On the Menu: The Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery

What happened in Vegas didn’t stay there once Ron Lynch caught wind of it.

The Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery, the Celtic-theme brainchild of restaurateur Mark DiMartino that debuted at the Rio Hotel there in 2003, has been the focus of a nationwide franchise push since Lynch encountered it.

From early on, Lynch, a veteran of restaurant franchising, found himself infatuated with the concept, which specializes in European-style comfort food and features shapely female servers dressed in mini kilts and low-cut, midriff-baring tops.

“There is very little new under the sun these days, but this was fun and different, and the service at the table was great,” he says.

Lynch, who already had experience opening 106 Schlotzsky’s Delis for Schlotzky’s Franchise LLC in the 1990s, met with DiMartino in early 2005 about the possibility of turning The Tilted Kilt into a franchise vehicle.

Within a year, The Tilted Kilt franchise system was in place with Lynch as president. Today nine locations are open in five states and six more are under construction.

The eclectic decor is designed to create a fun atmosphere and features dark-mahogany wood, stained-glass doors, giant plasma-screen TVs, pool tables, bagpipes, kilts, dart boards, posters and witty limericks. Rock and roll plays over the speakers. Even some of the food names on the menu are playful, including Michael’s Caines, or breaded mozzarella sticks; Braveheart’s Chopped Salad; and the Sloppy Jane sandwich.

AT A GLANCE

Cuisine: European and American comfort foodWebsite:www.tiltedkilt.comOpened: 2003Began franchising: 2006Locations: nine with 50 projected by the end of 2009Average square feet: 6,000Customer demographics: 75 percent male; average age 34.7Average check: $25Food and beverage cost: about 26 percentBest selling item: BBQ Bacon Burger made with Black AngusSlowest selling item: Thin Lizzy angel hair pastaConcept founder: Mark DiMartinoCompany president: Ron Lynch

While DiMartino developed the initial menu and remains a partner and consultant for the company, Lynch hired one of his old Schlotzky’s sidekicks, chef Rich Berns, to the post of vice president of operations. Berns, experienced in the quick-serve segment with Schlotzky’s and Del Taco, spent the first eight months whipping the menu into shape and incorporated procedures and buying practices that had served him well in the past.

Though the food pays tribute to Irish, Scottish, Welsh and English traditions, none of it is authentic to those regions and is more closely related to American comfort food, Berns says.

One of the restaurant’s signature items is Danny Boy’s Shepherds Pie, with layers of garlic mashed potatoes, ground beef, peas, carrots, mushrooms and gravy. The key ingredient is rosemary, a traditional touch in Irish shepherds pie, Berns says. The dish is topped with Parmesan cheese and flash-heated for a golden brown top.

As with any pub, chicken wings and fries are huge sellers. The Tilted Kilt Signature Wings sell for $8.99 per pound, with about 10 wings to a pound. Guests can add a pound of wings to any entrée for $5. The Buffalo-style wings are tossed in a signature sweet-and-spicy sauce, baked and then deep-fried. They are served with fries that are julienne-cut and dredged in the “secret Tilted Kilt dust” made with sweet, sour and spicy flavors. To keep the menu fresh, Berns this year began implementing limited-time offers in search of popular items to add to the permanent menu in place of poor sellers.

Guests can choose from 24 draft beers as well as cocktails. The signature drink offering is the Irish Itch, which was developed at the original location. It combines melon liqueur, coconut rum, pineapple juice and sweet-and-sour mix. The name, Berns says, comes from customers’ reaction to the concoction: “After one, you’ll be itching for another.”