Six months after being acquired out of bankruptcy, the Daphne’s Greek Café chain is preparing for an overhaul with a new menu, new décor and even a new name in 2011.
William Trefethen, Daphne’s chief executive and principal investor in the group that purchased the 60-unit chain in July, said the brand name will change in February or March to “Daphne’s California Greek” with the tagline “Live Life to its Fullest.”
The Carlsbad, Calif.-based chain also is working on a revamp of the menu to sharpen its focus on healthful offerings. Beer and wine will be added to the beverage lineup to help build dinner daypart sales. And units will get a brush up of décor, with environmentally friendly touches.
In January, Daphne’s plans to open a new prototype unit in Orange County, Calif., that will bring Trefethen’s plans to life. The chain then hopes to roll out the changes systemwide by the end of 2011, he said.
With its 20-year anniversary approaching next year, Daphne’s had gotten a bit “tired,” Trefethen said. “We want to make it hipper and cool.”
Known for its contemporary Greek menu, the fast-casual Daphne’s once boasted more than 80 units, but shrunk to about 65 when it filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in January.
Trefethen, whose group bought the chain’s 60 better-performing units out of bankruptcy, said Daphne’s fell victim to an aggressive expansion strategy that “got caught in a recession.”
Daphne’s has a loyal following, primarily in California, but Trefethen believes the concept has legs, especially with a more solid positioning as a healthful, fast-casual alternative.
The chain already has begun posting calorie counts, for example, ahead of both state and federal menu labeling mandates.
Trefethen sees the relatively low caloric content as a competitive point of differentiation. The company also is working on reducing sodium levels across the menu, and adding whole grains, such as a whole-wheat pita.
The fact that Daphne’s fare is anchored in Mediterranean cuisine also offers a health halo, so Trefethen said he doesn’t want to move too far away from the chain’s Greek roots.
The new menu will be more of a “hybrid” of California-meets-Greek cuisine, with an emphasis on freshness, he said.
A soon-to-debut item, for example, is a traditional Greek salad that has been “California-ized.” Trefethen didn’t want to reveal what exactly that means, but, he said, “It involves avocado.”
Existing items also will be upgraded with better quality proteins, he said.
“And we’re looking at ingredients like edamame,” he added. “Can you make that Greek? I think you can.”
Trefethen pointed to health-focused concepts like True Food Kitchen created by Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Fox Restaurant Concepts.
“True Foods is doing really well,” Trefethen said. “I respect Sam Fox [True Foods president and chief executive] for doing that, and I think we can do that in a fast-casual context.”
The addition of beer and wine also will add to the chain’s dinner sales and encourage people to linger, Trefethen said. The chain offered beer and wine briefly in the past, but later dropped alcohol.
In addition, Trefethen is looking at sustainability, switching the chain’s to-go containers to a product made from recycled plastic bottles and using real glass for dine-in service to cut down on waste. The use of plastic bags will be eliminated in favor of recycled paper.
Daphne’s also will move away from its use of coupons, instead devoting media dollars to building brand awareness and creating a culture around the brand that supports good health and an active lifestyle, Trefethen said.
Once the remodels are complete, the company will turn efforts to franchising as a growth strategy, he added.
“What we’re trying to build is a concept and brand that will appeal to franchisees,” he said.
Though Trefethen replaced the chain’s founder, George Katakalidis, who stepped down as part of the acquisition, and Shannon Bane of Trefethen Advisors was named chief financial officer, most of Daphne’s management team has remained intact, he said.
Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected].