Emerging Brands

Perkins is ready to fire up its second concept

The fast-casual venture, Griddle & Go, is intended to reach new consumers while also opening up new expansion opportunities.
An endcap version of Griddle & Go. | Photo courtesy of Perkins

The Perkins family-dining chain said Tuesday that the prototype of its new fast-casual venture is scheduled to open by the end of the month. It also revealed the name: Griddle & Go. 

The previously announced concept sports the classic breakfast and homestyle fare for which Perkins is known, but in a format that promises a quicker visit for patrons. The effort to be more convenient extends to the menu, which features a line of breakfast sandwiches not available at a Perkins restaurant.

It also borrows such service-speeding measures from fast food as self-ordering kiosks and digital menu boards. 

Yet the startup calls attention to its heritage by incorporating the official name of its mother brand, Perkins American Food Co., in signage and logos. 

The launch is intended to reinvigorate Perkins’ expansion by providing a less-expensive growth vehicle that can fit into more locations. With 1,500 square feet of interior space housing just 65 seats, a marked downscaling from the typical 3,500-square-foot Perkins restaurant, the new format can work in non-traditional sites as well as strip centers and freestanding pads, according to the franchisor. 

It cites such possible alternative locations as college campuses, casinos, hotels, airports, hospitals and other sites in need of offering foodservice at all three meal occasions. 

Perkins said in announcing the launch that it expects to develop Griddle & Go in markets currently served by a Perkins restaurant as well as in areas where the older chain has yet to open. 

The aim is to draw loyal fans of 66-year-old Perkins while simultaneously appealing to two types of customers who pose significant opportunities for growth, President Toni Ronayne told Restaurant Business in June. 

She identified those targets as “Love to Eat Lee,” a current heavy user who’s looking for variety and a more elevated experience, and “Mom on the Move,” the matriarch with a heightened sensitivity to convenience and value. 

A number of competitors in the family-dining market have similarly spun off scaled-down variations on their core brands, aiming to provide the convenience that can be difficult to provide in large sit-down restaurants that were built years if not decades ago. 

The results have been mixed. Arch-rival IHOP tried but then abandoned its venture, a fast casual called Flip’d. Expansion was halted after the fourth store was opened.

Golden Corral, a buffet operation, opened a fast casual prototype late last year called Homeward Kitchen. Executives say the upstart has been a hit, though no connection is drawn to its parent brand. They also report that many of the lessons learned about technology and facilitating to-go sales have been incorporated into that main operation.

More recently, several veterans of the Toasted Yolk breakfast-and-lunch-only chain opened a scaled-down riff called the Twisted Egg Shack. As a way of offering more convenience, it sports a drive-thru as well as an interior dining area. 

Perkins is owned by Ascent Hospitality Management, which is also the parent of the Huddle House family-dining chain. 

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