BATON ROUGE, LA. Piccadilly Cafeterias filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors in 2003, the general consensus among observers was that the buffet of opportunities to set the company back on track was sparse. But one idea conceived by executives stuck—to develop a contract foodservice division that would cater to private schools, colleges, businesses and senior living facilities throughout a 15-state region of the South. —When
Three years after being purchased in 2004 by Los Angeles-based private-equity firm Yucaipa Cos. for $80 million, the once publicly traded company is forging ahead with its foodservice division. The division debuted in 2005, opening mini-versions of its parent’s popular down-home-style cafeteria concept at 16 accounts in Florida, Georgia, Texas, South Carolina, Tennessee and Louisiana. —When
The accounts are Piccadilly’s attempt to share in a slice of the on-site foodservice sector’s $30-billion-plus pie. —When
Paul Tuennerman, vice president of business development for Piccadilly’s foodservice division, said the most important aspect of his business plan is to “leverage the brand’s equity” without diluting any of the “brand awareness” that customers have associated with the cafeteria chain in the 61 years since it was founded. —When
“[At some sites] we do a large food court where a number of our concepts can be showcased individually, but our center-of-the-plate concept is the featured concept,” Tuennerman said. “Sometimes we just offer our center-of-the-plate concept as a kiosk, where people can order from a choice of two to three different entrées and various sides, plus a salad bar program that has been quite popular.” —When
Despite the variations in which the concept is available to on-site clients, one thing always remains the same—the food. Tuennerman said it is essential to provide the menu items that customers, through their exposure to Piccadilly’s restaurants, are familiar with. —When
“We actually use a lot of the same items we offer in the restaurants, like our chicken-fried steak, the carrot soufflé, roast beef, and our fried and lemon-pepper chicken,” he said. “However, we did realize we had to augment those offerings, so we developed a few proprietary brands—a pizza concept, the salad bar and a deli component—which enabled us to bring more to the table in addition to our core business so we could customize solutions for each individual client.” —When
But hands down, he said, the hardest part of taking a commercial brand and putting it into a noncommercial setting is making sure you “do not detract from that brand. That is key.” —When
Tuennerman also said the company is looking at military feeding contracts as well as faith-based institutions. —When
“It’s all about finding your demographic, and we think that’s a segment that works for us,” he said. —When
However, Piccadilly has decided not to compete for public school accounts given the economic restrictions involved with the government’s school lunch program. —When
“We have a reputation in the marketplace with our restaurants, and the fact of the matter is it’s too difficult to deliver that style of [food] given the economic limitations in that sector,” he said. —When
Piccadilly has formed a partnership with New Orleans-based Healthy Life Choices, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving nutrition and reducing obesity among adolescents. —When
Piccadilly’s involvement with the organization includes helping to design lunch programs that are healthy but that also promote choice and nutrition education. The lunch programs feature nutritious meal options and tasting parties in which students become part of focus groups that sample items for future menus. Piccadilly then uses the students’ feedback when considering what to include on the lunch menus. —When
“Our goal is to lay a foundation of nutrition knowledge that will last a lifetime,” said Dee Fuchs, president and chief executive of Healthy Life Choices. “Students are exposed to a greater variety of healthier choices, which, ultimately, will impact what they eat in and outside the school environment.” —When
