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Bibibop Asian Grill, based in Columbus, Ohio, is poised to nearly double its 15 units as it brings onboard the shuttered ShopHouse Asian Kitchen locations it bought in March when Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. pulled out of that brand.
Bibibop first opened in 2013, created by Charley Shin, the CEO of Gosh Enterprises, which owns of Charleys Philly Steaks. Shin, a Korean native whose family moved to the United States when he was 13, started Charleys when he was a student at Ohio State University and launched Bibibop to highlight his Korean heritage.
The menu offers a variation of the popular Korean dish bibimbap, which means “mixed rice.” The highly customizable dish lets diners start with steamed rice and then add grilled meats or tofu, a variety of vegetables and Asian-inspired sauces.
With the former ShopHouse units, Bibibop will expand from current restaurants in Ohio and Maryland to openings expected in California, Illinois and the District of Columbia.
The first Bubba’s 33 debuted in Fayetteville, N.C., in 2013 under the watchful eye of Kent Taylor, founder and CEO of Texas Roadhouse Inc., who earned the nickname “Bubba.”
With an emphasis less on steak and more on burgers, pizza and beer, the Bubba’s brand, at about 8,400 square feet, has more of a neighborhood hangout vibe than its parent Roadhouse.
The No. 1 seller is the Bubba’s Bacon Burger, with a meat mix that’s about a third bacon, and units are focused on sports and music videos that are highlighted on the 60 large flat-screen televisions. Bubba’s says it has “more TVs than tables.” The beverage menu offers 40 beers, with 18 of those on tap.
The Louisville, Ky.-based company had 423 Texas Roadhouse restaurants in its portfolio as of March 28 in addition to the 16 Bubba’s units. Of the company’s 30 planned restaurant openings in fiscal 2017, about six are under the Bubba’s 33 flag.
Flower Child is restaurant counter-culture that taps into the peace and love of the 1960s with a menu that is solidly in the 2000-teens.
The seven-unit fast-casual brand was created in May 2014 by Phoenix, Ariz.-based Fox Restaurant Concepts LLC and carries the tagline “healthy food for a happy world.”
The menu features a customizable mix of salads, bowls and wraps to which proteins like chicken, salmon, beef and tofu can be added for set upcharges. The target is health-minded Millennials and anti-aging Baby Boomers. (At the door stands a wicker basket with a sign for “Yoga Mat Parking.”)
The eighth Flower Child is scheduled for winter opening in Austin, Texas. The brand is expanding with a minority equity investment from Calabasas Hills, Calif.-based Cheesecake Factory that was announced in November. That investment, which also included Fox Restaurant Concept’s North Italian brand, called for Cheesecake to provide ongoing growth capital for expansion.
A three-pound Bavarian pretzel with pepper jack cheese is not the only trait that sets Minneapolis-based New Bohemia Wurst + BierHaus apart from the “sense of community” brand.
Billing itself as a “New American Craft Bier Hall,” the seven-unit New Bohemia also offers a wide selection of beers, burgers, wursts and sausages that read like a wildlife zoo: alligator, bison, duck, elk, lamb, rattlesnake-rabbit and the hybrid “jackalope” – a mythical meat actually made with antelope, pork and rabbit.
The décor is Beer Hall Modern, with long communal tables. “We have a lot of singles and a lot of Millennials. We try to get them to talk with each other,” said Brian Ingram, New Bohemia’s chief operations officer.
New Bohemia first opened outside downtown Minneapolis in 2012 and also has a food truck.
Public School on Tap has put a spin on old-school casual-dining to create a modern-era gastropub chain.
Public School has nine gastropubs in five states, including California, Colorado, Georgia, Nevada and Texas, and was created in September 2012 by Woodland Hills, Calif.-based Grill Concepts Inc., which also owns the Grill on the Alley and Daily Grill brands.
The name of each of the Public School restaurants is localized with historical area codes, yielding #PS213 in Los Angeles, #PS214 in Dallas and #PS404 in Atlanta. Happy Hours are marketed as “Recess,” and the school theme is enhanced with a décor of globes, flash cards and pencil sharpeners.
The gastropub focus, also called “An Education in the Art of Food & Beer,” features local, seasonal ingredients when possible and as well as localized cocktails and wines.
