Papa Razzi Cucina opens in restaurant/retail test

Nation's Restaurant News, August 30, 1993 by Peter O. Keegan

BOSTON -- Experimenting with a new landlord -- clothing retailer The Limited -- the Back Bay Restaurant Group has launched a new prototype of its popular Papa Razzi concept in a small in suburban Peabody, Mass.

Named Papa Razzi Cucina, the concept is a new venture for the 29-unit dinner-house company, which owns 10 Papa Razzis and a string of American themers, such as J.C. Hillary's The Famous Atlantic Fish Co., Joe's American Bar & Grill and Charley's Eating & Drinking Saloon.

"It's a more informal environment with lower price points on the menu," said Back Bay chairman Charles F. Sarkis. "It's also less formal and is an eating experience more than a dining experience."

Sarkis said the "mall within a mall" retail center complex, anchored by the Limited, is in step with a new era of marketing, mixing restaurants with retailers like record stores and clothing shops to attract more customers and keep them interested longer. The Limited takes up 100,000 feet at the mall's anchor and houses six stores inside, complete with a separate entrance so they can set their own hours.

"It's a brilliant concept, taking the walls down between the stores," Sarkis said. "The food becomes part of it, giving it a very European touch."

Sarkis said The Limited has no financial interest in the restaurant and serves as a landlord to the different concepts, many of which it owns, such as a Structure men's store and Victoria's Secret.

The new prototype unit, which takes six months to put together, is a departure from the Tuscan decor of the regular Papa Razzi dinner-house concept, making it a more casual, less formal dining experience. Sarkis said Papa Razzi Cucina has brighter colors and a lighter ambience and is "more fun." A display kitchen also adds to the informal atmosphere, with a bar for single diners to munch on a pizza or sandwich.

The menu at the trattoria will be shorter than the regular Papa Razzi menu, featuring signature pizzas, pasta, paninos (Italian sandwiches) and a few grilled items, including a daily fish special. The menu will not feature the higher-priced specials on the regular menu, such as beef or veal dishes.

Sarkis said new pizzas that were added include vegetarian-style, whole-wheat pizzas, non-cheese varieties and grilled chicken. An average check at the 160-seat restaurant is under $10, compared with $15 at Papa Razzi.

Sarkis said the cost of starting up the cucina concept is about 15 percent less than the that of the normal Papa Razi restaurant and that it could be a growth vehicle for the company. Back Bay is thinking about putting the concept in other malls and locations in smaller towns in the future. Sarkis said he hopes that the concept will bring in $2.5 million its first year, $500,000 less than a normal Papa Razi unit.

Sarkis estimates that next year Back Bay will open six to eight Papa Razzis, including one or two Papa Razzi Cucinas.

"We're looking at competing in markets that have California Pizza Kitchen," said Sarkis, adding that the company is branching out and looking at sights in southern New Jersey and the Washington, D.C., area. "Our biggest challenge is managing our growth the further away we get," he added.