COLUMBUS Ohio Rise & Dine Restaurants Inc., franchisor of the 15-unit breakfast-and-lunch chain, is changing its brand name to Sunny Street Cafe, the company said Friday.
Chief operating officer Joe Deavenport said that the chain’s consumer research indicated that Rise & Dine connoted just breakfast to most people, making it unclear that the chain also served lunch.
Rise & Dine plans to change the name gradually to give its customers time to adjust, although its web site, www.sunnystreetcafe.com, is currently live. All new restaurants will open under the new name, the company said.
“We are known for our outstanding breakfast, and we want our new customers to know that we offer an extensive lunch menu with plenty of variety,” Deavenport said in a statement. “We believe Sunny Street Cafe and our tagline ‘A Bright Spot for Breakfast and Lunch’ will resonate well with our diverse target audience and capture the essence of our brand.”
The chain also said on Friday that it planned to open between three and four restaurants in Canada in the first quarter of next year, with the first units opening in Ontario. It planned to have between 15 and 20 restaurants in Canada by 2012. Deavenport said in a statement that getting financing in Canada as a small business is currently easier than it is in the United States, and that the breakfast-and-lunch segments there are underserved.
AToronto-based independent franchise consulting firm, Sampson & Associates, will lead the franchising efforts there.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected].