At Rise & Dine Restaurants‘ franchise convention this year, silver platters of wieners were ceremoniously brought out to franchisees, who, in turn, stuffed themselves.
“Everyone was trying every hot dog until they couldn’t eat anymore. And that’s just the way we wanted it,” recalls Joe Deavenport, chief executive of the Columbus, Ohio-based breakfast and lunch concept.
The humble product represented the 15-unit chain’s latest culinary gambit: a $4.99 value menu comprised of six hot dogs rolled out in March. The star of the show is the Chicago Dog. Declares Deavenport: “We wanted to be known for having something different at lunch, and that would differentiate us in the segment.”
Rise & Dine franchisee Carolyn Leverett, who operates a restaurant in Fort Worth, Texas, says she was excited. “They had pictures of the hot dogs and how much relish and things like that to put on them,” she says. “I had no problem with the way they communicated the process.”
