DailyFranchiseNews.com

Honey Baked Ham Takes a Hit!

Wow! Wouldn't want to see this story for too many franchisors--sure things are tough out there but so what?  This is not the first bout of hard times and in franchising it's the fourth recession we've seen in the past two decades--all of which were good for franchising except this one.  I don't know about you, but when I am feeling sad or deprived a nice Honey Baked Ham is exactly what I would enjoy--with some wine and chocolate!  Everyone needs to perk up a bit!  However, bad press like this is NOT helpful right now for franchising and franchisors!

Read story here in USA Today!

 

Birmingham Bumps Up its Value

Talk about a company that’s beating the odds!

The Birmingham Business Journal reported that economy extended stay lodging brand Value Place is expanding its presence in the Birmingham region. Value Place opened its first Birmingham location in Pelham last year, followed by a Bessemer location, which opened in June, said Gina McKee, vice president of franchise development. She said the chain is currently evaluating sites for three additional franchisee-owned properties.

McKee said the chain has identified a spot at Highway 78 and Roebuck Drive and another at Interstate 59 and Chalkville Mountain Road in Trussville for potential sites. A third has yet to be identified. Value Place can be found coast to coast, with 159 open now and 170 slated to be open by the end of the year – 43 of which are company-owned.

For Your Viewing Pleasure

What’s better than dinner and a movie? Dinner and a movie under one amazing roof!

Nation’s Restaurant News reported that strong movie ticket sales and sliding real estate prices are turning cinema-eating venues like Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas into a business with blockbuster potential. “When executed properly, these are very profitable venues,” said Neil Billingsley-Michaelsen, president of Triple Tap Ventures LLC of Austin, which recently announced a franchise agreement with eight-unit Alamo Drafthouse to expand in Texas. “There can be a very good return on investment.” His partner in Triple Tap is Norman Abdallah, chief executive and president of Restaurants Unlimited Inc. and co-founder of Fired Up Inc., parent of Carino’s Italian. Abdallah said Alamo Drafthouse is one of the “strongest emerging brands in the unique ‘cinema eatery’ segment.”

The recession has fueled movie-going this year. Year-to-date statistics compiled by Hollywood.com’s Box Office tracker show ticket sales are up 7.94 percent from last year, as of Oct. 18, to nearly $8.3 billion. The number of people going to movies in the same period is up 4.02 percent, to 1.1 billion, even though the average ticket price has risen from $7.18 to $7.45. Cinema eating offers value to recession-weary consumers, said Billingsley-Michaelsen of Triple Tap Ventures, which bought two initial stores in Houston and plans to develop others in the West Texas cities of Amarillo, Lubbock and Midland-Odessa as well as San Marcos and Corpus Christi. Triple Tap is converting theaters, remodeling big-box retail stores and undertaking some new construction for its venues. Alamo’s first location outside Texas, a unit in Winchester, Va., opened in mid-October. The company’s ninth location will open in San Antonio in November.

“We’re looking for restaurateurs to be partners with us in franchising these theaters because they know how to run these high-volume restaurants and multiple units,” said John Martin, president and chief executive of Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas.

The Triangle Ups its Value

Though many lodging chains have limited or ceased expansion in the past year, Value Place is taking the exact opposite approach.

The News & Observer reported the Wichita-based chain is calling for 500 properties to be built over the next five years – six of which will be in the Triangle area but over the course of 10 years. The first area Value Place will open in Apex in January. That the plans of the Wichita, Kan.-based company have not been scaled back because of the recession speaks to Value Place's no-frills business model. For about $200 a week, plus a $100 damage deposit, Value Place guests get a clean, safe place to stay and not much else. The approach has proven attractive at a time when corporations are slashing travel budgets and more people find themselves in housing limbo because they have relocated but can't sell the home they left behind or simply because they are out of work.

"A lot of apartment dwellers don't want to commit to another year lease because they don't know where there job is going," said Gina McKee, Value Place's vice president of franchise development. McKee said occupancy rates across Value Place's 160 properties have remained about 80 percent during the recession. She also revealed that the Triangle market is attractive because of the large number of business travelers coming for extended visits and because so many people are moving into the area.

Carter Rise, a franchisee in Richmond, Va., who hopes to start construction on a Value Place on Capital Boulevard in Raleigh early next year, said the brand fits the current economic environment. "You get basic, ultra-clean, very safe lodging in a comfortable but not ostentatious room with minimal amenities," he said.

