The seven-unit, Minneapolis-based chain is not your typical fast-casual brand. Alcohol is the focus, with a beer and liquor mix of up to 50 percent. The menu also features a number of varieties of sausage, something rarely seen in a restaurant chain.

“I think we went into a market that really didn’t exist before,” New Bohemia COO Brian Ingram said. “The typical fast-casual restaurant does about 1 percent to 2 percent beer and liquor sales. We’re 50 percent sales of beer and liquor. That helps us to be profitable.”

The chain was profitable right out of the gate, Ingram said, which helped fuel development costs and ensure it can add more locations.

COO Brian Ingram shows off the beer taps.

New Bohemia expects to have 13 locations by the end of the first quarter of 2018. Units could open in Milwaukee and Detroit.

New Bohemia looks to keep customers in, rather than churn them out like a typical fast-casual restaurant. Units have games like shuffleboard, bocce ball and even hockey.

“When we started, our average stay was pushing 30 minutes, 35 minutes,” Ingram said. “After we added games, it was an hour and a half. That makes a big difference.”

Additionally, the restaurants’ walls are glass garage doors that can be opened to give the location a sense of community.

“We won’t go into a location if we can’t have a great patio,” Ingram said. “We won’t even look at it.”