Bob Merullo: a well-done menu and beefed-up operations send sales soaring at Red Robin

Nation's Restaurant News, Jan 27, 2003 by Dina Berta

The tomatoes are history. "Not red enough," Bob Merullo complains as he gives a visitor a tour of the kitchen at the Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. restaurant in Parker, Cob., one of the newest units in the 194-unit chain.

It is an hour before lunch on a warm winter morning, and the kitchen is spotless. The food is prepped and ready -- salad fixings, the dressing, garnishes -- all sorted and stored in drawers and bins. Soups and sauces are bagged. Burger patties are separated by wax paper and stacked in boxes in the walk-in refrigerator. All bags and even the boxes and bins the bags are stored in are dated.

Everything is ready at the Parker store, except the tomatoes. Merullo tells the restaurant's manager to find some redder tomatoes and toss out the pale ones.

Merullo's title is senior vice president of operations for the Greenwood Village, Colo.-based Red Robin, but he always has been known as the "food guy," ever since he took a job as a kitchen manager 16 years ago at a Red Robin in Colorado Springs that was owned by the largest franchisee of Red Robin, the Snyder Group.

After three years president and chief executive Mike Snyder promoted Merullo, a culinary-school graduate, to food and beverage director, and later to head of operations for the franchise. When the Snyder Group bought out the parent company in 2000, Merullo advanced to his current position.

Red Robin, which did $224,000 in annual systemwide sales in 2001, went public last summer with an initial public offering that raised $48 million. The split between company-owned and franchise stores is almost even at 95 and 99, respectively.

While Merullo oversees the entire operations for the company, from technology improvements and food-safety standards to franchisee and employee issues, his No. 1 passion always has been the food.

His commitment to food and quality has helped Red Robin become an industry leader in the gourmet hamburger niche. The casual-dining chain, which has a $10check average, has been able to keep repeat customer visits up to three times a month and food costs down to an average of 24 percent.

Merullo was instrumental in standardizing menus, specifying the quality of ingredients and picking the right suppliers and people for management positions.

His culinary background and management skills have kept Red Robin a strong competitor in the industry, Snyder says.

"Bob has a vast and unique knowledge of food and a huge compassion for people," he says. "He has this ability to round up a group of people and create wonderful food and beverage products for a large number of guests."

When Merullo took over operations, he hired Scott Schooler to replace him as food and beverage director of Snyder Group, luring Schooler away from the parent company, Red Robin International, seven years before the merger.

"My first impression of Bob was he was more passionate about food than most people I've ever met," says Schooler, vice president of food and beverage for Red Robin.

Usually, when the head of operations holds a teleconference with store managers, his first question is about their profit for the week, Schooler says. That is not the case with Merullo.

"Bob's first question would be, 'How did your cheeseburgers look on Friday night during a busy shift?' " Schooler says. "He really starts all conversations with the food."

Merullo and Snyder also persuaded Ray Masters to leave his supplier job with Sysco to become vice president of purchasing and distribution for Red Robin.

Masters, whose business card also lists his title as procurer of fabulous things," met Merullo when he was still a kitchen manager, sporting a colorful red bandanna on his head.

"He had a passion for fun food, and I supported him with crazy new ingredients," Masters says. "He has a very adventurous culinary spirit that is well-balanced with operational realities. Nothing is off limits for Bob. That attitude allows for creative ideas to come from our guests, our team members and our business partners.

"He never says no to anything," Masters continues. "If it's producible, profitable and has guest preference, Bob will be able to import it and execute it."

Take the pot-roast burger, for example, he says. The pot roast is smothered in sweet grilled onions and melted cheddar cheese and served on a toasted onion bun with a brush of creamy horseradish sauce.

"To think Red Robin could take good old American pot roast and turn it into a signature sandwich that is produced from raw material in excess of 1 million pounds [a year] tells me he has a good handle on taking even comfort food and reinventing it with the appropriate Red Robin spin," Masters says.

Red Robin taps into the research and development departments of its vendors to help control overhead costs and keep a stream of fresh ideas coming, Merullo says.

He also established a food and beverage committee at Red Robin, composed of himself, Schooler, Masters, Sheryl Randolf from marketing and three of the chain's most successful franchise operators. The committee meets quarterly to discuss new products, current products and results of product tests.