Non-traditional locations

Nation's Restaurant News, April 17, 1995

"Build it and they will come." Well ... not necessarily--

So now restaurants are going to the consumer, rather than expecting the consumer to show up at their doorstep. This increases opportunity for lower cost expansion and/or increased sales from your existing unit--ringing up bottom line dollars for your business.

Little Caesars is in more that 500 K-mart locations; Pizza Hut is in 2,500 Choice Hotels; McDonald's is in Wal-Mart, Incredible Universe and other mega-stores; Taco Bell is in thousands of schools; Pizza Inn just opened its new Express concept in Arkansas convenience stores.

And the trend isn't limited to quick-service restaurants. TGI Friday's launched a version of its 30-year-old casual dining concept in airport terminals.

KIOSKS AND CARTS

When space doesn't allow a full restaurant, kiosks and food carts are rolling into the void, bringing operators closer to customers. Successfully limited to six or eight menu items, these small foodservice units can be mobile or stand-alone and go to where the consumers gather.

This concept increases almost any operator's ability to generate revenue as an appropriate location within your target's market destination and enables you to have a new way to increase your reach, resulting in plus sales. It also creates lower labor cost and higher sales situations.

Your customer benefits from speed, convenience, and familiarity - all of which boost satisfaction for your product and your concept.

The foodservice industry's growth will get major input from the mobil merchandising concept. Sales growth reports already range from 15-55%, depending on the product and location.

DELIVERY

Borrowing a page from the playbook of highly successfully pizza operators, other foodservice providers are providing delivery.

KFC is testing a program for home delivery of its trademark chicken dinners, and casual dinnerhouses are linking up with delivery services to get their product into the consumer's hands and homes.

Takeout Taxi in Herndon, Va., for example, has 186 franchise outlets across the nation, making the company the country's largest delivery franchise. Smaller such delivery companies pepper major metropolitan areas. Customers typically pay the restaurants' usual menu prices, plus a $2 to $4 delivery charge. The delivery companies get discounts from the restaurants as well. The advantages for the operator are increases in annual sales, which in some locations can reach $100,000.