Airport Experience® News - Food & Beverage Issue 2024

*

Above: Theresa Rivello, senior director of non-traditional development for Inspire Brands, says adaptability is key to navigating operations in non-traditional spaces, adding that creative solutions can then be shared across brands and other non-traditional locations.

Above, Right: Airport staple brands like Dunkin’ and Jimmy John’s are part of Inspire Brands’ stable of concepts. Both are seeking to expand aggressively in non traditional markets.

“Non-traditional locations boast higher visibility for a broad range of customers, allowing us to introduce our brands to growing markets, which typically see higher transaction volume than traditional restaurants,” notes Theresa Rivello, senior director of non-traditional development for Inspire Brands , a multi-brand restaurant company with a portfolio of nearly 32,000 Arby’s, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin’, Jimmy John’s, Rusty Taco, and Sonic Drive-In locations worldwide. Mary Richardson, director of non-traditional business development and operations for Qdoba , says the non-traditional business is exciting to work in. “Being able to take a small space and provide flavorful, quality food to people who might not have had the chance to visit our brand otherwise is a great way to spread our word,” she says. “Our non-traditional locations allow us to serve captive audiences who will then seek the brand outside the non-traditional experience.” Streamlining The Business Across non-traditional venues, space constraint is a commonality, requiring that brands remain nimble in their design and operations to meet the needs of these spaces and optimize efficiency. “Non-traditional venues are typically smaller than traditional sites but have traffic that is just as high if not higher than traditional venues. This demands an optimized kitchen layout,” Duque says. “To keep kitchens

small, Firehouse Subs has developed specific non-traditional menus that feature our most popular items as well as reduce the number of ingredients and preparation procedures required by team members. Thanks to this optimization, non-trad venues can be very efficient at serving subs fast and maintaining consistent quality.” Panera Bread has developed a portfolio of flexible footprints for non-traditional venues that are adaptable to fit spaces that range from a small food court to a more traditional sized café, notes Matt Scobbie, director of non-traditional real estate for the brand. “Space is typically limited in non-traditional venues, so we’ve had to creatively solve challenges to develop our bakery-café design and operational efficiencies in these smaller locations.”

Similarly, Qdoba has created “plug and-play prototypes” based on the brand’s common square footage of 300-750. “Shared space is also a given in most of our locations. We’ve developed systems and standards around working with shared spaces, including walk-in, prep area, storage and dishwashing,” Richardson notes, adding that the brand’s primary focus for non-traditional development is on airports, college campuses and military outposts, with secondary focus on casinos, travel centers and healthcare centers. For its non-traditional development, Einstein Bros. Bagels is focused on airports, universities, casinos, healthcare centers, large travel plazas and toll roads, according to Chief Development Officer Matt Copenhaver. “We’ve seen great success

37

AX NEWS JUNE 2024