A Beef ‘O’ Brady’s franchisee plans to open a fast-casual version of the casual-dining sports bar this summer, and is experimenting with a scaled-down menu at his full-service restaurants, along with other central Florida franchisees.
Joe Bullara, who has been a Beef ‘O’ Brady’s franchisee for 11 years, is teaming up with his son Ryan and another franchisee, Don Bosko, to open the first Beef’s Express in Lakeland, Fla., on Aug. 17.
Chris Elliott, chief executive of FSC Franchise Co. LLC, parent of Beef ‘O’ Brady’s and The Brass Tap, said the inspiration for Beef’s Express came from the success of fast-casual chains over the past six to eight years.
“It seems as though that is the major trend in the industry,” Elliott said. “Everyone is trying to find a way to get into that category.
“Beef ‘O’ Brady’s is a mature brand — it’s 30 years old — and [Beef’s Express] was a way for us to kick-start some additional growth,” he added.
Elliott confirmed that the company would continue to develop full-service Beef ‘O’ Brady’s locations.
“[Beef’s Express] is another arrow in our quiver,” he said.
Beef’s Express will operate similarly to many fast-casual restaurants, with customers ordering at a counter in front of an open kitchen, getting their own beverage — from a Coca-Cola Freestyle machine — and having their food delivered to their table. Free Wi-Fi will be available.
The restaurant will have about half the number of menu items as Beef ‘O’ Brady’s, with fewer burger and sandwich options. Bullara said that still gave it a much broader menu than other fast-casual chains.
Beef’s Express will offer five kinds of burgers, assorted wraps and sandwiches, Beef’s signature wings, kids’ meals and an expanded selection of soups and salad, as well as pasta, and a choice of three cookies for dessert.
“A traditional Beef’s usually has a soup and a chili every day. We’re going to have four soups and a chili,” Bullara said.
In an attempt to attract women, Beef’s Express will offer half sandwiches with soup and salad for lunch, and a new chicken salad on a croissant. The pastas will be topped with chicken and a choice of red sauce or Alfredo sauce.
Also different from most fast-casual chains, Beef’s Express will have an eight-seat bar, which will additionally function as a pick-up station for takeout orders.
Bullara said he expects the bar business to account for between 5 percent and 7 percent of sales — lower than the 13 percent to 14 percent at Beef ‘O’ Brady’s, but higher than most fast-casual chains.
He anticipates an average check of around $11, about $3 less than Beef ‘O’ Brady’s.
Bullara said he didn’t expect to see much labor savings, as customers will still have their food delivered to their tables, but he expected to save thousands of dollars by not paying for television sports packages.
“Beef’s Express is not a sports bar,” he said.
While the restaurant will have four televisions, Bullara won’t pay for services such as the NFL television package, which can cost close to $4,000 for a season.
“We’re actually looking for the customer to come in, eat quickly and turn the tables,” he said.
Testing reduced-sized menus
The first Beef’s Express will open at Lakeside Village, an upscale shopping mall in Lakeland, Fla., anchored by a movie theater complex.
“We expect to do a very large lunch business,” with mall employees, Bullara said.
Elliott said he planned to open a corporate location of Beef’s Express and work out any kinks before opening more locations.
“We’ll get the first [franchised] prototype open, and I’m sure there will be tweaking to be done,” he said. “We’ll get a lot of consumer data on the experience, and we’ll go next to a company prototype, probably in Tampa, and we’ll go from there.
“It’s already generated quite a bit of interest, both inside and outside the company,” he added.
Bullara said he was also spearheading a test of reduced-sized menus at 10 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s locations in central Florida to improve labor costs and service time, as he and other franchisees face rising chicken wing prices.
He and fellow franchisees started the experiment in November, he said.
Bullara said the restaurant removed fajitas and some sandwiches from its menu, and planned to remove ribs in the next couple of weeks.
“These items were not a large part of our business,” he said. “People aren’t coming in here for fajitas; they just happened to be on the menu.”
He said steak sandwich sales have increased, and that customers haven’t complained about the removal of slow-selling items.
“The customer response has been really nonexistent,” he said.
Elliott said the test of the smaller menu is limited to those 10 restaurants in central Florida. Whether the new menu would be implemented elsewhere “depends on what information we get out of the test.”
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s has 209 casual-dining units.
This story has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: May 27, 2015 An earlier version of this story misstated the average check amount at Beef ‘O’ Brady’s, which is $14.
Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected].
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