R&I Insider - July 1, 2006
By The Editors -- Restaurants & Institutions, 7/1/2006
Fed Data Verify
Worker Status
Demonstrations against proposed changes in U.S. immigration policy has lead some consumers to assume that most or all restaurant workers are in the country illegally. In response, Canton, Mass.-based Dunkin’ Donuts announced its participation in a voluntary federal program that allows employers to verify workers’ status using online databases from the Social Security Administration and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The Basic Pilot Program, a free service from U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services in Washington, D.C., is a Web-based system through which employers can corroborate information provided on newly hired employees’ Form I-9, stating they can legally work in this country. It can be used only to verify status of workers brought on staff after it has been implemented, so it does not address potential unauthorized employees already in the work force.
Dunkin’ Donuts is requiring all franchisees to take part in the pilot program, though individual stores can decide whether or not to inform customers of their participation.
Hey, Buca, What About Vinny?
Investors’ hunger for chain-restaurant opportunities has its limit, and Vinny T’s of Boston appears to be off the menu. Last year, the board of Minneapolis-based Buca Inc. authorized the company to explore strategic alternatives for its 11 Vinny T’s of Boston restaurants including their sale or conversion to Buca’s primary concept, 93-unit Buca di Beppo (r.). Now Buca says it no longer will classify Vinny T’s as assets held for sale and will focus on potential conversion of some or all to Buca di Beppo.
Menu Focus
Chains cool customers amid summer’s heat with creamy milkshakes in flavors classic and quirky.
ATLANTA
Chick-fil-A: Hand-spun milkshakes: Cookies & Cream, strawberry, chocolate and vanilla (shown)
COLUMBIA, MD.
MaggieMoo’s Ice Cream & Treatery: Moocha Cowpuccino (Udderly Cream ice cream, chocolate syrup and espresso)
INDIANAPOLIS
Steak ’n Shake: Bits ’n Pieces milkshakes with peanut-butter cups, chocolate-chip-cookie dough, chocolate candy or cookies ’n’ cream
GLENDALE, CALIF.
Baskin-Robbins: Mint Chocolate Chip milkshake
LAKE FOREST, CALIF.
Johnny Rockets: Big Apple milkshake
OKLAHOMA CITY
Sonic Drive-In: Banana Cream Pie Shake
PRAIRIE DU SAC, WIS.
Culver’s Frozen Custard & Butter-
Burgers: Raspberry Concrete Mixer
SAN DIEGO
Jack in the Box: Chocolate and vanilla Malted Crunch Shakes
Table Turns
Dunkin’ Brands in Canton, Mass., named Robert Rodriguez brand officer for Dunkin’ Donuts. He previously held that post for the Togo’s brand and is succeeded in that role by Lisa McLean, who had been vice president of marketing for Togo’s. ... Thomas Garrett (r.) was appointed president of Atlanta-based Arby’s, while continuing to serve as its chief operating officer. Prior to joining Arby’s in July 2005, Garrett was president of franchisee RTM Restaurant Group, purchased last year by Arby’s parent, Triarc Companies Inc. Additionally, Stephen Hare was named Arby’s chief financial officer, succeeding Todd Weyhrich, who left the company. ... Chuck Fallon joined Burger King, Miami, as president of North American operations. He had been with Cendant Car Rental Group Inc., where he worked with Burger King CEO John Chidsey. ... Ray Blanchette joined Pick Up Stix in San Clemente, Calif., as president and chief operating officer. He had been vice president of franchise operations for T.G.I. Friday’s USA, which like Pick Up Stix is owned by Carlson Restaurants Worldwide Inc. ... After earlier announcing his intention to leave Columbus, Ohio-based Max & Erma’s to become a senior vice president with a local real-estate company, Rob Lindeman opted to remain as president of the chain. ... Denver-based Vicorp Restaurants named Tim Casey president of its Bakers Square chain. Casey’s résumé includes stints as chief operating officer for Cereality Cereal Bar & Cafe and vice president for operations at Starbucks Coffee Co. ... Bob Faller was named vice president of franchise development for Retail Brand Group LLC, the Allentown, Pa.-based unit of Sodexho that operates and franchises Jazzman’s Café, Pandini’s and other concepts. ... Chris Carroll joined Deerfield, Ill.-based Cosi Inc. in the newly created position of executive vice president and chief marketing officer. Carroll most recently was senior vice president and director of worldwide marketing for the Subway Franchise Advertising Fund Trust. ... IHOP Corp. in Glendale, Calif., named Dustin Dixon to the new position of vice president for product, quality assurance and purchasing. His responsibilities include creation of new products and food safety. ... Caribou Coffee Co., Minneapolis, added Rosalyn “Roz” Mallet, chief operating officer of La Madeleine Bakery Cafe Bistro, to its board of directors.
