Commercial Construction & Renovation

MAY-JUN 2016

Commercial Construction & Renovation helps our subscribers design, build and maintain better commercial facilities by delivering content to meet the information needs of today's high-level executives.

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COMMERCIAL KITCHENS After that, it is all about creating the restaurant's flow and to include an ample number of available seats. We are very uniform and have everything – from the paint colors to the door stop on the restroom door – specifically selected for all of our restaurants. Loft-like wood ceiling, a row of booths on a 6-inch riser, and community tables are all staples at Crushed Red. Give us a rundown of your kitchen operation. The back kitchen is only used for wash- ing and preparing vegetables, as well as dishwashing. All cooking equipment is visible and positioned in the front line. This is intended to give customers a fully interactive experience and the ability to see their food prepared right before their eyes. What's the biggest issue today related to the construction side of the business? Besides the ongoing issue of using union for non-union labor, the biggest issue is complying with different municipal- ity's codes. What might be completely acceptable in one municipality could shut down a construction job located only 30 minutes away. We have learned to be more flexible and to anticipate issues before they happen. Talk about your sustainability initiative. Crushed Red is committed to our guests and to our environment. Bringing you fresh, healthy food in a restaurant that produces zero waste is our primary focus, but we also truly care about the well-being of our guests and staff. We are part of the Green Dining Alli- ance. We were given this distinction after all locations went through a comprehensive analysis and, according to the Alliance, it was determined that we exceeded "industry norms for sustainable restaurant management and operations." We are proud that our restaurants produce zero waste and are 100 percent sustainable. This has been very important to us from the beginning, and we feel it's also very important to our guests. What do you see as some of your biggest opportunities moving ahead? We plan to have a total of seven to 10 corporate stores in the greater St. Louis area. Outside of that, we plan to focus on franchising. We currently have a franchise partner in Denver. We also have develop- ments in the works for Michigan, Illinois, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and Nebraska. Are you optimistic about what you see in the restaurant sector? Absolutely. Today's consumer is willing to pay a small premium for a quality product and a superb dining experience. We were able to fll a void by elevating the fast-casual concept. Fast food will always do what they are doing, but what we are seeing is people want the "value-added" experience, but do not want to break the bank by going to your typical full-service restaurant. You will defnitely see the fast-casual sector continue to expand. Why did you pick the locations you did for your restaurants? Picking the right location can be the hardest part in this business. Because we have very strong lunch and dinner crowds, we need loca- tions that have the daytime business popula- tion, but also have the rooftops that will support dinner. We are believers in the clustering affect to create the density necessary to succeed. What is your growth plan? What areas are you targeting? Between corporate and franchise stores, we have fve restaurants open right now. We plan to double that by the end of 2016, with two more corporate locations and three franchise openings. By the end of 2018, we are projecting to have 15 fran- chise stores, 40 by 2020, and 60 by 2021. On the corporate side, we are planning seven to 10 locations in the St. Louis area, and could possibly look to other Midwest markets for corporate stores. What trends are you seeing? Foods that are creative, healthy, good for the environment, and possess bold favors with unique menu items. I don't mean to be repeti- tive, but today's consumer is willing to pay a CRUSHING IT Our customers believe they're getting a much better value than what they would experience with our competition. 90 COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION & RENOVATION — MAY : JUNE 2016

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