Feeding Frenzy
There wasn't even a name for the fast-casual approach until relatively recently, says Mike Schneider of Jacksonville, owner of The Loop, a chain of Chicago-themed taverns serving everything from pizza to gourmet burgers. The sector has generated impressive numbers, growing sales at an average rate of 12.5% per year since 2001, according to a 2004 report from Chicago-based market research group Mintel International. Fast Casual magazine estimates fast-casuals will generate more than $70 billion this year. Restaurant expert Aaron Allen, CEO of Orlando-based Quantified Marketing Group, says his company receives more than a dozen inquiries each month from investors looking to get in on the next Starbucks or Panera. "Really, for the restaurant industry, it's the dot-com boom."
A dwindling supply of suitable real estate and escalating land prices pose the biggest threats to continued growth. Nonetheless, the combination of speed plus better food makes the fast-casuals formidable, says Ralph Desiano, chief operating officer for Mel's Diner, a Bonita Springs-based chain that's playing up the speed of its service to keep pace with the fast-casuals. "As the food continues to get better ... there's no question they're competitors," he says.
On the following pages, you'll find profiles on Crispers, Po' Boys Creole Cafe, Firehouse Subs, Nature's Table Cafe, The Loop Pizza Grill, and more. Use the number links below to proceed.
Crispers
 EARLY BELIEVER: President Michael Calhoon says the chain aims to open 14 more stores by the end of next year. |
Crispers Restaurants Inc.
Lakeland
Started: 1989
Founded: In 1989 in south Lakeland by former Chili's operator Bill Whitaker. Three former Discount Auto Parts executives, Michael Calhoon, Warren Shatzer and Cliff Wiley, invested in the chain, fueling expansion. Publix Super Markets became majority owner in 2004.
Concept: Named after the restaurant equipment that keeps lettuce fresh and crisp, Crispers bills itself as a healthy alternative to fast food. It specializes in soup, toasted sandwiches and gourmet salads.
Officers: Michael Calhoon, president; Frank Maisch, vice president of operations; Cliff Wiley, vice president of real estate.
Stores: 36.
Expansion plans: New stores are slated to open later this year in Safety Harbor, Naples and Viera. By the end of 2007, the company aims to have 50 stores in Florida and will follow Publix's geography for a potential expansion beyond Florida.
Average meal price: $6 to $9.
Po' Boys Creole Café
 HIS DREAM MEAL: Charlie Youngs plans to add as many as 20 more restaurants by 2011 to the seven he and his two partners already have. |
Started: 1992
Annual Revenue: $6.5 million
For years, Charlie Youngs dreamed about starting a New Orleans-style cafe. A Navy brat who grew up in Florida, Youngs attended the University of Florida and in 1980 settled into a career as a project engineer in the construction business.
In 1990, in the midst of a recession, Youngs lost his job, grew frustrated in his search for another and decided to go into the restaurant business. He took a job as a dishwasher, working at several restaurants in the Sarasota area. There he met Jon Sweede, a marketing grad from Ohio, who worked at the Chart House and shared Youngs' vision.
The duo spent the next year putting together their business proposal. In 1992, with $17,000 they borrowed from family, Youngs, Sweede and a third partner, restaurant veteran Carmen Calabrese, launched Po' Boys Creole Café in Tallahassee.
The restaurant gained a loyal following, and by the end of the first year, Youngs, Sweede and Calabrese had earned enough money to open another location in downtown Tallahassee. Today, the restaurant has seven locations -- in Tallahassee, Tampa, Brandon, Gainesville, Jacksonville and Orlando. The company aims to open another 10 to 20 locations over the next five years.
Firehouse Subs
 DOUSING APPETITES: Former firefighters Robin (left) and Chris Sorensen borrowed $26,000 from friends and family to start the business, which now has 235 restaurants. |
Started: 1994
Brothers Robin and Chris Sorensen followed their father's footsteps and joined the Jacksonville Fire Department. When they weren't fighting fires, they could often be found in the kitchen. Especially popular were their hot toasty sandwiches, piled high with cold cuts, cheese and fresh vegetables.
They borrowed $26,000 from friends and family, including $16,000 on Robin's mother-in-law's credit card, and in 1994 opened the first Firehouse Subs. Needing a salary, Chris stayed on with the fire department until 1998. Robin plunged into the business full time. "Back then, I was 26 years old living in an apartment with my wife and new baby and taking home $200 to $300 a week -- just enough to pay the bills and eat sandwiches," says Robin.