Landing Rights
With restaurant chains flocking to airports, convenience stores are looking for their piece of the action. Wawa recently made its first foray into the market, opening a c-store location on the grounds of Northeast Philadelphia Airport. The 5,700-foot store—a new prototype for the Wawa, Pa.-based chain—sells gasoline along with grab-and-go foods such as Sizzli breakfast sandwiches, wraps, hoagies and proprietary coffee blends.
At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the unit that Atlanta-based Moe’s Southwest Grill opened last month is its only restaurant with a breakfast menu. Morning offerings include the Baggage Handler Burrito with scrambled eggs, potatoes, cheese and pico de gallo, and the Lost Luggage Platter (Southwest “twisted toast” with syrup, scrambled egg, potatoes and choice of meat).
Balanced Nutrition
Subway has opened its first locations in North America designed for customers who want kosher or halal meals. The Milford, Conn.-based chain opened a franchise location last month in the Mandel Jewish Community Center in Beachwood, Ohio, a Cleveland suburb. In keeping with kosher dietary restrictions, the restaurant serves no pork or dairy products, replacing cheese with a soy version, and serves pastrami, corned beef and turkey shwarma (similar to gyros), along with other items found on the regular Subway menu. Prices are slightly above the system average, with a six-inch turkey sub priced at $4.99 and a foot-long at $7.99, says Debra Posner, director of marketing and communications for The Jewish Community Center of Cleveland.
A Subway restaurant in Iselin, N.J., offers both the chain’s standard menu and a separate list of foods that meet Muslim dietary laws, known as halal. Pork products are absent from the halal menu and other meat has been butchered so that all blood is quickly drained, in keeping with Islamic laws.
Subway spokesperson Les Winograd says that as Subway expands in the Middle East and India, adapting menus to conform to religious dietary restrictions has become more commonplace. “Now we’re seeing that type of thinking translating to U.S. customers and certain demographics that we see as underserved,” Winograd says.
CiCi’s No-Frills
Takeout Option
The CiCi’s Pizza business model is simple: 4,000-square-foot restaurants offering all-you-care-to-eat buffets brimming with pastas, salads, desserts and 16 different types of pizza for one low price of $4.49. Takeout accounts for 25% of sales in high-volume locations, but the Coppell, Texas-based chain now is offering its franchisees a takeout-only, 800-square-foot CiCi’s Pizza To-Go option. The drive-thru concept will offer a limited menu of one-topping 15-inch pizzas including pepperoni, cheese and sausage; family-style salads; drinks and cinnamon rolls.
“There won’t be a whole lot of frills,” CiCi’s President Craig Moore says of the new concept. “One stop, one price pizzas” will be $4.99 at the first to-go units in Mineral Wells and Forney, Texas. “We’re extracting the takeout part of the business and putting in additional outlets in between stores in areas where we can’t find the right amount of real estate for a mothership store,” Moore says.
Sodexho Believes in Magic
Having transformed noncommercial foodservice with retail-style dining concepts, Sodexho’s next trick will be to bring a bit of celebrity glamour to its clients. The Gaithersburg, Md.-based contractor announced it has a 49% stake in SodexoMagic LLC, a new joint venture with Magic Johnson Enterprises (MJE), the Los Angeles-based company headed by basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson.
The two companies are expected to develop Magic Johnson-branded dining concepts for sports venues, colleges and other markets Sodexho serves. While Sodexho President and CEO Richard Macedonia didn’t announce any specific foodservice concepts that will emerge from the partnership, he made it clear he understands the power of a famous name in the marketplace, where he says Johnson will “position us as the clear choice for clients and customers.”
MJE’s Johnson Development Corp. subsidiary is involved in foodservice on several fronts, including Urban Coffee Opportunities, a 50-50 partnership struck in 1998 with Starbucks Coffee Co. in Seattle; it now operates coffeehouses in more than three dozen markets. A partnership formed that same year with Carrollton, Texas-based Carlson Restaurants Worldwide created branded Magic Johnson’s T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants. In 2001, Johnson and partners acquired the Santa Monica, Calif.-based Fatburger quick-service chain, which they sold two years later to an investment group led by the concept’s CEO.
Panera Kids
Goes Organic
Panera Bread has added a children’s menu emphasizing balance, flavor and health, and incorporating natural and organic items. The primary goal is to provide food that appeals to kids and also pleases parents.
“In thinking about food for children, we wanted to provide a meal that was appropriate for them but also tasted good,” says Julie Somers, spokesperson for the Richmond Heights, Mo.-based chain.
Panera Kids choices include three sandwiches (grilled organic American cheese; natural peanut butter and jelly; and ham, turkey or roast beef with organic cheese) served on light, whole-grain bread with a container of squeezable organic yogurt. Beverage options are organic chocolate or plain milk or apple juice.
Prices vary, but at about $4.49 they are higher than most quick-service kids meals but below Panera’s $7 check average. The inclusion of natural and organic items coincides with Panera’s recent health-related changes, which include eliminating trans fats from the menu and using natural, antibiotic-free chicken.
“The choices that we’ve made in the kids menu reflect our belief that the best products make the best-tasting food,” Somers says.
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