As You Like It
Localized menus help chains feel a part of the neighborhood
By Allison Perlik, Senior Editor -- Restaurants & Institutions, 3/1/2004
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More than 100 different menus are spread across the country’s largest casual-dining chain, a fact that may surprise those who rail against the perceived homogeny of multi-unit restaurants. Such variety is part of Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar’s efforts to craft an image as the local option of choice at its 1,550-plus locations.
About 60% of core menu items are standard throughout Applebee’s system. Unit operators customize the remainder to appeal to local tastes, typically selecting from pre-approved options but sometimes creating one-of-a-kind products. One of the industry’s broadest examples of regionalization, Overland Park, Kan.-based Applebee’s strategy is seen by many as wiser than taking a traditional uniform approach to menu planning.
“There’s a little bit of arrogance associated with thinking that one size fits all in terms of people’s tastes in food,” says Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. President and CEO Scott Barnett, whose company dabbles in regional dishes. “If we don’t try to customize the experience to some degree for each area in which we operate, I don’t think we’re giving a full-service experience to the customers.”
Cuisine credibility
Consumers’ ability to connect with a concept on a personal
level plays a significant role in their selection of one restaurant
over another, says Lawrence Denaro, CEO of Q2 Brand Intelligence,
a Seattle-based research and strategy firm. When chains take
measures to localize offerings, he says, they also boost elements
that draw customers to such restaurants in the first place:
trust and familiarity.
“If [typical customers] go out to midscale restaurants a certain number of times a month, the battle is over frequency. If you can capture that one extra visit, it dramatically impacts your same-store sales,” Denaro says.
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Customization can be more critical in certain markets if the area is known for particular products or preparation styles. At bd’s Mongolian Barbeque restaurants in Michigan and Ohio, for example, high demand for lamb and pork products makes them must-have protein options on the create-your-own-stir-fry menu. bd’s customers on the East Coast seek more seafood options, while tequila-lime chicken is popular in Texas and Colorado.
“This isn’t about us, it’s about the customer,” says Billy Downs, founder of the 23-unit, Detroit-based chain. “Most of our ideas have come from requests from our guests.”
In a segment that must perpetually defend itself against charges that it lacks creativity and character, local menu customization also lends another level of legitimacy to chain cuisine. That’s part of the reason Bubba Gump offers Low Country favorites such as she-crab soup and shrimp and grits in Charleston, S.C., and Creole fare such as shrimp étouffée and gumbo in New Orleans.
“These are dishes you’re going to find [in these markets], and if you don’t have them on your menu, you’re really not credible as a regional restaurant,” Barnett says.
Bumps in the road
Because multi-unit restaurants’ traditional formulas
for success bank on economies of scale and uniformity that
yield purchasing and operational benefits, many chains avoid
menu variations, which can add complications to the standard
business model.
At the corporate level, quality-control and research-and-development employees must create and be familiar with numerous recipes and keep up with widespread food trends. Restaurant-level staff also must learn about new dishes when moving from one market to another.
Purchasing efficiencies gained through bulk buying may be reduced or lost when using regional ingredients, and separate menus and point-of-purchase materials must be produced to support special items.
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“If you introduce separate menu items for many different stores, it becomes a full-time job logistically to handle all the individual products,” says Lowell Petrie, vice president of marketing for Newport Beach, Calif.-based Ruby’s Diner. “From a management viewpoint, it’s much easier to keep the menu standardized.”
Ruby’s only offers regionalized items in Hawaii, where the clientele’s tastes can be quite different from that in the company’s main markets in California. The franchised restaurant on Maui features area specialties such as pig quesadillas and passion-orange-guava juice as well as traditional favorites popular with the locals such as meatloaf, country-fried steak and roast turkey.
Rolling with the changes
Companies that go the regional route handle executional
obstacles in a variety of ways. Fox and Hound English
Pub & Grille, an upscale bar-and-grill
concept based in Wichita, Kan., typically mandates about 24
draft beers to be included in each location’s taps. The
decision of how to
fill the remaining taps—usually at least 12—falls
to district and local store managers. Based on customer
feedback and area tastes, these managers customize
a combination of local microbrews and popular imports.
The company purchases system-wide brands, which make up about two-thirds of sales, from national suppliers and buys the rest on a local basis, says CEO Steve Johnson. Volume price breaks aren’t an issue in either case, he says, since beer and liquor pricing typically is mandated by individual states.
At bd’s Mongolian Barbeque, offering a variety of protein options in different markets allows the company to take advantage of special deals such as recent price drops for veal and chicken.
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“We have a purchasing director who does this full time. He monitors prices and keeps in touch with the market. We also use a lot of information from suppliers,” Downs says.
Finally, when it comes to the ability to operate with multiple menus, size does matter. The country’s largest chains can still realize bulk savings even if using particular ingredients in only a few markets.
“Our size helps us accommodate even a small percentage of restaurants,” says Kurt Hankins, Applebee’s vice president of menu development and innovation. “For us, 5% or 10% of the system is still a lot of restaurants.”
Toast of the town
Not only does menu regionalization enhance a concept’s
place in local markets, it also gives operators a greater sense
of ownership in their restaurants. That’s part of the
reason Applebee’s offers new items or recipe variations
on a much smaller scale.
In St. Louis, the chain worked with area operators and suppliers to test toasted ravioli because the product is a staple among competitors in the market. The company also is creating a different version of its chicken-fried steak for Texas restaurants to match the demands of that state.
While such extensive regionalization doesn’t work for all chains, even a few targeted offerings can make a difference in key markets. That’s the strategy for Dallas-based Brinker International, which caters to local tastes on a limited basis at Chili’s Grill & Bar. The chain’s New England restaurants, for example, carry such options as fish and chips, clam chowder and cod fillets.
“It’s certainly not a major initiative, but because we want to be in tune with our guests, we tweak the menu when the need arises,” says Chili’s spokesman Louis Adams.
Regional tidbits
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