A decor and facilities makeover on the sports bar side of the Boston's The Gourmet Pizza restaurant in Irving, Texas, has updated the look and improved the efficiency of one of the Dallas-based casual-dining chain's most successful bar operations, officials said.
The makeover was part of a 17-day, nearly $500,000 renovation of both the sports bar and dining room. The redone Irving location may serve as a prototype for future construction and remodeling for the 50-unit chain, said vice president of marketing Howard Terry.
The Irving restaurant, the chain's corporate training center and one of its busiest units, opened in 2000.
"Being basically a $3 million restaurant for seven years puts on a lot of wear and tear," said Terry, who noted that franchised units are generally remodeled at the seven-year mark.
The new look includes blue and maroon fabric seating, woven walls separating many of the tables and three 50-inch and two 42-inch flat-screen plasma TVs. Also new is a wall dividing the sports bar and dining room. On one side, the bar crowd views televised sports events in a lively atmosphere; on the other, white-collar business types at lunch and families in the evening enjoy gourmet pizzas and other casual fare undisturbed.
Beverages are an important profit center for Boston's, Terry said. As a system, the chain has a 75-25 ratio of food-to-beverage sales and a following for beer and signature margaritas. "The bar is also how many people are introduced to our concept," Terry said. "They try the sports bar or a happy hour and return with the family."
The bar, formerly 12 feet long with eight bar stools, now spans 16 feet with 12 stools and has a foot more width in its workspace. "It was a little tight for our bartenders and bar backs," said Michael Walden, Boston's director of construction and development. The sports bar area comprises about 70 of the restaurant's 200 seats.
Equipment was repositioned to make service more efficient. The point of sale, or POS, terminal and margarita machine are now closer to the "jockey box," or bartender's station, where the speed rails, ice and mixers are placed. "We put all those critical elements closer together so the bartenders can work in one place more," Walden said. "We always look at ways to reduce the number of steps they take."
Such workflow improvements may ultimately pay off in higher sales, said David Commer, president of Commer Beverage Consulting in Carrollton, Texas. "They allow you to get the first drink out faster and provide an opportunity to sell a second drink," he said.
Other changes at the bar include new reach-ins for beer storage and the replacement of an automatic glass washer with a four-compartment sink with Bar Maid glass-cleaning brushes.
While it may take some time to determine the customer reaction to the renovation, there's no doubt where the bartenders stand.
"We gave them an extra foot of workspace, but you would have thought we gave them 100 yards," Walden said. "They loved it."