Fast Casual:
From McAlister’s Deli comes a new store prototype that features a smaller footprint, simplified interior décor and a pick up window for carryout orders.
For starters, the prototype shrinks the McAlister’s footprint from 4,000 square feet to roughly 3,200 to 3,400 square feet and is expected to reduce build-out costs by at least 10 percent. The 280-unit McAlister’s Deli rolled out the prototype in February in Columbus, Miss. The unit included seating for approximately 100 to 110 – down from the 130 interior seats – plus a patio area.
McAlister’s Deli senior vice president of development, Bill McClintock, said the prototype will serve as the model for future McAlister’s Deli locations.
McClintock said McAlister’s began to work on the prototype more than a year ago and that it will enable the brand to successfully enter previously untapped markets. McAlister’s Deli is targeting several new areas for the company, including Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Detroit, Milwaukee, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio, Pittsburgh and Phoenix.