Steak Escape, which departed many of its mall locations four years ago, now wants to get out of the suburbs.
The Columbus, Ohio-based operator is testing a new Steak Escape Express prototype in that city that it hopes will enable the steak sandwich concept to move into urban locations, where speed is of the essence.
The 55-unit chain is focusing on technology to accomplish its goal, with a combination of delivery, online ordering, a new mobile app and in-store tablets to speed ordering and get food to customers quickly.
“In urban markets, people are at work, they have a limited time,” said Reginald Morris, the franchisee of the express unit, who is spearheading the effort. “They have one hour. They have a lot of food choices. They don’t want to spend five to 10 minutes in line.”
Steak Escape is a 33-year-old concept that has traditionally been located in mall food courts. Over the past decade or so, the chain has worked to escape the mall — and its typically higher rent — for standalone and strip mall locations.
A 2011 rebranding solidified that effort, providing the chain with a broader menu and some healthful items. It also rebranded the concept to Steak Escape Sandwich Grill, and introduced a new logo and design.
The rebranding generated higher profits, and franchisees got on board and started developing new units. Today, 19 of the chain’s 55 units are located in malls, and last year, for the first time, unit volumes outside mall locations exceeded those within shopping centers.
“It was night and day,” said Ty Thomas, Steak Escape vice president of development. “The timing worked well for us. It’s been a huge increase for us. It brought energy to the brand and to franchisees. They have interest in growing and developing with the new concept.”
Yet, as Morris noted, Steak Escape has remained a fundamentally suburban concept. Some time ago, the Los Angeles native approached the brand with ideas to adapt the concept to urban areas. In May, he bought a location in downtown Columbus that had been open for three years but was struggling.
The problem with the location, Morris said, was that the previous owner operated it like a suburban location. A typical Steak Escape location has many dine-in customers who are not in a hurry. But the downtown Columbus location serves a mostly weekday lunch crowd that wants food quickly. Three quarters of customers order food to go.
“They wanted to be in and out of the line in three minutes,” he said.
Morris is implementing several strategies to get food to customers faster.
The express location has a simplified menu that offers only two proteins: steak and chicken. The location has an enhanced catering program for nearby businesses that lets customers build their own cheesesteak sandwiches.
“That’s a really good program,” Thomas said. “It’s going to be real big at the Steak Escape Express location.”
The Columbus location has online ordering and a mobile app, neither of which are available systemwide. Customers can order food and have it delivered by an employee riding a bike or driving a Honda Fit. The location also has a separate line for customers who order online.
“We had to create a separate line so we can accommodate online orders without interfering with dine-in traffic,” Morris said.
Workers inside the restaurant are armed with tablets, so customers can place their orders quickly.
“What we’ve found is that a customer who has placed an order in 30 seconds to a minute after arriving is a much happier customer than someone who waits three minutes to get to the front of the line,” Morris said. “The front of the line is when you walk in the door.”
That also lets workers start cooking the steak or chicken right away, so the sandwich is finished more quickly and customers can still see it prepared right in front of them — a key point of differentiation for the hot sandwich brand.
“We are focused on delivering grilled food, and are changing things to be in an urban market,” Morris said. “We’re making things fast, convenient and easy for individuals to get the food they’re craving every day at work, where they live and where they play — conveniently.”
So far, it appears to be working. The location’s sales have risen 35 percent in the month since Morris bought the unit and started implementing his plans.
“We haven’t even launched everything yet,” said Morris, who wants to take the Express concept to other urban areas. “We have customers knocking down our door, wanting to place orders and we’re not ready yet.”
Many of these ideas are slowly being added by chains much larger than Steak Escape. Yet to Morris, the chain has little choice but to keep up if it is to work in urban markets.
“It’s better for us to jump in there before the big boys do,” Morris said. “Our location is right next to a Chipotle. So we’ve got to be nimble. We have to go out and make changes and invest in technology that other companies are doing. And we’re already one step ahead of them.”
Contact Jonathan Maze at [email protected]
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