The old concept - that market is flat to declining. Sales in markets where stores have been converted are all up double digits. Q: Are sales growing again, and is the company profitable?Ī: The company is very profitable. We actually went on television in May, due to sustained bad weather (which can keep people from dining out). I had originally targeted to go on television with advertising in March. Q: When did you start the new store rollout in the Twin Cities?Ī: We started in late 2013 with construction. Q: How much do the store conversions cost?Ī: We’ve spent about $300,000 per store. So you see Fire Mountain Roasters Coffee. Also, we have branded, individual serving stations now. We have added game rooms, which is incredibly important for families. This person’s sole role in the dining room is to ensure that the guest is completely satisfied. It is certainly more eye-appealing, and I can now give you recipes that are more contemporary like asiago ravioli and shrimp and grits.Ī: We have added a job called hospitality manager. No one else has sort of eaten out of that container. It’s plated for you, so it is certainly more sanitary. Ī: It is me presenting to you your own portion. Customers are now getting sit-down-quality portions in individual stainless steel containers. If you were going to host a dinner party at your house and you were going to use your own pots and pans, you would set them on a platform like I am doing. It didn’t remain contemporary with hospitality levels.Ī: You will see all the food up now on a flat surface, on what we call the “blue bars”. It didn’t remain contemporary with food offerings. This brand hadn’t changed its style and approach with guests for 30 years. Think about it, if you didn’t change your clothing style for 30 years, you’d look a little out of date. Q: What drove the changes at Old Country Buffet?Ī: I believed that if we could create a new, contemporary offering that matched the needs of today’s young families, there would be a stampede to the door. He spoke recently at the Old Country Buffet in Maplewood. The effort to revive the company has been led by Anthony Wedo, a veteran restaurant industry executive and consultant who signed on in December 2012. But it still employs 125 back office workers in Eagan. Since it exited bankruptcy in July 2012, Buffets - now owned by its former creditors - has moved its headquarters from Eagan to Greer, S.C. Ovation’s 337 restaurants, which operate under six brands including Old Country, are all eventually slated for renovation. The makeover has already occurred at about 40 Old Country Buffets, including all 14 in Minnesota, as well as in Denver and San Diego. The company, which has $900 million in revenue, is retooling its restaurants in a major way, from recipes to decor. Its corner of the restaurant industry, the all-you-can-eat buffet, has been a backwater.īut Buffets Inc., re-christened Ovation Brands last fall, is mounting a comeback. Old Country Buffet’s corporate parent descended into bankruptcy twice between 20.
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