Dry Cleaning Station Gets Martinized

Martinizing has been the gold standard in dry cleaning since its inception in 1949 and is expanding its presence further with the recent acquisition of Minneapolis-based Dry Cleaning Station.

American Drycleaner reported that according to Jerry Laesser, Martinizing’s vice president of marketing and development, it’s anticipated that a combination of 10 Dry Cleaning Station full-service plants will initially convert to the Martinizing brand in four markets, including Denver; Southern California; Tulsa, Okla.; and Minneapolis, with other markets to follow. Martinizing will expand its brand into new markets and rebrand existing Dry Cleaning Station locations as Martinizing centers; stores in markets with existing Martinizing locations will retain the Dry Cleaning Station name.

“People may be cutting back on luxuries, but they will never give up their dry cleaning,” said Laesser. “By joining forces with Dry Cleaning Station, Martinizing is giving its customers the confidence that they will receive the best service possible at all times.”

Photo: Martinizing's Jerry Laesser.

Extended Stay Chain Expands in Richmond

If you’re between residences, traveling for work or planning to visit family in the Richmond area over the next few months, there will be a new extended stay lodging option to consider when making your plans.

Richmond BizSense reported Value Place will open in Colonial Heights within the next few weeks. The local franchise is owned by Carter Rise, who is also owner of Sandpiper LLC — an apartment company with properties in Harrisonburg. “With Fort Lee and all the growth in Colonial Heights, we saw a need for an affordable extended stay alternative,” said Rise, who lives in Richmond.

Rise hopes to draw military contractors who need temporary housing, as well as people moving to the area in need of a place to live while they look for permanent housing. The Colonial Heights location is the second one for Rise, as he opened his first Value Place in Chesapeake at the end of September. That location is doing well, he said, and is attracting a mix of military contractors, business travelers and people in between homes. Rise said the chain is growing in a down economy because of the price point. Rates at his new location will be $229 per week, with a one-week minimum stay. The hotel’s rates are between $159 and $359 nationwide. The average length of stay is 90 days, according to the company. “It is a high-level value at an attractive price point,” said Rise. “And you’ve got a kitchen in the room, so there is further savings in that.”

The business model of Value Place allows it to keep prices low by cutting out amenities. There is no free breakfast, and daily linen service costs extra. It also operates on a lean staff; Rise plans to hire between six and 10 employees to run the 124-room property. Rise plans to open additional locations in the area, most likely in the West End, Midlothian and near the I-95 corridor north of Richmond, but it won’t be until credit loosens up, he said.

Gina McKee, Value Place’s vice president of franchise development, said that in addition to Rise’s four planned locations, McKee said the company is looking for additional franchisees to develop two more locations in the area.

Alamo Drafthouse Opens First East Coast Theater

Good things come to those who wait but for residents in and around Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, the wait is finally over.

Northern Virginia Daily reported Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas made its long-awaited debut yesterday in Winchester. This is the first Alamo location outside the state of Texas and offers a unique twist on "dinner and a movie," combining first-run films and specialty programming on eight big screens with a full-service restaurant.

Nick Nerangis Sr., a partner in the local franchise group N/L Entertainment LLC, hung the theater's first movie poster, "Where the Wild Things Are," during a brief ceremony outside the 38,000-square-foot facility while employees prepared for a full day of showings. Nerangis and his children -- sons Nick Jr. and Steve, and daughter Lisa Limoges, who discovered the chain while working in Dallas -- believe the concept will take hold in Winchester. "We think it's a great market for this concept and we're eager to show local residents what it's all about," Steve Nerangis said. "It's exciting. We think we've got a hit on our hands."

Derek Dodd, who helped bring the 130-member Winchester staff up to speed last week as director of training for Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas in Austin, Texas, predicts the Winchester location will be a big draw, even in a down economy. "The movie industry, in general, has done well, and we offer a truly unique experience," Dodd said.

Photo: Franchisee Steve Nerangis featuring selections from Alamo Drafthouse's extensive menu.

Tasti D-Lite Makes Its Mark in Texas

It’s been said the frozen dessert market is saturated but thankfully, Tasti D-Lite disregarded that memo and is carving out its niche as a tasty and nutritious alternative to higher-calorie treats.

