Delights sprouts branches

Nation's Restaurant News, April 18, 1994 by Jack Hayes

ATLANTA -- A group of young liberal-arts graduates from Atlanta's Morehouse College are harvesting an abundant cash crop from their three-unit vegetarian concept called Delights of the Garden.

The novice operators, who designed the first restuarant to satisfy their own vegetarian appetites, also are discovering how much equipment cost savings there can be in a kitchen that literally does no cooking.

Launched in January 1993 with an investment of $2,000, Delights of the Garden has expanded already to Georgetown in Washington, D.C. And the group is considering a move into other cities as cash flow permits.

"We're still in the sweat-equity stage -- trying to get the permanent systems set up while we pour our profits into expansion," siad Prince Rivers, a partner in the concept. "But we're getting a lot of attention."

The attention he alludes to is displayed in the flattering reviews --garnered both here and in Washington, D.C. --that hang on Delights' diningroom walls.

Rivers, who manages the second Delights location --a 2,500-square-foot unit with seating for 50 in Atlanta's midtown --said his restuarant debuted last July with a $10,000 investment and is now grossing $2,000 a day.

The Georgetown unit, which opened in October with slightly more seating capacity, is averaging closer to $2,500 a day, he added.

The restuarants operate seven days but substitute brunch for regular lunch on Sunday. The check average, including food and beverage, is $10.

Meanwhile, food and labor cost together equals about 50 percent of sales at all restaurants, Rivers said.

Most of Delights' economies, however --like its nonmainstream vegetarian signatures --originate in the back-of-the-house, Rivers noted.

Because none of the dishes requires any cooking, the kitchen is designed without a hot line --no grills, fryer, saute pans, steamers, convection ovens, range hoods or sprinklers.

The 50-seat midtown restaurant operates with three small refrigeration units, two freezers and one appliance that dispenses either hot or cold bottled water for herb teas and soups. A bank of stainless-steel prep tables completes the layout.

"We're saving not only on equipment but also on utilities and insurance," said Rivers, whose key partners are Steve Campell, Derrick Diggs, Imar Hutchins, Anu Kmt and Micheal Penman. Kmt, who worked briefly for Pizza Hut in Wichita, Kan., was the only partner with operating experience when Delights opened.

The Delights of the Garden Inc. group created their menu totally from personal preference.

Staples from the kitchen include bread substitutes, such as banana chips and sprouted and dehydrated wheat berries.

Rivers calls the cuisine "New World Ethnic" and says it is a composite of northeast African and Far Eastern. In addition, it includes elements of Eqyptian, Japanese and Ethiopian cooking as well.

Mainstays of the food product mix are such items as "kusk," which is prepared from soaked rather than cooked bulghur wheat. Similarly, the hummus served at Delights is prepared from soaked rather than boiled chick peas. "Veggie tuna" is made of pulped organically raised carrots.

A Mediterranean-sounding entree called mousaka marinara is made from peeled and marinated --but not casserol-cooked--eggplant.

Appetizers include sprout spaghetti with nut meat balls at $3.50 and nori rolls, seaweedwraps of Kush, veggie tuna and nut meat, at $3.95. An eggless mayonnaise of olive oil, Brazil nut butter and citrus juice is served along with Delights' coleslaw. Another fast-selling appetizer is the $2.95 chips 'n' dip, featuring banana chips with a spicy salsa of tomatoes, peppers, onions and garlic.

The most popular entree with first-time patrons is the $8.95 sampler, which includes portions of kush, nori rolls and veggie tuna. The avocado grand is Delights' version of guacamole salsa served with garlic and tomatoes. Another strong seller is the Alkebulan special at $8.95, featuring spicy kush, veggie tuna, coleslaw and corn salad.

Organic eight-leaf lettuce salad is a popular lunch item, as is the spinach, tahini and raisin salad with tomato-dill dressing --a signature creation at $7.95.

Juices, fruit shakes and herb teas share the beverage side of the menu with three imported beers and six wine offerings.

And the seasonal strawberry-blueberry pie sells faster than Delights' kitchen staff can move it off the prep tables, Rivers reported.

In fact, the restaurant has already published its own cookbook --"The Joy of Not Cooking" --which is also becoming a training manual for the wait staff as well as a marketing tool.

Nothing that "we don't want to serve anything we ourselves wouldn't eat," Rivers said the partners made an exception when they introduced a brief line of organic wines and "handbrewed" beers, such as Xingu from Brazil.

While alcohol makes up only 10 percent of sales, the partners reasoned they would lose referral sales if they weren't offering at least a small beverage selection.