Client News

In fall 2011, Restaurant Facility Business Editor Katie Lee interviewed Mark Johnston, chief concept officer of Front Burner Brands and president/CEO of Burger 21, about his company’s new restaurant concept — Burger 21 — that strives to go “beyond the better burger.” First launched in November 2010, Burger 21 recently opened its second location near Tampa, Florida — with plans to sign 30 franchising deals in 2012.

RFB: Tell me a little background on the first store opening in November 2010. Has the restaurant’s performance exceeded expectations?

Mark Johnston: As an organization (Front Burner Brands — management company for The Melting Pot, Burger 21 and GrillSmith restaurants), we have been very focused on The Melting Pot and growing that brand over the years. Growth is slowing down as most desirable markets have been developed in the U.S. and sales Exteriorconcentration is focused more on international expansion. As we have a huge talent pool of people here who have contributed to the growth and success of The Melting Pot, we wanted to utilize this talent base by launching our second franchise concept, Burger 21, streamlining a lot of our processes across departments and creating synergies.

I have been interested in venturing into burgers for years, and we wanted to design a burger restaurant with the highest quality and variety of burgers, fries, shakes and more at an affordable price for consumers. We were in menu development for over a year before opening our first Burger 21 location in November 2010.

Yes, the restaurant’s performance has exceeded expectations and initial projections.

RFB: The second restaurant was slated for an October opening — has that opened yet?

Johnston: Yes, the new Carrollwood restaurant (2,900 square feet inside and 600-square-foot patio space) is located in Tampa, Florida.

RFB: Why did Front Burner Brands decide to start franchising?

Johnston: Technically, Front Burner Brands didn’t decide to start franchising. The Melting Pot has been a franchise concept since the second location opened in Orlando in 1976. My brothers and I opened the third, fourth and fifth locations in Tallahassee (1979), Tampa (1981) and Gainesville (1984). My brothers and I purchased all rights to the restaurant chain in 1985 and established The Melting Pot Restaurants, Inc. as the newly formed franchise company.

InteriorWe always intended for Burger 21 to be a franchise concept. We have an expertise in franchising and restaurant management with over 25 years of experience, so we wanted to capitalize on this advantage by designing a concept that was scalable with both a company-owned and franchise presence in the marketplace.

RFB: Burger 21 is part of the “better burger” category — is this niche poised to weather the sluggish economy better than traditional burger chains? How does Burger 21 go beyond the “better burger?”

Johnston: Although widely touted as the fastest growing foodservice category, the “better burger” category currently represents less than 3% of the overall $65 billion QSR and fast casual burger business. In fact, according to the NPD Group, the fast casual segment experienced an increase of 6% in 2010, while the rest of the foodservice industry declined. So, clearly there’s enormous growth potential.

We identified a void in the burger business that desperately needed to be filled. There are plenty of QSR burger joints out there, a number of traditional-style “better burger” establishments and even upscale, full-service burger restaurants. But, Burger 21 has defined its own category — placing it in a position to grow rapidly across the U.S. by offering a gourmet, high quality experience without the gourmet price, great atmosphere and stellar customer service in a modern diner, fast casual environment.

Burger 21’s creations appeal to all audiences and ages, particularly females who often cast the “veto vote” when selecting a restaurant.

RFB: Before your second unit opened on October 23, what operational changes or tweaks were made from the first store to the second?

Johnston: Some tweaks we made include the following:

• Shifted where our expo line person stands to create a better flow so that he/she can see all positions from the to-go packaging area to the cook line and the restaurant cameras that show all areas of the restaurant.

• Created a bigger dish area as we switched from disposable to melamine bowls for salads and desserts.

• Designed a more sleek sauce bar and beverage area based on customer usage at the Westchase location.

• Increased storage capacity.

• Used rectified tile in the Carrollwood location, reducing grout lines by 80%. This is great from a maintenance and design point of view.

• The Westchase location was retrofitted into a previous foodservice space, so we were not able to do as much custom work in the kitchen area as in the second location. We were able to modify the kitchen footprint of the first location to adjust the size of some of our kitchen equipment pieces, which created operational improvements and cost savings.

