Hope springs eternal in the restaurant business, even in a recession. To wit: Al Copeland Investment’s smaller French Quarter-style prototype that Chief Franchise Officer Andy Gunkler insists will set the Copeland’s of New Orleans concept apart from the plain-vanilla boxes that dominate casual dining while maintaining a better than 1-to-1 sales-to-investment ratio. We asked Gunkler to explain.
Is the prototype a facelift or a new business model?
It’s a facelift. The first one we did, in Baton Rouge, La., was a remodel of the older prototype. We brought our restaurant up to our new prototype standards. For example, we put a bakery in the restaurant. Bakery sales account for about 8 percent of total sales in the Copeland’s brand.What else did you do?
We redid the bar. We added 20 tables to the dining area. We did the facelift on the outside. Our grand re-opening was in March, and we are very pleased with the increase in sales.Can you give me a number?
Our sales are up between 5 and 10 percent since then.