HOMETOWN: Miami
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: general manager at Chili's Grill and Bar and Einstein Bros. Bagels, opened Taste Bakery Cafe before the age of 30, opened Lime Fresh Mexican Grill, signed master licensing agreement with Ruby Tuesday Inc. in 2010
PERSONAL: wife, Alison; children, Thomas and Lilly
AGE: 40
HOBBIES: cooking with the family, discovering new restaurants, fishing, diving
As founder and chief executive of the 10-unit Lime Fresh Mexican Grill, John Kunkel is known for a hands-on approach to running his fast-casual restaurants in Florida. So when Ruby Tuesday cut a deal last year with Kunkel to franchise the Miami-based Lime Fresh brand east of the Mississippi River, it prompted a logical question: How would Kunkel handle a large casual-dining chain like Ruby Tuesday developing his much smaller, closely managed concept? Kunkel talked with NRN about working with Ruby Tuesday to expand the Lime Fresh brand to more than 200 units across the Southeastern United States.
You’re a hands-on guy. What’s the nature of your collaboration with Ruby Tuesday and its development of Lime Fresh?
Our start-up in real estate was more challenging than either of us thought. Everybody is fighting for the same 2,500 or 3,000 square feet. We had to do some more research to find the right locations. Ruby Tuesday opens the first Lime Fresh in Huntsville, Ala., Oct. 10 [and has] several openings in succession right after that.
They have gone beyond their commitment in training. They have come and lived here in Miami and trained in our stores. They have brought the best of the Ruby culture. We are very passionate about the operations. We’re still hands on. We’re still strict with them. They have to prove themselves, and they appreciated that. But we’re still very hands on. We’re handling all public relations from our Miami office, which was always our intention.
What’s your relationship with Sandy Beall, Ruby Tuesday’s chief executive?
I have a very close relationship with Sandy. Sandy Beall and I talk on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.
Have you been walking the sites with Sandy?
He and I walked every site that we have signed at this point. Sandy’s real-estate knowledge is just incredible. He has being doing real estate for the last 30 years. I don’t think I could stump that man with a street in America. He’s an encyclopedia of real estate. We toured the Northeast and the Southeast looking at markets, looking at traditional sites, looking at nontraditional sites. We really have been boots on the ground for everything.
Ruby Tuesday is a big company, and your brand is known for a distinctive style in the Mexican category. Are you concerned about Ruby Tuesday being able to stay true to the brand?
[In the beginning] I addressed those quality-of-operations issues to make sure there was consistency from store to store. So much of what we talked through is written into our agreement. Any fears that they’re not putting in the right effort or real estate have been put to bed. We’re very conscious that they will be launching the brand in a very good way.
What are some other locations, besides the first one in Huntsville?
Arlington, Va., and after that we have Birmingham, [Ala.], Knoxville, [Tenn.], Atlanta, and secondary locations for Atlanta and multiple locations for the Washington, D.C., area.
From an operations standpoint, will Ruby Tuesday want to open Lime Fresh units in markets that already have a Ruby Tuesday?
I don’t think that will translate to Lime. We’re not looking to do a convergence. Lime has its own team and own department, and the same with Ruby. We’re making sure Lime stands on its own, and I think Ruby wants that, too.
Contact Alan Snel at alan.snel@penton.com .
