Charlie Brown's goes back to basics with image, decor

Nation's Restaurant News, Jan 13, 1992 by Peter O. Keegan

UNION, N.J. -- One year after taking over Charlie Brown's, Restaurant Associates' Nick Valenti and his management team have begun to breathe new life into the tired, 26-unit chain with a more tightly focused menu, speedier service and updated decor package.

Valenti, who is president of the RA Restaurant Group and executive vice president of the company's East Coast division, took a back-to-basics approach in his attempt to revive the dinner-house chain. And the payoff, he said, has been sales growth in the face of a severe regional recession.

After the new menu was implemented last June, sales at the restaurants increased 11 percent. Average unit volume for the chain is now running about $1.65 million.

"We improved the quality of what we were serving, served it faster and renovated most of our units," Valenti pointed out. "There wasn't any rocket scientist stuff about it."

Valenti assumed responsibility for the concept in late 1990, when the New York-based Restaurant Associates restructured its restaurant operations. In addition to Charlie Brown's, Valenti oversees RA's The Office concept as well as the company's theme operations in Manhattan, including Sea Grill, Tropica, Mamma Leone's and the Brasserie.

Philip Ratner serves as executive vice president of RA's West Coast operations.

Valenti said Charlie Brown's stumbled when it began to move too far afield from its steak-house traditions. The concept lost its focus -- and much of its customer base -- as it tried to add everything from Oriental appetizers to Tex-Mex entrees.

"I think that we really tried to be a little too trendy back then instead of sticking to the heart of the concept," Valenti admitted. "The menu had become too broad; we had become too many things for too many people."

In an effort to get the chain back on track, Valenti enlisted the aid of Richard May, president of Consolidated Products Inc. -- formerly president of Gilbert/Robinson -- as well as a team of other industry veterans.

To streamline the menu, management removed several of the slow sellers, reduced the number of blackboard specials and recast the core menu with such items as Certified Angus Beef, fresh fish and chicken.

Valenti said diners know that they are getting quality when they see Certified Angus Beef and fresh fish on the menu, and they are willing to pay for it. "Our prices for fresh fish are competitive with what Red Lobster charges for frozen," he claimed.

All soups and breads are prepared fresh daily as well.

The new menu includes such dishes as lobster tail and prime rib, $15.95; Alaskan snow crab legs and prime rib, $15.95; 8-ounce teriyaki sirloin, $9.95; fresh flounder fillet, market priced; chicken hibachi, $8.75; and a chicken fingers platter, $8.50.

Three of the four blackboard specials change daily, while roast beef is a permanent item. The dish, which sells for $9.95, is accompanied by the salad bar and baked potato.

Noting that more than 20 percent of the customers order the roast beef, Valenti added, "It's good value, especially for those looking for beef."

Food costs at Charlie Brown's are approximately 40 percent of sales. "That's where the concept is targeted to be," Valenti explained. "When trading with steak and seafood, you are dealing with more expensive ingredients."

Average checks are $7.25 at lunch and $11 at dinner.

Valenti pointed out that the simplified menu, with its two dozen entrees, was also designed so that the food could be prepared quickly. "We decided we needed to speed up service," he explained. "I feel that today service can't be fast enough; people don't have time, especially at lunch."

In addition to making menu changes, RA spent between $50,00 and $175,000 on each unit to replace carpeting and furniture and to upgrade the exterior with new awnings and brighter lighting.

The company also made some changes at the bar, including the use of fresh ingredients to prepare specialty drinks.

In addition to altering the menu and physical aspects of the restaurant, Valenti hired David Lane -- an executive who previously had worked at El Torito -- as president of Charlie Brown's and The Office. Valenti also combined staff departments with the RA group.

As for marketing, they started with 26 billboards located throughout the state. The first series was about the new menu and invited customers to come and try it out for themselves. The second series marketed the prime rib dinner for $9.95, and the third will trumpet the $4.95 Express Lunch deal.

Valenti said that, as one of RA's most promising growth concepts, Charlie Brown's has plenty of room for growth in New Jersey and will be expanding in New York and south into Philadelphia. The 26 restaurants are located in northern and central New Jersey and suburban Westchester County. Two underperforming units were closed last year.

Restaurant Associates was purchased in 1990 by the Tokyo-based foodservice giant, Kyotaru Co. Ltd. Valenti expects RA to post $275 million in sales this year.