Family operators unveil new arsenal of weapons; established family operators like Denny's, Shoney's, IHOP and Bob Evans rapidly are making the transition from their breakfast and no-frills ambience by adopting a more contemporary appearance and targeting all three meal dayparts

Nation's Restaurant News, June 29, 1992 by Bill Carlino

Square Deal Meal offerings range from a fried egg sandwich and tortilla with scrambled eggs at breakfast to submarine sandwiches, barbecue chicken and several varieties of burgers.

According to Tom Wirt, executive vies president of marketing for Bakers Square, the chain is complementing its menu additions with an exterior makeover in its approximately 90 Californiabased units. "We want to achieve a more mid-scale look,"he explains. "So we're goingto a Mediterranean-style architecture.

The exterior makeover of Bakers Square California includes a stucco facade, maroon and green ceramic tile work, towered roof corners and a French door entrance.

Family restaurants want their piece of the pie

Family restaurant operators have been nearly as aggressive in attempting to spark instore and carryout sales with the lure of fresh-baked pies as they have in their ongoing campaign to concentrate equally on all three dayparts. Chains like Marie Callender's, Perkins, Bakers Square and Shoney's have used their respective instore bakery facilities as selling tools to whet customers' postmeal appetites even before they order the main course.

Those operators say the sale of whole pies, priced between $5.95 and $9.50, can account for as much as 10 percent of a restaurant's total sales mix. Bakers Square offers about 25 pie selections on a daily basis, including its "Elite Line" of layered cream pies, while the Shoney's Pie Shoppe has introduced several new varieties, among which are a banana split pie; a triple citrus concoction with layers of lemon, lime and mandarin orange; and a pineapple coconut dream. For those customers monitoring their waistlines but finding themselves sorely tempted by the appeal of a fresh-baked pie, the Shoney's Research and Development team has created a dietetic cherry pie -- a product containing a modest 410 calories. The low-calorie creation will be rolled out in July. Marie Callender's, the California-based chain that initially began as an operation selling pies to foodservice and retail operations, offers more than 30 selections each day and recently introduced additions, such as chocolate satin, a chocolate-filled pie with a cookie rim crust, chocolate macadamia nut and a strawberry Boston cream pie.

The company also has entered into a branding agreement with Marriott's Host Division to add its pies and tarts to Host's foodservice operations at Los Angeles International Airport. -- Bill Carlino

Above: The California-based Maria Callender's chain offars more than 30 different pie selections each day.