Kitchens and menu expansion

Nation's Restaurant News, August 26, 1985

KITCHENS AND MENU EXPANSION

In a time of unprecedented competition to roll out new and "upscale' menus, chain operations are attempting to utilize the potential of existing kitchens and keep change to a minimum. They are finding that even exotic-sounding offerings like blue-cheese nachos or Cajun burgers can often be produced without the additional equipment.

What an expanded menu does require, however, is a rethinking of the use of labor and space.

"We saved $3,000 by taking down a wall at Chi-Chi's,' says Earl McKinney of the architectural design firm of Hamill & McKinney.

"The wall separated two prep lines, but all it really did was add to maintenance costs. There's more usable space now, but getting rid of the wall also opened up the kitchen area so that managers could observe the employees better.'

Consumer concern for nutrition, combined with an insatiable craving for fresh-baked goods and fancy desserts, puts heavy demands on operators to respond quickly and creatively.

For example, the trend to lighter foods means that more storage space is needed, especially for vegetables. "I'd almost forgotten the word "garde-manger,'' says Doug Collier of Douglas Collier & Associates, a Phoenix design company. "But with all these salads you have to make space.'

In general, operators are trying to utilize existing capability while expanding and diversifying their menus. Although some new equipment may be required, often a careful study of the present configuration will lead to a workable rearrangement.

Bennigan's is one example. "We had to push around some worktables to expand our appetizer prep area,' says Jodie Corley-Hughes, a spokesman for parent S&A Restaurants. "But basically we were able to add 24 items without major change.' New items include pasta salad, three kinds of enchiladas, seafood gumbo and homemade potato chips. A new dessert, "Death by Chocolate,' was also added.

Bennigan's has followed its May rollout of 24 items with yet more additions --an eight-item Cajun menu introduced a month late. These items, including shrimp etoufee, Creole chicken and Cajun "popcorn' --fried crawfish tails in a spicy sauce--can all be prepared on existing equipment with only a few extra open burners, according to Tom Edson, head of S&A's architectural group.

"We have an ongoing program of updating our kitchens and reviewing the configuration,' he says. "This is what enabled us to introduce the new menus with only some new ranges and hoods.'

T.G.I. Friday's, an arch-rival of Bennigan's, has also been able to expand its menu without incurring big design changes. According to Frank Steed, senior vice president for operations, the chain deliberately overbuilt in the early days. "We knew from the start that we would be updating our menu,' he says. "We put in extra everything.'

Today, however, it's too expensive to overbuild, so instead the chain designs flexibility into its prototypes. For example, instead of ordering superfluous appliances, the chain now specifies extra electrical and gas hookups to take care of future needs. According to Steed, the prototype is updated every 18 months.

The current prototype features relatively few equipment changes. Total kitchen size has been reduced, and aisles have been changed to facilitate traffic flow.

"Basically we are offering more than 160 menu items in less space than ever,' says Steed. "We have taken a hard look at wasted space, and we are using a lot more shelving, especially can-racks.'

Sizzler is another chain that has dramatically expanded its menu. Under a program called "Steak, Seafood and Salad Sizzler,' the chain has switched its emphasis from steak to fresh seafood. Salad bars and fresh soups also play starring roles.

According to menu development manager Stacy James, the change was accomplished without major equipment purchase by adhering to the chain's original concept.

"You must have an overall concept about your menu,' she says. "We were able to add just a few key pieces of equipment because we stayed within our concept.'

In the case of Sizzler, she explains, the chain always served fresh food, prepared to order. Therefore, by adding food processors to handle salad ingredients, the salad bar became possible. "In fact, we would have used a slicer or a mixer with attachments,' James says. "But the processor has the additional advantage of concentrating the prep in one area. It saves steps and it saves clean-up time.'

To prepare the five fresh soups that are offered daily, Sizzler is testing steam-jacketed kettles. Says James: "We could continue to use double-boilers on the range, but the kettles offer a number of advantages. They save steps, they heat evenly and quickly and they free up burners.' Like the food processors with the salad, the kettles allow the soup prep to be concentrated in one place, she adds.

While most kinds of fish can be thrown on the grill, certain kinds, such as fillet of sole, require more delicate handling. For this purpose, Sizzler is currently testing salamanders in some stores.