I would like to transform my current Italian restaurant into a sport cafe serving pizza, burgers and wings. There is anyone having any advice in regard of this operation? What are the positive and negatives? My idea is to have these three big sellers but in the simplier way possible. The use of a conveyor pizza oven is on my mind. Any thought, advise and suggestion also on this. Thank you all. Alfonso

I've discovered that I don't express sarcasm very well in print so let me just ask; What makes your concept different than any other sports bar?  Are there similar joints in your area?  When I opened my first joint, I used acoustic entertainment as part of my marketing strategy.  Pretty soon every joint that opened up and couldn't make a go of it stuck a singer in the corner thinking that would propel them to success.  In the early 90's I put in 25 tvs and starting showing sports and trivia as part of my marketing.  Now, as well as some national chains, every place is sticking tvs everywhere in hopes that will make them successful.  One local sports bar chain is getting ready to add pizza to their menu and they don't need it IMHO.  If what you are doing now isn't working, it may be marketing but more likely it's other operational issues.  Take a close look or get an outside opinion to make sure it's business strategy that is the problem.

That's good advice. Plus the bottom line is that it's really not what you want. It's what your target market needs. Rebranding a restaurant is not that easy nor that simple. This takes much more strategy than asking a few people on an industry forum.

Jeffrey Summers, President
Restaurant Coaching Solutions
RestaurantMarketingSolutions.com

twitter: @JeffreySummers

Noman,

Perhaps your old age makes you sarcastic a little too fast and without knowing all of the facts.  But I respect you because I am sure that you have great experience.

Sure, there are "operational issues" that brings me to change concept and name.  My family and I kept this Italian restaurant open (without pizza) for over 11 years but the last two years have been quite bad for us.  No one wants to be involved with it anymore, myself included.  We are tired and all of this shows in the operation.  We force ourselves and this has brought down our business gradually.  Restarting with the same people and a different name does not make any difference that is why we would like to change not only the name and concept, and put inside new faces and a responsible manager and I would be only the owner (I am lucky I own the building).  Why change concept?  This is because the market in our beach area has changed also as a consequence of the downturn of the economy.  My view is that a concept of a sport cafe with an order only counter will be more successful and it will attract everyone passing by (Our Italian restaurant was in the mid-range in regards to price).  The food will be delivered by runners and our menu will not exceed $10 dollars with the exception of large pizzas.  I, as well as others in the area feel that this will fit the location which is on the West coast of Florida.  There are bar but not family-friendly sport cafe and the majority of vacationers on this island are families and some Europeans.  Close by there is a pizzeria Italian restaurant, that make a killing with the pizza delivering not only on the island but also up to 5-6 miles in town and they do not have any competition on the island.  The island where we are located is a high tourist area which is extremely busy in season but then it is up and down in low-season (May through October). 

As far as pizza dough goes, we found a very good part-baked product that we plan to use with a conveyor oven in order to supply the clientele with quick food delivery.  The burgers will be cooked on a flat grilled and most of the other foods will be fried.  Nobody on the island delivers hamburgers or wings and there is a need for it especially during sporting events.  The central focus of the sports café will be a large counter serving about 10 to 13 tap beers and select wines other than food.  Aside from this we will have television where customers can watch sporting events on and during popular sporting events such as the super bowl we will have a 100 inch TV outside (we are the only building owners with a large patio area) where people may eat and watch the game.  

This change is already in the works and we are hoping to open by September of this year so there is plenty of time for any of your input and anyone else’s observation and advice. 

Thank you all,

Alfonso

The idea of a family friendly place that serves 10 -13 beers on tap seems conflicting to me, plus it could be potentially confusing to guests, as far as creating expectations. Not that it couldn't work. It's just something to address.

I think it is very important in tourist areas to create an expectation for the customer of what the restaurant will be like before they ever enter the restaurant. Families cruising the beach for a place to eat will choose those restaurant that look interesting and appealing. I've seen it with me own eyes. By far, the busiest restaurants have some sort of theme, which was evident just by driving by. Think of Joes Crab Shack. Your place needs to have visual character, which reflects what's on the inside.

Quote (original post by: Jeffrey105022)

How are the target market needs determined?

Without getting too picky with the choice of words, I agree that it's about giving the market what it needs. But that doesn't count for anything unless the owner enjoys coming to work everyday. There must be a balance (or compromise) between what the owner wants and what the market needs.

Alfonso,

After reading your reasoning for wanting to rebrand yourself, I am fully in concurrance.  If you're at the point where the job's stale, you don't want to be there, etc., etc., etc., it's time to change things.

On the plus side you actually WANT to say open.  You just don't like what you are and believe you have a solution.  Again, I agree - providing your demographics can or will support (1) the loss of what you are and (2) the gain of what you wish to become.

The downside to rebranding is to carry it off properly you've got to shut doors for awhile.  You can't be Alfonso's Italian Eatery Friday and on Monday be Al's Flappers, Pucks and Frizbee's.  The closing allows you to get your equipment in, TESTED, crew trained/retrained and the some of the potential kinks worked out of the system itself and the POS (which will need to be reprogrammed).  However, I believe you've already got that closing for a time in mind.

One of the great things about pizzas and burgers is your primary product is pretty much one thing.  It's all the condiments that make the difference.  In fact, when you get down to it, you can make a pizza burger and a cheeseburger pizza.

A conveyor oven is a great tool.  You probably saw my reply on the your other thread.  Besides pizzas and wings, you can easily toast sub sandwiches as well as doing a variety of other things.  As I mentioned before, it's just a matter of timing.  Feel free to email/PM me if you want other ideas.

Best of luck to you.  Keep in touch.

Ciao,