Sonny’s BBQ has undertaken a brand refresh that includes new prototype restaurants and an updated employee programs.
The 47-year-old, Winter Park, Fla.-based barbecue chain, which owns and franchises 115 restaurants across eight states, is looking to make the brand successful for another five decades, Sonny’s chairman CEO Robert Yarmuth told Nation’s Restaurant News.
“We had gotten a little stale because we’re a chain that was founded in 1968,” Yarmuth said. “We were still successful, but we’d become a little stagnant.”
Sonny’s was founded by Floyd “Sonny” Tillman in Gainesville, Fla. Yarmuth, a longtime Sonny’s franchisee from Kentucky, purchased the chain in 1991.
Yarmuth said the brand renovation includes a new prototype that opened in Gainesville, Fla., in March; a template remodel that opened in the Orlando, Fla., area; a refreshed menu; and employee programs that include “random acts of barbecue” and a pitmaster certification program.
Through the years, Sonny’s restaurants were expanded with additions and kitchen add-ons. But in the past several years, Sonny’s decided it needed to update many aspects of its operations, Yarmuth said.
“In our effort to get more relevant for the world that is today, we took a full physical,” he said. “Our building had grown to more than 6,000 square feet and 200-plus seats, with a kitchen that was virtually the same. It also looked old.
“It’s a beloved brand with great name recognition, but it was like a grandmother you don’t visit frequently. You loved her but you didn’t see her as much.”
The new prototype in Gainesville pared the sized of a unit down to 5,000 square feet and 160 seats. The unit does not include a drive-thru, although some restaurants in the system do, Yarmuth said. The restaurant is reporting about $80,000 a week in sales.
The average check is about $11.50. Beer and other adult beverages make up perhaps 3 percent of sales, Yarmuth said.
“That’s another area of opportunity,” he said.
The new building allowed Sonny’s to introduce new technology and kitchen equipment and create a bar-kitchen counter area, Yarmuth said. The redesign also helped the brand return some speed to the service model.
The menu is still centered around barbecued beef, pork, chicken and ribs, but some cooking procedures have been changed and some recipes changed, Yarmuth said.
“We have some great new sandwiches and a great new appetizer called the Redneck Egg Roll,” he said, noting that bestsellers continue to be baby back ribs and pulled pork.
Takeout and the drive thru make up an average 25 percent to 30 percent of sales, Yarmuth said. The brand is working to increase catering as well.
Sonny’s has also tweaked its service model.
“When we first started, service was to be fast, friendly and sort of get out of the way.
The expectations of people today are for more than that,” Yarmuth said. “The connections are a little different. What they want is more speed in getting in and out. And also there are things like having Wi-Fi available so they can entertain children.”
While Sonny’s worked on the prototype, executives also looked to further develop employee talent.
“If you have a great building, but it doesn’t have the right food and culture, you may succeed for a bit, but you won’t have a sustainable future,” Yarmuth said.
Over the last few years, Sonny’s has worked to place a certified pitmaster in every restaurant. Pitmasters are trained and certified at what the company calls its “Pitmaster Academy” in Winter Park.
Last year, Sonny’s also launched a cause-branding platform that recognizes local community heroes with a barbecue feast.
“The ‘Random Acts of BBQ’ identifies local people who selflessly give their time and talent in the service of others, something we like to call spreading the spirit of barbecue,” the company said.
Additionally, Sonny’s has a “Culture Coach” in every restaurant to help employee and service development as part of its “pit-to-plate” promise, Yarmuth said.
Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected]
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