Willie Jewell Daniels was a special person in Joe Adeeb’s life, and now the CEO of Bono’s Pit Bar-B-Q is naming a new restaurant concept after her so her memory will live on.
The first location of Willie Jewell’s Old School Bar-B-Q is scheduled to open in Charleston, S.C., later this year. Willie Jewell’s is a smaller, fast casual restaurant concept with a smaller menu and a slightly less expensive average per person bill, compared to Bono’s, but still includes all the sauces and flavors of the full-service restaurant. Josh Martino, the president and Chief Operating Officer of the parent company for WIllie Jewell’s, said the concept has been in the planning stages for about two years and is designed to take advantage of the growing popularity of fast casual concepts and to provide a less expensive franchise purchasing opportunity. With about $400,000 in start-up costs, Willie Jewell’s is roughly a third-of the cost to start a Bono’s.
Paul Barron, the publisher of the trade publication Fast Casual, expects fast casual restaurants to increase in popularity in 2009 because of the weakening economy.