Homestyle Dining LLC, parent to the Ponderosa and Bonanza steakhouse chains, has renamed its year-old fast-casual restaurant Cole’s Backyard Grill, formerly Bo’s Steak & Grill.
Plano, Texas-based Homestyle opened the fast-casual concept in May 2014, and recently changed the name to avoid segment confusion, CEO Tom Sacco told Nation’s Restaurant News Wednesday.
“We changed the name because people were confused by it,” Sacco said. “We undertook a challenge to open up a fast-casual steakhouse. Until you get the guests’ feedback, you don’t know what they are going to like and what they won’t.”
After conducting in-store intercepts, telephone and Internet surveys last December, Homestyle changed the name and made other updates.
“The surveys provided us some great learnings,” Sacco said.
One of the biggest insights, he said, was that “steak and grill” in the name confused some customers who expected full-service casual dining.
“When they walked up to the counter, there was a disconnect,” Sacco said.
Other changes resulting from the research included making the optional build-your-own salad bar, laid out in a Chipotle-style line, into a standard side item, which is offered with meals like Shiner Beer Can Chicken and steaks, he said.
In the transition to Cole’s, the restaurant also began offering a self-serve soft-drink beverage bar to replace table service, and increased the number of bottled drinks offered, Sacco said.
The menu remained mostly the same, Sacco said. Bo’s found that chicken-fried steak was a “home run,” he said, so Cole’s added a chicken-fried chicken item. A top sirloin is the second-best seller.
The 4,000-square-foot Cole’s has between 75 and 125 seats, including the patio, which is about half of what a typical Ponderosa or Bonanza accommodates. The Lindale, Texas, location, near Tyler, in East Texas, is also counter-order, unlike the buffet style of the two legacy brands.
Individual tables are still named after country singers, such as Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert, and waiters wear T-shirts that they personalize by filling in a “Hello, My Name Is …” prompt with their own personality traits. Those include “Mr. Fantastic” or “Smiles.”
“That really helps ignite conversation between the wait staff and the customers,” Sacco said. “Someone at the table will always start up a conversation because of the name. It creates more spontaneity at the table.”
While the fast-casual concept was originally intended to appeal to customers ages 21 to 45, Sacco said the location has attracted customers older than the target demographic. The small town in East Texas where Cole’s is located has an upscale gated retirement community about 15 miles away, he said.
“Earlier in the evening, you can see some gray hairs in there,” Sacco said. “We’re the closest steakhouse. And they often order a bottle of wine. It’s turned out to be a nice little blessing.”
Sacco said Homestyle has changed some equipment in the kitchen, including the addition of a conveyor-belt style oven, and has received some inquiries about franchising.
Homestyle is also working on an update of its Bonanza steakhouse, which will debut in suburban St. Louis by Labor Day.
“It will be our version of an Outback [Steakhouse], only with authentic in-house barbecue, with steaks as well and waiter service,” Sacco said.
Homestyle Dining, a division of New York-based Metromedia Inc., has 240 Ponderosa and Bonanza units in the United States and abroad.
Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected].
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