Within six months after their launch, the Sorensens had paid off their debt. Within 13 months, they opened two more locations. Today, Firehouse Subs has 235 restaurants in 11 states from Texas to Virginia, 35 of which are company-owned. Over the next two to three years, the Sorensens project a rollout of up to 1,100 more stores across the U.S.
The chain has never had to advertise to attract franchisees. Interest has spread by word of mouth, says Robin, who in one month alone entertained 600 potential leads.
Nature's Table Cafe, Orlando
 TABLE TALK: Dick Larsen is expanding Nature's Table beyond meals. |
Annual Revenue: $27 million
In 1977, Dick Larsen opened Vine & Harvest in Altamonte Mall near Orlando. The store offered smoothies and juices, along with an assortment of vitamins, herbs, supplements, wine and cheese. Within six months he took over a restaurant called Garden Patch in downtown Orlando, adding smoothies and Vine & Harvest fare to a menu of soups and salads. In 1983, he opened Nature's Table with his nephew Rich Wagner and in 1986 introduced their franchised chain to malls throughout the Southeast.
In 2004, the rapidly expanding chain won the right to operate a facility for the Defense Department in a joint venture with an Atlanta-based restaurant company. It also opened restaurants in several airports, including Hartsfield International in Atlanta, Washington-Dulles and Baltimore-Washington International. It recently signed deals for 15 new locations, including a call center for Hilton timeshares.
Markets: Nature's Table is finding opportunities where people learn, heal and exercise. Newly signed deals include locations at a large Orlando church, three hospitals, Valencia Community College and Fitness One at Palm Coast.
Size: 70-plus franchises in 10 states, including Pennsylvania, California and Washington.
The Loop Pizza Grill
 IN THE LOOP: Terry Schneider and former husband Mike Schneider aim to open six more restaurants this year. |
Started: 1981
Annual Revenue: $35 million
In the early 1970s, after graduating from Florida State University, Jacksonville native Mike Schneider helped run a college pub in Tallahassee. When his father got sick in 1973, Schneider returned to Jacksonville to help run the family business, a "stereotypical blue-collar tavern" called Sam's Place. Schneider envisioned more of a college watering hole, so he and then-wife Terry changed the pub's name to Applejacks, replaced the country music with live rock 'n' roll and added pizza to the menu.
Within a few years, the Schneiders, along with a third partner, opened another Applejacks across town, but it lasted just four months and left the couple on the edge of bankruptcy. He and Terry decided to try another concept. In 1981, drawing on Terry's youth in Chicago, they opened a new restaurant named after Chicago's financial district. Still casual, but more upscale, The Loop concept was a hit. Today, the 25-year-old chain has 28 stores in Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Alabama and Louisiana. Six more are scheduled to open this year, including in Tampa and Orlando.
Beyond Fast-Casuals
Outside the fast-casual segment, a variety of Florida-based sit-down chains is also expanding.
? No, fondue didn't disappear after the 1970s. Quietly, The Melting Pot chain has grown since its founding in 1975 to a 103-store chain, all but four owned by franchisees. In 1985, brothers Michael, Mark and Robert Johnston purchased all rights to the brand. Mark serves as CEO; Robert as COO; and Mike as chairman. The company, headquartered in Tampa, expects to open 25 restaurants this year. Fast-growing markets outside Florida include California, Boston, New York and Connecticut.
? Bradenton-based First Watch Restaurants has 60 restaurants in eight states, with 2005 sales of $58 million. Named for the first shift aboard a ship, First Watch caters to the breakfast crowd with a health-oriented menu and is open from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. only. Founder and CEO Ken Pendery plans to add 15 restaurants this year, then 25 a year until 2009.
? A group of investors headed by Russell Latimer, who built the Melons chain, is banking on takeout barbecue as the next craze. The group, based in Clearwater, now operates four Rack Shack BBQs in the Tampa Bay area and plans to add one a month for the next year. Partners include barbecue chef Paul Kirk and barbecue restaurant giant Gary Berbiglia.
? When Chris Karakosta founded the first Mel's Diner in San Carlos in 1989, he wanted it to look and feel like his family's Chicago-based diner, Dimitri's. Today, the 10-store restaurant chain, which serves comfort food, is a $25-million-per-year company operating from Bonita Springs. The company plans new outlets in Sarasota, Naples and Cape Coral in the next eight months and could begin franchising in 2007.