FSR February 2023

BehindtheScenes

in this smaller space, it can execute the same experience and menu— and clinch more than $5 million in AUV. The restaurant, which will be based in Central, Louisiana, is in the final design stage. Construc tion is scheduled to start this month, and the store should debut sometime between September and December. Original ly, the unit was going to be a corporate loca tion, but DMBC—Walk-On’s larg est franchisee, with 16 open across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Tennessee—volun teered to take on the task. “We were going to build it, oper ate it, and think on all the burden of building a first-time prototype because there’s always going to be something,” Taylor says. “You think you’ve got everything cov ered, but you’re going to find some thing and so we were going to do that. But we have a tremendous relationship with DMBC.” Walk-On’s has four basic ground-up prototypes. Generation One accounts for most of the footprint—Taylor esti mates it to be around 60 percent. ere’s also another big version called IDA, but it only has three locations. The other two, of course, are the Bul ldog and Wildcat. ere are also some spin-offs. For instance, there’s a Pony prototype, which is just the Bulldog without a ban quet room. These smal ler designs take into account that Walk-On’s now does 15–16 percent off-premises, with some stores surpassing 20 percent. Taylor says those numbers should rise this year after the chain rolls out a massive technology suite update, including a new online ordering platform, loyalty program, website design, and POS system. And within these prototypes, Walk-On’s will be more mindful of to-go and delivery, like a separate entrance so the off-prem ises guest doesn’t disturb the dine-in consumer checking in with the host. Franchisees are still building Gener ation One stores, and Walk-On’s agrees

going to have some Bulldogs,” Tay lor says. “It’s just giving the fran chisees and us different ways to look at different markets and develop. But [it] also casts a much wider net so we can go into some of these much smaller markets that we think are great markets for us, but probably don’t justify the investment of a big freestand ing building.” Walk-On’s has 70-plus restau rants across 14 states. at’s after opening more than 40 locations between 2020 and 2022. Taylor attributes growth success to ser vicing franchisees as soon as the pandemic began. Operators then saw how quickly stores were able to claw back sales, and confidence soared. e chain also used Covid to take advantage of real estate opportunities; stores were con verted from TGI Fridays, Roma no’s Macaroni Grill, Tilted Kilt, Twin Peaks, Houlihan’s, and more. Even with the new Wildcat prototype, Taylor says Walk-On’s will continue to seek second generation spots—anything that allows for franchisees to experience better unit level economics. e company will finish 2022 with 16 store openings, and that’s after a tough year from supply chain and sourcing equipment. But Walk-On’s learned from those trials and is now ordering far in advance. In 2023, the plan is to debut 20 res taurants. Beyond that, the goal is to set a pace of 20–25 new locations per year. At the same time, Taylor and his fellow leaders constantly preach for everyone not to get caught up in the headlines and triumphs. Taking on the hard-working spirit of a walk-on athlete is what got the restaurant here, and no one wants to lose that fire. He wants teammembers to be proud of their wins, but also recognize that innovation never ends. “We just need to focus on being better,” Taylor says. “Nobody stays the same. We just want to get better every day. And so that’s set for us. But innovation—that’s what’s happening here.”

with those decisions because sometimes a bigger box is necessary in certain mar kets, Taylor says. Looking at the overall picture, the concept wants to give fran chisees a suite of options for wherever they may want to grow. Sometimes, that maymean entering a smaller market that can hold a Walk-On’s, but not necessar ily at $5million AUV. e chain recently opened in Clemson, South Carolina, after converting from a 5,500-square-foot his toric theater. e location can seat up to 130 and features a patio. Taylor says a 5,000-square-foot Walk-On’s is possible too after refining the menu and stream lining prep areas in the back of house. It would be a better fit for a market with fewer than 70,000 people. “There are options because we will always have Gen Ones out there; we’re “Nobody stays the same. We just want to get better every day. And so that’s set for us. But innovation—that’s what’s happening here.”

WALK-ON’S

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FEBRUARY 2023