S.G. Ellison, president of Diversified Restaurant Group, a Taco Bell and Arby’s franchisee, spoke about how each firms innovate on the #QSRNext occasion hosted by Networld Media Group and sponsored by Leasecake.
Diversified Restaurant Group, a franchisee of 300 Taco Bell eating places and 29 Arby’s, is among the many prime innovators for each manufacturers. Helmed by S.G. Ellison, president and franchisee for Diversified Restaurant Group, the corporate is on the forefront of innovation and expertise.
Ellison gave the keynote handle, “How a Franchisee Innovates with the Taco Bell Model” at #QSRNext, a day-long occasion designed for busy QSR executives hosted by QSRweb.com and sponsored by Leasecake.
Diversified Restaurant Group has been testing Taco Bell’s newest design, the cantina. They’re completely different from common Taco Bell places in that the cantinas serve alcohol, like the favored Twisted Freezes, and are themed for his or her areas. For instance, the cantina idea in Las Vegas has a DJ on weekends and a marriage chapel. One other in Pacifica, California, is on the seaside. One in St. Louis is sports activities themed with 27 indoor and out of doors TVs to look at native groups play. A San Francisco cantina is exclusive in that it does 90% digital enterprise, pushing $4 million in gross sales out of nearly 1,000 sq. toes. Presently, Diversified Restaurant Group owns six cantinas.
S.G. Ellison, president of Diversified Restaurant Group. Supplied. |
“It actually pairs this craveable Mexican-inspired meals with this actually superb social eating expertise the place you may get a Twisted Freeze or a Backside’s Up Beer in one among our cantinas,” Ellison mentioned.
The cantinas elevate the markets wherein they’re located, however extra importantly, they convey an awesome factor to their workforce members and native market operators who’re in a position to get behind an elevated Taco Bell expertise.
“All of them have been pretty distinctive,” Ellison mentioned. “We actually select the situation based mostly on what’s greatest within the commerce space. We might like to see them in each market that we run in.”
Diversified Restaurant Group is about to accumulate an current cantina, its seventh whole, and is planning to construct one in San Jose, California, simply exterior a theater. It will be movie-themed and nostalgic, Ellison mentioned.
As a part of Diversified Restaurant Group’s dedication to expertise, the corporate is piloting EV charging, and Ellison mentioned lots of the prospects who pull in to cost their autos additionally purchase meals from Taco Bell. “We checked out it as a strategy to make the most of a few of our parking heaps that possibly weren’t as utilized as they had been pre-pandemic,” Ellison mentioned. “Much more of our enterprise goes by means of the drive-thru, and a few of these greater parking heaps clearly have house. And extra importantly, it was a possibility to do one thing for the group, to do one thing for the planet (and) to see how that may work to cut back vitality prices.”
Every little thing the corporate does is to positively influence the lives of Diversified’s workforce members, Ellison added, and the communities they function in. “We see actually good responses from our workforce members,” he added. “Folks sometimes need to work both straight in (cantinas) or related to these places. It has been very optimistic.”
On the Arby’s facet, Ellison mentioned the corporate has nice model recognition from a advertising and marketing standpoint. It charges excessive, with “We Have the Meats” one of many firm’s most recognizable slogans even in states the place Arby’s is not represented.
“There’s loads of development for Arby’s if you have a look at the variety of items relative to different QSRs and the nice model recognition that they’ve,” Ellison mentioned. “They proceed to innovate with high-quality meals and a few very craveable gadgets as nicely.”
Ellison cited Arby’s Diablo Dare and Diablo Loaded Fries as two such improvements. The Diablo Dare, so spicy it got here with a milkshake to chill the warmth, was launched final yr to nice outcomes. The model launched a Wagyu Steakhouse Burger earlier this yr that was “off the charts,” Ellison mentioned. “It had nice shopper response and drove transactions.
“Arby’s continues to develop AUV and transactions. We’re thankfully concerned with Encourage Manufacturers. Encourage Manufacturers has an awesome shared companies program — loads of knowledge, loads of push in the direction of e-commerce and digital — so we’re excited in regards to the development potential for Arby’s.”
Ellison mentioned Diversified Restaurant Group was initially in the actual property enterprise till they began working with a Taco Bell franchisee. Firm executives fell in love with the franchise enterprise, and the corporate finally grew to extra 329 eating places. There’s room for extra, Ellison mentioned, particularly with the cantinas “as a result of we actually prefer to have enjoyable in our companies, and Taco Bell has been gracious sufficient to permit us to proceed to do this,” he mentioned.
Diversified Restaurant Group acquired 75 eating places final yr in Southern California, and there is nonetheless room to develop each Arby’s and Taco Bell. Two Arby’s had been in-built Fairbanks, Alaska, and have grow to be two of the best volumes within the nation.
“As alternative presents itself, we’re persevering with to develop and purchase,” Ellison mentioned. “We’re persevering with to develop organically as nicely. We see nice returns in each of these manufacturers.”
Mandy Wolf Detwiler is the managing editor at Networld Media Group and the positioning editor for PizzaMarketplace.com and QSRweb.com. She has greater than 20 years’ expertise overlaying meals, folks and locations.
An award-winning print journalist, Mandy brings greater than 20 years’ expertise to Networld Media Group. She has spent practically 20 years overlaying the pizza business, from unbiased pizzerias to multi-unit chains and each measurement enterprise in between. Mandy has been featured on the Meals Community and has gained quite a few awards for her protection of the restaurant business. She has an insatiable urge for food for studying, and may inform you the place to search out one of the best slices within the nation after spending 15 years touring and consuming pizza for a residing.