Franchise Update Magazine Issue II, 2012 | Page 17

ery line cook and hostess must believe.
I like to say we are business athletes.
What do I mean by that? World-class
champions don’t just play their game,
they live it. They give their entire heart,
mind, and body over to the pursuit of
perfection in their chosen sport. To
truly create a “legendary” brand experience for every guest, every meal,
every day, we must live Bennigan’s. It
takes every member of the team working 25/8 to put us ahead of the curve.
Connecting the dots

We defined who we are and how we
were going to restore integrity to a
great brand. We had a mission, and we
knew our focus had to be on the food
and the high-energy experience, both
for our external guests and our internal
guests, the employees. We rolled out
a remodel at the Bennigan’s flagship
restaurant in Chicago, pouring all of
our key learnings from both our analysis and the wisdom of our franchisees
into menu optimization and increased
operational standards. Servers were
retrained to achieve flawless execution. Classics like the Big Irish Burger
were brought back to the menu along
with innovative, new American fare.
We created a new Brand Ambassador
position, someone who takes our Irish
hospitality into the local community.
Gone are the days when you just unlock the door at 11 a.m. and wait for
your guests to walk in.
Sales at the Chicago restaurant went

up 25 percent—a phenomenal performance in an industry that’s flat to negative. One of our franchisees embraced
these key initiatives and the prototype
remodel and saw a significant doubledigit increase as well. These successes,
including a remodel and renewed focus
at another corporate-owned location
in Appleton, Wisc., demonstrated to
our franchise partners that if we deliver on our “legendary” mission we
can rebuild loyalty. A return to our
roots is also a return to rebuilding an
emotional connection with our guests.
Transactional customers become lifetime guests, and that loyalty leads to
a compelling franchise model.
In Part 2 of “Anatomy of a Turnaround,” I will share our plans for
taking this renaissance beyond our
four walls. Nontraditional real estate

opportunities and new ways of marketing mean more people experiencing
our friendly Irish hospitality. Part of
our renewed focus is looking toward
expansion through a fast-casual model
called Bennigan’s on the Fly. New
branding we are introducing will allow
for development in airports, hotels,
hospitals, cruise ships, universities,
and other nontraditional locations.
Last year we signed franchise agreements to develop more than 30 new
restaurants, with plans to open 12 new
locations domestically and internationally in 2012. Flexibility in real estate
is key to this expansion, with our new
prototype offering a smaller format
designed to fit different site options
beyond the freestanding pad.

Rekindling the fire of a great brand
has been rewarding work, both for
our corporate team and our franchise teams in the field. We brought
the focus back where it belongs: on
the people, the food, and the experience. Our clear, singular mission has
resulted in a renewed energy, allowing
us to add new chapters to a success
story that began 35 years ago. Keep
reading in the months ahead. It’s going to be legendary. n
Paul Mangiamele, Bennigan’s president and CEO, was hired to take over
the brand in May 2011. Contact him at
469-248-4419 or www.bennigans.com.

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