Kenny Rogers Roasters fuels rotisserie rivalry

Nation's Restaurant News, June 15, 1992 by Ron Ruggless

MESQUITE, Texas - Fronted by a popular singer and led by the governor who made The Colonel famous, Kenny Rogers Roasters is stoking the fiery competition in the rotisserie chicken segment.

The music star's restaurant chain, in a fast-tempo franchising due with former Kentucky Gov. John Y. Brown, expanded into Texas last month, opening a location in this suburb just east of Dallas.

The Mesquite store was the 15th quick-service chicken outlet to open since August 1991, when the first Kenny Rogers Roasters was unveiled in Coral Springs, Fla., according to Andrew Howard, spokesman for the company, which is based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Since August the company has opened stores in Florida - predominantly in the southern part of the state - as well as outlets in Kentucky, Missouri, New York, Georgia and Tennessee.

The Dallas/Fort Worth franchises, owned and operated by Lone Star Roasters, are part of an aggressive growth plan.

"We plan to build 30 Roasters in the area," said George Burmeister, president of Lone Star Roasters. The group also plans eventual locations in the Houston area.

The rotisserie-chicken restaurants will be scratching for market share. Boston Chicken has hired the real-estate firm of Grubb & Ellis Inc. to seek sites for its Dallas-Fort Worth expansion. Broker Vaughn Miller says Boston Chicken wants to open seven to 10 restaurants in the area this year.

Kenny Rogers Roasters' menu sticks to roasted and barbecued chicken as well as barbecued ribs. A quarter roasted-chicken dinner (dark meat, $3.95; white, $4.45) is served with two side dishes, ranging from a health-conscious pasta salad or steamed vegetables to baked beans, garlic potatoes and corn muffins.

The chicken is marinated in citrus juices and spices and roasted on an oak-burning rotisserie. The company touts its quick, cafeteria-style service.

In prepared remarks, Rogers said: "Fried chickens is not what today's consumer wants. Wood-roasted chicken is."

The casual decor, splashed with neon and brass, leans heavily on Rogers' memorabilia, from photographs of the country star with Dolly Parton to framed covers of his albums.

The singer makes public appearances on behalf of the company, and his brother, Randy Rogers, is involved in the company's franchising operations.

The Mesquite location, like many in the chain, recycled a former restaurant space, in this case a onetime Carl's Jr. unit, according to company comptroller Michelle Sainer. She said most stores are in previous restaurant sites or strip shopping areas.

Lone Star Roasters has rights to the franchises in Texas. The principals behind the company are Burmeister, Bill Bandy, billy Brown and Bill Hoffman, chairman of Lone Star Roasters and a friend of Gov. Brown's.

Before becoming Kentucky governor, Brown, who bought Kentucky Fried Chicken from Col. Harlan Sanders for $2 million in 1964, built it into a national chain, which he sold for an estimated $270 million in 1971.