Fresh City debuts fresh look with new prototype; eyes franchising

Nation's Restaurant News,  Dec 22, 2003  by Paul Frumkin

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NEWINGTON, N.H. -- Executives of Fresh City are optimistic that the fast-casual concept's new prototype will help to fuel the budding chain's foray into the franchise arena next year.

The 4,700-square-foot restaurant, which debuted here in the Fox Run Crossing retail center this month, was designed to provide a more comfortable dining experience, increase customer frequency and simplify operations, according to Larry Reinstein, president and chief executive of 12-unit Fresh City's parent, Fresh Concepts LLC.

"We believe that [the prototype] is better for the guest and better for the operator," he said. "And we expect that it will help to drive our franchise expansion."

Reinstein said the fresh-food marketplace concept's inaugural franchised outlet is scheduled to open in the Washington, D.C., area during the first quarter of 2004. In addition, plans call for the opening of franchised units in upstate New York between Albany and Rochester during the first half of the year. The Chicago area also could see some franchise action in 2004, he added.

The Needham, Mass.-based chain began to ratchet up its franchise program earlier this year with the hiring of a director of franchise development in September. At the same time, Reinstein and his brother, Bruce, who serves as Fresh Concept's executive vice president, have been meeting with potential franchisees throughout 2003.

"Our plan is to grow nationally," Reinstein said."But first we're concentrating on the Eastern half of the United States."

Expansion is expected to begin to pick up in 2004, he added, with Fresh City opening three or four company stores in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. He expects to see three or four franchised stores opening that year as well but said 2005 should bring more rapid growth.

"We would like to develop 250 stores over the next five years, with about 50 of those being company owned," he said.

One of the keys to the franchise push, however, is the development of Fresh City's new prototype. A chief goal of the unit redesign has been to create a more comfortable and sophisticated dining area that would help to drive customer frequency--notably during the dinner period.

"Fast-casual chains do most of their business in two meal periods," Reinstein said. "We're doing all three and are looking to build up our dinner business. Comfort and high-quality food will appeal to a greater number of consumers,"

He projected that the new design would help to boost the dinner daypart from the current 30 percent of sales to 40 percent. At the same time, he said, he expects that the growth in dinner business will help boost beer and wine sales, thereby increasing Fresh City's all-day per-person check of $8.

The Newington unit cost $850,000, although Reinstein said future units would range between $696,000 and $1.3 million, depending on the space and the size. Future units are expected to be slightly smaller, at 4,500 square feet, and to seat about 100. Fresh City's former units, which run from 2,500 square feet to 3,500 square feet, typically generate about $550 per square foot, he said.

Reinstein said Fresh City is targeting three types of sites for the new prototype: end-cap locations in strip centers; power centers with such major retail anchors as Best Buy or Barnes & Noble; and daily-needs centers with high-end supermarkets.

He characterized 2003 as being an "excellent" year for Fresh City, with same-store sales hitting double-digit increases. And while he declined to disclose sales figures, he said the company would generate more than $10 million.

Most of the added square footage of the new prototype has been designated as dining space and divided into three separate areas: a cafe section, the "front corner" of the dining room and the main dining area.

In the past Fresh City units could accommodate from 50 to 80 customers. The new prototype seats closer to 120.

According to Marc Ciannavei, senior associate, interior designer of the Watertown, Mass,-based design firm Sasaki Associates, the mission had been "to create something more on the elegant, sophisticated side of fast casual. We wanted it to feel different from the competition."

Ciannavei said the 30-seat cafe area was designed to cater to the morning clientele and people simply looking to spend less time in the restaurant. The space has been decorated using lighter colors--yellow, beige and pale green. Tables and chairs are slightly smaller than are those in the main dining area.

The front corner and the main dining room, however, were designed for customers who want to relax and linger over their meals. The front corner area sports a darker color scheme and offers lounge chairs and a community table that can seat about 10.

The main dining area includes booth seating, banquettes and deuces, and the color palette utilizes darker shades of red, terra-cotta and okra. Also, chairs are fabricated with darker woods to help create a more relaxing experience, the dining room was designed to minimize interaction between those customers who already have been seated and those queuing up to place their orders, Ciannavei said.