FSR September 2022

FirstCourse

Expansion would be further along if it weren’t for Covid, Goldberg says, but the pandemic never robbed Rock & Brews of its close relationship with local casinos, which are performing well in the current economic environment. “First and foremost, Vegas pretty much shut down,” Goldberg says. “That really opened up a great oppor tunity for the local casino.” Rock & Brews’ menu offers clas sic American comfort foods along with a sizable selection of craft beer, wine, cocktails, and other drinks. Recently, the chain partnered with Hampton Water, the wine brand founded by rock legend Jon Bon Jovi and his son Jessi Bongiovi, to sell summer cocktail Hampton Water Frosé. Six new restaurants are scheduled to open in the next 14 months, including an 8,500-square-foot location on the main casino floor of The Strat on the Las Vegas Strip in late 2023. Another 6,000-square-foot restaurant will debut inside the Potawatomi Hotel & Casino in Milwaukee next spring. Streetside outlets and casino locations fare similarly, with the pri mary difference being demograph ics. Standalone units typically are more well-rounded and family-friendly as opposed to casinos because of the 21-and-over requirement. Check aver ages are about the same because res taurants are priced comparably across the country, but different locations offer varying menu items, like filet mignon and fried chicken and waffles. Approximately 80 percent of Rock & Brews stores are franchised/licensed. The company-run footprint is small, but will always be maintained in future growth considerations, Goldberg says. “It’s very important for us to run cor porate stores because as we work with our licensees, we come from the per spective of an operator,” he says. “I think that's one of the traits our licens ees really like about working with us. We’re not in there just to make some thing look really great and walk away. We’re in there to make something look really great and operate even better.”

THE KIDS AREN’T EATING OUT MANY MEMBERS OF GEN Z now fall into that sweet spot of ages 18 to 24, a period when, typ ically, restaurant usage is at an all-time high. But much to operators’ dismay, the group’s visit fre quency continues a generations-long down ward trend, according to The NPD Group . Gen X averaged 284 visits annually, but that number dropped to 244 for millennials; now it’s trend ing at 218 restaurant visits per year for Gen Z .

To bring more young consum ers in, brands might consider leaning into trends with a health halo. After all, 18 percent of Gen Z customers seek organic menu items, compared to 12 percent of consumers aged 25 and older, and 16 percent prefer sustainably sourced food and beverage options versus 11 percent of older customers.

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SEPTEMBER 2022