Cover Story: Cornering the Market
Il Fornaio Chairman and CEO Mike Hislop will put his skills to the test trying to uncork the growth potential of Corner Bakery Cafe, which Il Fornaio and its largest shareholder acquired from Brinker International in February. He plans to keep Corner Bakery’s experienced management team in place and the changes it made to the bakery-cafe’s prototype and service. Hislop intends to grow the chain rapidly: After opening six to eight units this year, he plans 20 a year, with the first franchise stores slated for 2007.
Storyboard: Continuing Education
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s new ad campaign explains the concept of a family sports pub with higher-end production values. Debuting last September, the new commercials target both loyal and new customers. They feature Girl Scouts, Little Leaguers, gymnasts and others celebrating childhood events at Beef ‘O’ Brady’s, interspersed with food photography, and end with the tagline, “See you at Beef’s.” Moving back to its core message has paid off: Since 2004, average unit volume has increased from $640,000 to $1 million.
Restauratour:A Family Affair
To attract more dine-in guests and expand into big-box suburban locations, Happy Joe’s Pizza & Ice Cream has repositioned its concept into Happy Joe’s Cafez, complete with a new prototype to keep even the squirmiest child happy. A chandelier with a tangled confection of wire and red and white bulbs, pizza-sauce-red walls, and wall decorations like game boards and album covers keep kids entertained while they wait for their food. The Bettendorf, Iowa-based chain plans to convert its existing units while expanding into Detroit and Madison, Wis.
Toque Of The Town:User-Friendly
Corporate Executive Chef Wayne Schick has reshaped Mitchell’s Fish Market’s menu with extraordinary yet accessible dishes without major impact on food and labor costs. He retooled the fish category with new presentations and sides, expanded the kids’ menu and added nonseafood options. In addition, Schick eliminated or altered several dishes to improve execution efficiencies in the kitchen.
Technology:Order Accuracy
Subway’s purchasing co-op began using a Web-based promotion-management software in mid-2005 to monitor the chain’s product pipeline. The technology is meant to make limited-time offers, promotions, product tests and rollouts more profitable by preventing the chain from running out of product or from having leftover inventory.
