FSR January 2023

BREAKOUT BRAND

Face-to-face interactions between senior executives and boots-on-the ground operators are at the heart of Eggs Up Grill. And company leaders are bet ting on these strong franchisee ties to not only fuel growth, but also ensure the brand personality is maintained across the entire system. After all, it’s one of the first things guests and operators like Donaldson notice when they visit.

did was complimentary versus creating confusion or disconnects or murkiness about what Eggs Up Grill is really about,” he adds. One of the first changes to come out of these meetings was the new store design, which can be found in about half the system, due to new locations entering the system and legacy opera tors updating their spaces. While this

THERE’S A SENSE OF SAMENESS ACROSS ALL OF THOSE. … SO IT CREATED THE OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO COME IN AND DO A SIMILAR TYPE OF CUISINE WITH ONE OF THOSE DAYPARTS—BREAKFAST AND LUNCH—AND BE A SPECIALIST IN THAT AND DO IT BETTER FROM A QUALITY STANDPOINT, A VALUE PERSPECTIVE, [AND] A FRIENDLINESS STANDPOINT. ” “

“It’s been a breath of fresh air. When we were with some of our other brands— and I can’t say names—we just felt boxed in with a lot of things, and it made it difficult to interject things that we felt would improve the overall brand image and sales,” Donaldson says. “We’ve been doing this for a little while, so we under stand the temperament of folks who are in the industry. We felt the ownership was very genuine in terms of working with the franchisees to be true partners in the growth of the brand.” This same intentionality was present when WJ Partners took the reins. Rich ardson recalls sitting down with mul tiple players who had a pivotal role in shaping the Eggs Up Grill family, includ ing Skodras and the brand’s longest ten ured franchisee. “We spent a couple hundred man hours over about a three-month period getting down on paper what I call the DNA, or the soul of the brand, and what those points of differentiation are that have made it successful to this point in time,” Richardson says. WJ Partners and the new leadership wanted to acceler ate growth, but they wanted to do it the right way andmake sure they didn’t “lose sight of what it had been that made it successful, so that all the work that we

new look might differ from the original (think: old-school diner), it reflects brand values that have remained unchanged. “It’s about being light, bright, and it kind of helps put a smile on your face,” Richardson says. “It has some design ele ments and color schemes that remind you of the sun coming up in the morn ing. It reminds you a little bit of our her itage from the beach area.” Not a chain Richardson and his team have brought infrastructure and streamlined prac tices to Eggs Up Grill, positioning it for big growth, but at the root, it remains a hands-on, heritage brand. This was a perk for Richardson, who had spent seven years at TGI Fridays, half of which he served as brand president. Part of the appeal in leading Eggs Up Grill was the opportunity to be at the forefront of a smaller operation with runway ahead and less distance between the corporate offices and the operators. Richardson wasn’t the only one to have these sentiments. Before joining Eggs Up Grill, Nate Young had spent many years climbing the corporate ladder at Red Lobster. He graduated right as the dotcom bubble

JANUARY 2023

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