'Next Stop: Last Century'

Restaurateurs must’ve had their hearts broken this holiday season. All they found under the wrapping paper were iPads, flat screen TVs and the latest smart phones. What they really wanted, judging from recent news stories, was a time machine.

Not just any decades-jumper, but one that can take them back as well as forward, to the days when counter servers wore peaked paper caps. They want to capture the magic that made Hot Shoppes and A&W the dominant chains of their day. Why else would they be opening a new chapter for the brands?

In case you missed the particulars, Marriott Corp. is planning to open a Hot Shoppe in a Washington, D.C., hotel in early 2014. If you’re not familiar with the concept, it was a cross between a soda fountain, family restaurant and fast-food joint, serving up shakes, fries and burgers to the generation that’d parent the Baby Boomers.

It was also the foundation for the Marriott hospitality empire, which was originally known as Hot Shoppes, Inc. Founder J.Willard Marriott started in business as a restaurateur, first as an A&W franchisee (more on that in a minute), then as the builder of the Hot Shoppes chain (beginning in the late 1920s), and then as architect of the Big Boy system, which operated under a slew of regionalized names (Shoney’s, Frisch’s, JB’s, Abdow’s, Azar’s, etc.) Hotels would come later, largely under the tutelage of Willard’s son Bill, who’s about to retire.

Hot Shoppes gave more than the Marriotts a taste of the good life. At a time when full-service restaurants were largely upscale joints, it provided a way for workers and the lower middle class to have someone wait on them. My mother often recounted how she’d occasionally get a milk shake at a Hot Shoppe when she was studying to be a nurse in Washington, D.C., during World War II. She’d say it with the wistfulness of someone who’d just had tea with the Queen.

Hot Shoppes would plug along as a curiosity, a bit of nostalgia making too many concessions to the times, until 1999. Marriott has apparently decided that a 25-year gap without a Shoppes is too long.

Maybe it’s just a coincidence that a new chapter also opened this week for the brand that preceded Hot Shoppes in Marriott’s business model (the first store was converted from Willard Marriott’s A&W franchised unit). A&W has been quietly plugging along, gaining and losing stores, for eons. For a long while it shared resources with the likes of Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut, serving as a co-branding partner for those sister Yum! Brands holdings.

But now A&W is on its own again. The brand was spun off to franchisees right before Christmas. They’ve vowed to grow the business, in part by taking advantage of A&W’s heritage. No doubt they’re looking to cruise back to happier days and bring that popularity back to the current day.

But that’s not the only time travel the industry is pursuing. As Restaurant Reality Check reported earlier, P.F. Chang’s hopes to get a glimpse of its future via a new one-of-a-kind bistro in southern California. The restaurant is intended to serve as a lab for how future stores will operate, right down to their menus and serving style (i.e., a heavy reliance on small plates).

Chang’s isn’t the only chain that’s asking itself, How can we anticipate what’s next for the brand if our test site is a facility built for today?

As some of Yelp’s citizen-reviewers have noted, BJ’s Restaurants has opened a downscale version of its signature concept, called BJ’s Grill. Management has stressed that the smaller riff is meant to be a testing ground for such futuristic touches as new technology, not a prototype.

Indeed, some of the features under scrutiny seem far afield from the current-day BJ’s. Yelp posters noted that the menu has a decidedly Mediterranean bent, with kabobs and hummus on the bill of fare.

The idea of building a futuristic unit is hardly new. Houston’s, the upscale chain whose restaurants sometimes operate under the Hillstone name, also runs an outlet called R&D Kitchen. As the name implies, the restaurant is a little more on the edge than a Houston’s.

Apparently it’s already given the time machine a try.

Cracker Barrel's return volley

After losing customers to fast-food places, chains like IHOP and Denny’s are fighting back with grab-and-go outlets of their own. IHOP, for instance, is testing a limited-service mutation called IHOP Cafe, where the menu is limited to wraps, sandwiches and a few other portable items. Denny’s calls its entrant Fresh Express, a section set up within existing stores as a takeout station. Bakers Square and Big Boy have similar experiments underway.

But Cracker Barrel, one of that sector’s powerhouses, is betting against them. Instead of creating a new set-up for patrons in a hurry, the country-store-themed chain is trying to compress a sit-down meal into a tighter timeframe. Tests of the Seat to Eat program have cut patrons’ wait times for a meal to less than 14 minutes, CEO Michael Woodhouse told investors yesterday. Starting next month, the initiative will be expanded to include all stores, though the process will stretch to 18 months in part because of the capital requirements.

Executives didn’t reveal the price of changing units’ kitchen configurations to accommodate Seat to Eat, but they noted that it would be part of a $30-million budget that also covers maintenance and the opening of seven stores. Other comments suggested the outlay could be in the $13-million range, with about half spent in 2010.

Woodhouse called it “an integrative tool to drive store traffic and increase productivity.”

More (sea) changes at the top

This morning brought the news that Greg Burns, a leader of the O’Charley’s dinnerhouse chain for 25 years, will step down early next year as CEO and chairman. It’s the latest indication that a changing of the guard is quietly taking place in the restaurant industry as executives who spent a lifetime in the business surrender the helm to newer and presumably more mainstream talent.

O’Charley’s said it hasn’t yet chosen Burns’ successor. But look at some of the replacements that have been named for exiting long-timers. Nigel Travis is stepping into the CEO’s job at Dunkin’ Donuts’ parent company with deep experience in internet sales, international business and retail marketing. The internet wasn’t even known when the standout he’s succeeding, Jon Luther, was starting his career.

Wendy’s had a long tradition of putting operational specialists in the corner office, starting with Dave Thomas, continuing through the legendary Jim Near and the highly respected Gordon Teeter, and then ending with Jack Schussler. Leading the company since its acquisition by Arby’s owner is Roland Smith, a veteran of the golf, bowling, soft drink and pharmaceutical industries. He’s a West Point grad.

Not all of the long-timers exiting top posts are being followed by newcomers with such extensive resumes. Dick Frank, for example, is surrendering his leadership of Chuck E. Cheese to Mike Magusiak, a protégée and longtime exec of the pizza-and-games chain. But Magusiak has a background in finance, having served as CFO. Frank was hailed for his operational and marketing know-how.

And not all the replacements have been named yet. Big Boy, for instance, said it’s still searching for a replacement for Tony Michaels, its longtime leader and an even longer-time veteran of the restaurant industry, including stints with Marriott.

The list of other industry greybeards to step down in recent months include Russ Owens, the casual-dining vet who had been leading P.F. Chang’s Pei Wei Asian Diner fast-casual operation; and Paul Motenko and Jerry Hennessey, the co-founders of BJ’s, who have left the board of that seemingly recession-resistant frontrunner to rev up for a new venture.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t note the counter-current of long-timers getting back into the business. Yesterday, for instance, the new owners of Romano’s Macaroni Grill released the stunning news that the chain would now be led by Olive Garden vet Brad Blum, a brilliant move on the buyer’s part. And Ned Lidvall, perhaps best known for his leadership of Rock Bottom Breweries, will now be leading Friendly’s.