AUSTIN Texas Schlotzsky’s has expanded a new prototype and ramped up its co-branding with sister chain Cinnabon to 50 stores.
The 350-unit sandwich chain's new prototype was introduced in October at a Waco, Texas, store and has since been rolled out to nine other locations, said Kelly Roddy, president of Schlotzsky’s, which like Cinnabon is a division of Focus Brands of Atlanta.
The new look uses Schlotzsky's signature round bread as a theme, he said, with round elements and circles incorporated into the design, from the tables and chairs to local photography. The circle theme also is reflected in the new brand slogan, “All 'Round 'Lotz Better.”
Click here for a slide show of Schlotzsky's new look.
"It’s a very relevant look,” Roddy said. “Everything is based on what differentiates us from everyone else, which is our round bread.
The new units follow the footprints of the original stores, which range from 2,300 to 3,500 square feet and 58 to 100 seats. “My biggest concern that going to all this round stuff would make it less efficient, but we get the same number of seats,” Roddy said.
The new look is drawing younger customers and more women, Roddy said. Among traditional stores, Schlotzsky’s core demographic is split equally among men and women, with ages ranging from 25 to 55. The new prototype draws those in their early 20s and boosts the female percentage to about 54 percent, he said.
The ninth unit under the new prototype opened this month in El Paso, Texas, and another 15 stores are under construction, Roddy said. The company plans to have most of its system renovated with the new look by year-end.
Schlotzsky’s began offering in-store Cinnabons to franchisees last year, and now all new agreements are sold with a Cinnabon Express. Customers have responded very well to the dual-branded concept, Roddy said.
“Cinnabon is a bakery. Schlotzsky’s bakes its bread from scratch every day," he said. "The baking element made a lot of sense."
He noted that co-branding also makes sense for franchisees. “You can get the sales of a Cinnabon without the rent, the managers, the extra payroll, the utilities and all the things that go along with a franchise,” he said.
Schlotzsky’s-Cinnabon stores are seeing incremental increases in the check average, which systemwide is $9.18. Roddy noted, though, that the increases are usually the result of two separate purchases.
Most of the co-branded units open by 10 a.m., with the majority of Cinnabon sales are at lunch and in the afternoon, he said.
“If a store opens from day one for breakfast with a Cinnabon, it does well,” Roddy said. “If you go back in and try to introduce when the restaurant has never been open for breakfast before, it just doesn’t work as well."
Schlotzsky’s, which opened 1971, is looking to expand more in Texas as well as Atlanta; Charlotte, N.C.; Kansas City, Mo.; Raleigh, N.C.; St. Louis; and Florida, said Roddy, who has been president of the brand since 2007.
In addition to Schlotzsky's and Cinnabon, Focus Brands also is parent to Moe's Southwest Grill and Carvel.
Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected].
