Coney Beach: Hot Dogs Just the Beginning
Watch for Beautiful Brands to open three new concepts over the next few years, with the current focus being its gourmet hot dog stand, Coney Beach. Expect two more concepts to come down the pike, including a fast-casual chicken place to take on Chick-fil-A and Raising Canes, and a salad concept to battle the likes of Salad Creations, SaladWorks and the rest of the upstarts in the fast-casual salad segment.
Beautiful Brands Founders David and Camille Rutkauskas also started the popular Camille's Sidewalk Cafe. Camille's, which has 100 units open and more than 800 new franchise agreements worldwide, is projecting sales of $100M for 2008. The sales will help with the expansion of Coney Beach, where David Rutkauskas sees a lot of opportunity, due to lack of major competition in the hot dog segment.
The first Coney Beach unit will open in Tulsa in April. Initial expansion also will include Jackson, Miss., with other targets of St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo., Dallas, Houston, Oklahoma City, Birmingham, Ala., Atlanta, Little Rock, Ark., Omaha and Chicago. The goal is to open 20 locations in 2007, 20 in 2008, and 100 in 2009. The day Coney Beach's website went live, Rutkauskas was inundated with more than
70 franchise requests. Unlike Camille's, whose expansion looked like shotgun splatter, Coney Beach will start in middle America and spread out from there.
When asked about Chicago - where Wienerschnitzel failed - Rutkauskas reasoned that if you are scared, you shouldn't be in the business. Besides, the festive, campy concept could be a better alternative to Wienerschnitzel and Nathan's Famous, and should take a bite out of some casual restaurants as well, because it will serve beer and wine. Along with gourmet hot dogs, Coney Beach will offer Angus hamburgers, loaded fries and other options. The concept will have a boardwalk, cork floor and a painted red deck in a 1,500-s.f. to 3,000-s.f. area, with indoor and outdoor seating for 60 to 90 guests. Ideal locations are endcaps with a nice mix of retail like a Lowe's or Super Wal-Mart.
The Restaurant Insider Team
E-mail: editor@crittendenrestaurants.com
To see more exciting Coney Beach news, go to www.coneybeachdogs.com
|