Texas Real Estate Business reported that for most of its existence, the brand remained in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan, but it has recently opened up to franchising and is looking to expand nationwide. “Across the board, whether you are talking about desserts or whatever category of food, people are targeting healthier choices, and I think Tasti D-Lite fits right in with that trend,” says Aaron Webster, the South Texas area developer for Tasti D-Lite. Webster was first attracted to Tasti D-Lite from his time spent in New York. He had unsuccessfully tried to open locations outside the Northeast before, but when the company began to offer franchise opportunities last year, Webster was approached about opening Tasti D-Lite stores in Texas. A native of Houston, Webster picked his home town as the first South Texas market to see the frozen treat. He plans to open three stores this year, one of which is already open. If the Houston stores prove to be successful, Webster will expand into the Austin and San Antonio markets. Right now, he has an agreement with Tasti D-Lite to open 40 stores in South Texas in the next 10 years. 

“The first store has seen quite a bit of activity, which is pleasing. So, as long as we are able to open centers and, within a couple of months, are as profitable as the first one is proving to be, we will execute our plans to open 25 to 30 stores in Houston and probably half of that in the Austin and San Antonio markets,” said Webster. “I think the dessert market, especially a treat of this nature, is not passed over as often. In times like these, it is a happy way to spend 20 or 30 minutes with your family that is not so expensive.”

McAlister’s Deli Heads North

Long considered a southeast brand, McAlister’s Deli is heading north – to North Dakota, that is.

The Grand Forks Herald reported that the Ridgeland, Miss.-based restaurant chain will add a location in Grand Forks in 2010. “The Upper Midwest, from Minnesota to Grand Forks to Bismarck and South Dakota, will be a very strong growth area for McAlister’s,” said Bill McClintock, senior vice president of development, in a phone interview. “We’re excited to be coming there.”

McClintock said he did some franchising with Buffalo Wild Wings when it converted the former Ponderosa restaurant in Grand Forks in 2002. He said plans are to move into a vacated area, preferably 3,000 to 3,500 square feet with seating for 100, near Columbia Mall. McAlister’s hopes to reduce build out costs by 10 percent. “We first need to do a license agreement with an experienced food operator in the area to identify a trade area for a McAlister’s in Grand Forks and a couple of restaurants down in Fargo,” McClintock said.

A welcome addition, we’re sure!

He Remembered the Alamo

Sometimes a seemingly innocent conversation can breed an amazing opportunity. Norman Abdallah knows this firsthand and now he’s about to embark upon a new business venture with Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas.

The Austin American-Statesman reported that about two years ago, Alamo Drafthouse came up in a conversation between Abdallah and his son, Geoffrey. Geoffrey was a big fan of the Austin-based cinema-eatery chain and encouraged his dad to look into it further. Abdallah didn’t realize it at the time but that conversation would lead him to grow the Alamo brand in six Texas markets in the coming years with entrepreneur Neil Billingsley-Michaelsen. The pair – who call their operation Triple Tap Ventures LLC – will assume ownership of company-owned locations in Houston and Katy and plan to add theaters in San Marcos, Houston, Corpus Christi and several West Texas communities.

The move marks the first major development in expansion hopes for Alamo. Today, Alamo Drafthouse has seven locations, with two franchise locations slated to open later this year in San Antonio and Winchester, Va., the first out-of-state Alamo. While there are other movie-and-dinner theaters, Alamo is still quite popular and the longest running of its kind: John Martin, president and CEO of Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas, said revenue grew 8 percent last year, the best in the 12-year-old company's history. "For years, we've been out franchising, and trying to find a good fit for the franchise families," Martin said. "Norman Abdallah of Triple Tap definitely fit that mold."

Abdallah, chairman of Triple Tap, has homes in Austin and Seattle and said he would largely run the venture from his West Coast home. Billingsley-Michaelsen, who is the company's president, will run day-to-day operations from Austin. "We want this to be a big success," said Billingsley-Michaelsen, who has worked in corporate finance. "We are in it for the long run." The new group will not add locations in Austin. Today, Alamo Drafthouse expects to open 30 theaters by the end of next year, and 50 within five years, in markets such as Texas, Georgia, Florida, Oklahoma, Arizona and the East Coast.

Photos from top right: John Martin, president and CEO of Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas; Norman Abdallah of Triple Tap Ventures LLC; Neil Billingsley-Michaelsen of Triple Tap Ventures LLC.