Bahama Breeze Bringing paradise to the mainland

Nation's Restaurant News,  May 17, 1999  by Jack Hayes

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Scott Joseph, the dining reviewer for the Orlando Sentinel, admittedly didn't carry high expectations when he first visited Darden's fledgling Bahama Breeze concept.

And while Joseph was lukewarm regarding Darden's flagship Red Lobster and Olive Garden chains, he applauded Bahama Breeze as a top-echelon experience. "Go ahead and strike up the marimba." Joseph declared in his review. "Bahama Breeze is as refreshing as the wind in the Virgin Islands. It is fun, creative and, best of all, flavorful."

In fact, the executives who have been walking 3-year-old Bahama Breeze through its development, start-up and now its strategic rollout as the potential dominant player in Caribbean-themed casual dining, are confirming that weekly sales at their first four units are approaching and occasionally breaking the magic $100,000 mark.

"Let's say we're doing north of $5 million per unit, but just how far north we don't want to reveal," acknowledges Gary Heckel, president of the dinner-only chain, which is continuing to pack in crowds at each of its test markets thus far -- Memphis. Tenn., and Orlando and Tampa, Fla.

Showcasing a highly original island-flavored menu garnished with house-made sauces, soups and desserts and set in a relaxed Caribbean ambience whetted by a cocktail menu with more than 500 tropical drinks and live music, Bahama Breeze units are witnessing dinner waits that continue beyond the customary 9 p.m. slowdown at most popular restaurants. In fact, the upscale casual, high-energy uniqueness of the Bahama Breeze experience is such that many customers rate it as an evening of pleasure on par with dinner paired with entertainment.

"There are any number of things to do and sights to see here in Orlando, and we have done a lot of them, but we've also spent at least two of our vacation nights at Bahama Breeze just enjoying the after-dinner sounds," says Chris Hughes, a British tourist on his third visit here recently with his spouse and grown children.

"Our mission is that every guest leave with a burning desire to return," Heckel says. "So our focus is doing everything it takes to make this happen. We have a lot of details that add up collectively to a great experience. And it's the experience that does the advertising for us."

Boastful as they are about revenues, however, Heckel and Darden executive vice president Blame Sweatt -- who nursed Bahama Breeze from its dream stage to a reality, claiming he has toyed with the Caribbean dining idea for nearly two decades -- are hesitant to disclose guest counts, meal counts and check averages.

"We evaluate the check average at Olive Garden and Red Lobster, but here it's a different situation because we have people eating on the deck as well as in the bar and dining room - and they're eating different things in all three places," Sweatt explains.

Nevertheless, he does reveal that Bahama Breeze has the potential to add significantly to Darden's bottom line. "Every one of the restaurants began making money in its first 60 days," he says.

This month the Sweatt and Heckel team will open their fifth and sixth Bahama Breeze locations, in Raleigh, N.C., and Atlanta, respectively, completing their quota for 1999. They are gearing up to reach 12 units by the end of 2000, 24 restaurants by the close of 2001 and 48 the following year.

With 275 seats in a total space that ranges between 9,000 and 10,000 square feet, the Bahama Breeze footprint is 8 percent to 10 percent larger than Darden's average Red Lobster and Olive Garden "box" even though some units of either chain can exceed the 10,000-squarefoot mark. Some 25 percent to 30 percent of the total space in Bahama Breeze is in kitchen operations.

"This concept combines the elements of a great island restaurant with a great bar, but food is the primary focus," says Sweatt, claiming he scoured the market to investigate every Caribbean-themed dining concept he could discover during Bahama Breeze's development.

"Most everything we found out there was a kind of half-commitment," Sweatt says. "Nobody was really into creating a great combination island restaurant and bar."

Atlanta-based Greg Vojnovic, majority partner in the six-unit Caribbean-themed Bridgetown Grill, which began operating in that market in 1991, is one of the few who dispute the Darden position. Vojnovic, who bought Bridgetown from its second owner just two and a hail years ago -- and whose menu has won awards for its jerk chicken, guava barbecued ribs and "best frozen, tropical drink selection in Atlanta" says his intention has been "to define the true Caribbean in the hope of making Darden respond to us."

Nevertheless, with Bahama Breeze's imminent entry into his home market, Vojnovic is respectful of the clout wielded by his massive competitor and of its pledge to be operating as many as 50 restaurants within five years.