From the use of technology to consumers’ changing preferences to overall higher operating costs, today’s restaurants must weigh a variety of factors as they plot their futures. And they must do this with an eye toward what makes their concepts distinctive.

Glynn Chambers, Vice President of Brand Expansion, Capriotti’s and Wing ZoneSuch is the case with sibling restaurant chains Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop and Wing Zone. At the end of August, Capriotti’s had 171 units. The chain has opened 19 stores thus far in 2023 and plans to open another 20 by the close of the year. Wing Zone has 36 U.S. locations and another 24 in international markets. The chain has opened 10 thus far in 2023 and plans to open another 10 before the end of the year.

One of the executives helping shape that growth is Glynn Chambers, vice president of brand expansion for both Capriotti’s and Wing Zone. Working with chains at different stages of their growth cycles gives Chambers some unique insights that she shared with FE&S.

Q: You have two fast-growing, fast-casual chains. How do you grow without compromising consistency in service, design and more?

A: The biggest thing is for both concepts being able to pivot. We’ve been able to see what works and what does not work. It starts with our Uncompromised Standards for Quality and Service. It’s something we preach from the beginning. It’s the art of helping a new franchisee learn to operate their business correctly and profitably. And if it’s a franchise partner who has been in the restaurant business, we can learn from them. It starts with the day they start their franchise document and goes through construction. Once they open their restaurants, they then graduate into our Cap Mastery and Wing Mastery programs, which pair the franchisees with a business coach. Our business coaches look at their schedules, cost of goods, inventories and more. Our business coaches will start meeting with them once a week, and that can move to biweekly when appropriate. And we have quarterly business reviews with our business partners. We look at where they are on a quarterly basis and where they want to be in three or even five years. We look at how their goals align with the company’s, and then we look at how we can help our franchise partners achieve their goals.

It’s also important to know we have skin in the game, too. We have 11 corporate Capriotti’s locations. We have two Wing Zone locations, too, and we are looking to grow that. So, we will always test things before we roll out something.

Image courtesy of Capriotti’s

Q: The world is a much different place than it was back at the start of 2020. How have your brands evolved to meet the changing tastes of their customers?

A: It’s a little different for both brands. On the Capriotti’s side, we really did see business move to off-premises sales. A year before COVID, we started to see the industry moving more toward off-premises sales. Not everyone wanted to buy in at first, but then COVID hit, and everyone had to get on board. They had to work with the delivery services, add curbside pickup and even add pickup areas in our dining rooms. On the Wing Zone side, we saw the need to have pickup stations, too.

With Capriotti’s, we’ve started to implement limited-time offerings to get customers back into the stores. For example, in our Wing Zone store we just opened in Las Vegas, we added a hot chicken sandwich because those are so popular right now. We are getting some great feedback, but we are still trying to determine if this is the right choice for us long term.

Q: As your brand evolves, how do you determine which aspects of a concept should remain as a foundational element and which areas to change or adjust?

A: It’s not one person making a decision at the end of the day. We have franchise advisory councils for both brands, and they meet quarterly with leadership. This allows our leadership to hear what’s working and what franchisees are seeing in their stores — and then we can share that information with our team and make some decisions. For example, after COVID, about 85% of our Capriotti’s stores went away from curbside delivery, but there’s a few who still like to be able to walk a sandwich out to a customer’s car. So, we let them keep it. Our marketing and operations team is always trying to get to that next level and help extend our reach, if at all possible.

Q: The use of app ordering, third-party delivery and more has increased considerably in recent years. How has this impacted the way you design and equip your restaurants? How does it impact customer experience?

A: It has been amazing to see how that design has changed over the past two years. We want all of our stores to feel the same way, but we will look at each store individually. We will have a kitchen designer lay out the kitchen at each location. And we will talk to the franchisee about what’s working for them. What we’ve done in the past year is change where we put the delivery cubby. It’s by the point-of-sale station. If you’re a guest coming to order a sandwich, there’s a clear path for you right to the point-of-sale system. And if you are a guest who ordered online, or if you are third-party delivery driver, there’s a clear path for you too. But both of these paths are pretty much side by side.