Strings revamps cafe, rolls food-court concept

Nation's Restaurant News, August 16, 1993 by Alan Liddle

GOLD RIVER, Calif. -- A revamped decor package, lower prices and new menu items targeting men and children are helping pasta-restaurant franchisor Strings Inc. realize substantially higher sales at its latest generation of cafes.

Besides working to improve its core cafe concept--the name of which has been changed from Strings Pasta Cafe to Strings Italian Cafe -- the 20-unit chain of California restaurants is developing a counter-service food court prototype, officials reported.

Strings president Albert "Al" DeCaprio said an 800-square-foot Strings Italian Express food court unit would debut in November at an outlet center in Folsom, Calif. He noted that the counter-service "express" store would sell eight pasta dishes, three 6-inch pizzas, two sandwiches, two salads, beer, wine and soft drinks.

"We're building it for speed of service, but we're going to give a quality product at a reasonable price," DeCaprio said.

The Express package, he said, should generate a per-person average of $3 to $3.25. That compares with the $8.07 full-day average check for the Italian Cafes and the $9.35 full-day average at the company's largest Pasta Place restaurants.

All Strings concepts focus on fresh pastas, sauces, entrees, dressings and desserts prepared at a U.S. Department of Agriculture-inspected central kitchen in Rancho Cordova, Calif. Franchisees augment central kitchen supplies by making linguine, spaghetti and fettuccine in their restaurants daily.

Based in Gold River near Sacramento, 6-year-old Strings Inc. originally operated and franchised Strings Pasta Place restaurants, which took up 2,500 to 3,400 square feet and featured art deco decors awash in shades of teal and mauve. Those restaurants cost from $350,000 to $400,000 to develop, sat from 75 to 110 people and generated average annual sales of about $650,000.

A dozen Pasta Place units remain in operation, but at least two of them could be converted to Italian Cafes if the chain succeeds in negotiations with a franchisee to acquire a half or full interest in those restaurants. Strings officials have said they doubt any additional Pasta Place units will be built.

In answer to consumer demand for more value and in recognition of the idea that a simpler operation would be easier to sell to potential franchisees, Strings opened its first "cafe" in late 1991.

Initially called Strings Pasta Cafes, the new stores were approximately 2,500 square feet, or 25 percent smaller than many Pasta Places, and sat about 70 people. They cost about a third less to open than a Pasta Place and reported slightly higher sales.

The first cafes were a better fit for the '90s than the Pasta Place concept, sporting lighter and brighter "Mediterranean" decors and a streamlined "value" menu that eliminated appetizers and offered guests unlimited refills on salad and garlic bread with all entrees. But they didn't broaden the chain's customer base as much as DeCaprio desired.

"Prior to menu change and new decor, our customer base was about 70 percent women. Now it is closer to 50-50 women and men, and we've seen a 20-percent increase in the number of families that come in," the Strings executive said.

The menu changes included the addition of sandwiches; calzones; pizzas; more poultry entrees, including chicken caciatore; a greater variety of smaller-portion kids items; and spicier pastas.

"Before we had white and green [spinach] pasta," DeCaprio said. "Now we have pastas flavored with red chilies, lemon-pepper, basil and garlic."

Strings' signature garlic bread has been replaced with a lighter foccacia-style product. The dough is proofed at the units each morning, partially baked before the doors open and then finished off for two minutes throughout service periods to provide customers with a constant supply of warm bread.

DeCaprio said the family-style salad offered to guests the moment they are seated has been improved with the addition of mozzarella, peperoncini and sunflower seeds.

Decorwise, the Italian Cafe units differ from their Pasta Cafe predecessors in that most feature a partially exposed cooking line, dining-room wine racks, displays of produce in crates and an assortment of brightly colored point-of-sales materials. Oak trim, black-and-white tiling and neon signs also adorn the interiors.

"The older decor was a little more serious and cold. This one has more to look at and is more fun. Kids seem to like it," DeCaprio explained.

There are now eight Strings Italian Cafes. Five resulted from new-store development beginning in Vacaville, Calif., last fall, while three are converted Pasta Cafes.

A ninth Italian Cafe is scheduled to open in Montreal later this month a multi-unit agreement that could eventually result in the development of 30 such restaurants in Canada's eastern provinces, and a 10th is expected to come on line in Fairfield, Calif., later this year, DeCaprio said.

With 10 months of operational experience to serve as a gauge, Strings Inc. is projecting first-year sales of $1.1 million for the Vacaville Italian Cafe. The company said it expects the newer Italian Cafe restaurants in Modesto and Walnut Creek to ring up first-year sales of about $1 million.