likely to hear from customers. "It could be anything, a question about a particular item, or it could be questions about pricing or [someone asking] whether anything comes with that particular entrée," says Von Gruben.

"Customers probably won't ask me for the answers, they will more likely ask the salad lady. She is the one who really needs to know." Piccadilly also wants to make sure its employees are not constricted by rules, says Von Gruben.

Toward that end, the company has focused on a program it calls "Operation Yes," which Von Gruben explains as "training our employees to say yes to the customers."

"Our employees want to do well and want to do a good job for us. But sometimes they think one of the customers is trying to get one over on us." Nevertheless, he says, "we want our customers happy. Making our customers happy is the guiding principle behind our training."

In the last year, Piccadilly has simplified its pricing and "changed the way our bundled meals are sold to make it easier for new customers to understand," says Von Gruben.

Tiebreakers were again called into play to determine this year's gold award winner. Old Country Buffet, top rated for menu variety and value, takes the gold this year.

Rainforest Cafe

Inside each Rainforest Cafe is a sensory circus: live tropical birds, exotic fish in massive aquariums and animated robotic animals. Rumbles of thunder and lightning followed by showers occasionally interrupt conversation, although the raindrops are kept away from diners.

Nothing else can quite match the ambience of a Rainforest Cafe, and that has kept customers coming for the past six years. Respondents to R&I's Choice in Chains survey gave it the top score for atmosphere.

Few Rainforest Cafe's customers, however, probably were aware of the other jungle, the one in which the 39-unit chain's management found itself during the past year. Merger agreements with Landry's Seafood Restaurants Inc. and Lakes Gaming Inc. fell through, before Landry's second acquisition bid was approved by shareholders. In December, Rainforest Cafe became a wholly owned unit of Houston-based Landry's.

A few under-performing Rainforest Cafe units have been closed since the sale, but Landry's Chairman, President and CEO Tilman Fertitta says he remains convinced that the concept's fundamentals are basically strong.

"The worst Rainforest units, ones we closed, were doing $5 million [in sales] a year. That tells me they were in poor locations; many had terrible leases. But the consumer appeal was there," Fertitta says. "This isn't a concept for suburban malls. It works best in unique locations."

Accordingly, Fertitta recently was at the Downtown Disney entertainment complex in Anaheim, Calif., to cut the ribbon on the chain's largest unit. Built at a cost of $20 million, the 600-seat restaurant is designed to look like a Mayan temple.

Its high score for atmosphere is pleasing, but Rainforest Cafe undoubtedly is more encouraged that customers rated its food quality highest among the theme-restaurant chains. Management has worked (before and since the acquisition by Landry's) to improve and broaden its menu. It created a Culinary Advisory Council of chefs Mario Batali, Larry Forgione and Kerry Simon to make the menu more appealing . Jungle Safari Soup and Mogambo Shrimp are still available, but the council added more mainstream dinner-house selections such as Tuscan-style chicken, a Southwestern Ancho Chili Rib-eye steak and a chicken paillard salad.

The concept's value perception still needs improvement, Fertitta says, and menu prices are being lowered.

It required a tiebreaker to determine the category winner this year, giving Planet Hollywood--which earned top scores for menu variety, value, service and convenience-- the gold award.

Einstein Bros.

Chad Gretzema taps thousands of employees daily. The director of communications for Einstein/Noah Bagel Corp. in Golden, Colo., parent of the Einstein Bros. bagel chain, uses electronic newsletters, The Bagel Biz and Schmooze, to communicate with 11,000 employees in 456 units. "Getting the message out as often as possible is key to keeping things humming,'' says Gretzema.

Exploiting the latest technology in multi-media communications is crucial in working with a young staff. "Generation Y is raised on computers. That's how they communicate. A traditional newsletter won't work.'' Reaching the greatest number of people fast is how to inform, involve and excite staff.

"Employees consider Einstein's a cool place to work, he says. The dress code of jeans, caps and T-shirts doesn't impinge on personal style. [Employees are] encouraged to be themselves and use their personality with customers." Making training fun is one way. Managers use talk sessions, video instruction and role-playing instead of teaching with a big, thick book.

The typical customer visits about 12 times a month, surveys report. Einstein wants to give each customer a satisfying experience. It happens by making sure employees are well trained, informed and respected.

"We connect with employees through their channels," says Gretzema. "Think of the typical 17-year-old. He works on computers in school, then comes home and opens a chat room or checks on movies or vents, not by reading the newspaper, but by turning on the computer. That's how we talk. We tap into every channel from e-mail and voice mail to Internet.''

Newsletters are updated several times a week. Bulletins are sent electronically. Units are alerted and reminded of upcoming food promotions such as green bagels for St. Patrick's Day. Skills and operational procedures necessary for each promotion are reviewed, including the necessity to offer samples one week prior to launch. Employee questions are handled on site and by trainers at a toll-free number.

Customers also voice their opinions and concerns through a toll-free number. In fact, a team of three handles 52,000 calls per year on issues ranging from service and restroom cleanliness to coffee blends and new food items.

When Einstein reformulated a breakfast egg sandwich last year, customers voiced discontent. Einstein executives took action. "This spring, when the new menu rolls out, that favorite egg with sausage patty item will be back,'' adds Gretzema.

[Note: There is no winner of the gold award in this category this year.]