• The dining room remained consistent, utilizing the same five types of seating arrangements as well as the same materials and color scheme.

RFB: Describe your franchising plan. Focus on Florida first, and then what? How many rights for stores have been sold so far?

Johnston: Burger 21’s national franchise program launched in September of this year, and has aggressive growth plans to expand throughout most of the U.S. While initial expansion efforts will focus on Florida markets, franchise opportunities will be considered in many markets nationwide. When evaluating new market opportunities, Burger 21 International relies heavily on population density levels, average income levels per household per capita, growth trend projections and the optimization of units within a market.

Our ‘Discovery Process’ (approval process to become a franchisee) takes a minimum of 2 months. Given that the franchise program launched in September, no franchises or rights for stores have been sold at this time. We are offering an early adopter discount of 20% off the franchise fee for each franchise sold by June 21, 2012.

RFB: How does Burger 21 handle facilities maintenance — in-house, outsourced?

Johnston: Front Burner Brands has an in-house facilities maintenance professional, Bill Hawkins, who helps manage all of our needs. The maintenance amount is relatively low and performed mostly in-house. We detail our own equipment daily to maximize appliance lifespan.

We have some maintenance service contracts that cover our HVAC and cooking equipment if either malfunctions. Storefront cleaning (windows, etc.) is outsourced.

RFB: Tell me about the kitchen design of Burger 21 and how it’s geared toward maximizing efficiency.

Johnston: The layout of the kitchen allows for flexibility as team members shift from one station to another assisting with production. We have implemented a highly efficient cook line design where we prep products, form meat, bake, etc. The way food flows through the cook line is how productivity is maximized through this model. The conveyer layout (flows as if products are on a conveyer belt) is key to an optimal design strategy as we are able to produce food at a high rate of speed creating a very efficient kitchen.

RFB: What is the average square footage of a Burger 21 restaurant? How many patrons can it seat?

Johnston: The concept is designed to operate within 2,400 to 3,000 square feet (interior space). The second location seats 100 patrons inside and 40 outside on the patio.

RFB: What types of centers do you like to locate in? Freestanding or end-cap locations?

Johnston: Ideally, we will be in high traffic centers with great access, synergy and a lot of residential and office space nearby. We prefer to be in end-cap locations or freestanding buildings that are not part of shopping centers if they are well located.

RFB: By what criteria do you choose your maintenance vendors?

Johnston: Our selection process is based on a combination of value, service and reputation.

RFB: Does Burger 21 have any “green” initiatives in place or in the works?

Johnston: We have implemented environmentally friendly initiatives including the following:

• Changed over to salad bowls and silverware to reduce the amount of paper product waste.

• Reusable baskets containing a thin liner made from recycled paper.

• To-go bags made from recycled paper.

• Napkins are dispensed from the shake and sauce bars to cut down paper waste.

• Low temperature dishwashing machine.

• Energy efficient lighting — we use fluorescents in the bathrooms and dining rooms to conserve energy.

• For the amount of food and quality of product we serve, we have a relatively low energy cost as a percentage of sales compared to other restaurants that produce more complex food and a more extensive menu.

RFB: What do you enjoy most about your job?

Johnston: Eating burgers and drinking shakes! That is a perk, but I really enjoy the creativity and working and interacting with my teams — made up of smart, creative people in departments ranging from real estate to design, operations, training and marketing teams as we create this amazing concept that resonates with customers.

RFB: What is the most important thing you’ve learned about the restaurant industry that helps you in launching a new concept?

Johnston: To deliver the highest quality food in a unique environment at a price consumers feel is fair. We listen to customers and give them what they want at a fair price ultimately providing a great value and fun experience. That is what we do at B21, why we are successful and continue to have success.

RFB: How many restaurants do you hope to open in 2012?

Johnston: We hope to ink 30 franchising deals by the end of 2012. Probably one or two of those franchise units will be open as well as two to three additional corporate-owned units.