Flavours of the month
It seems fitting that, in the Year of the Dragon, Asian food should be the hot trend in the US restaurant industry. Chinese restaurants are not usually the stuff of chains here; as in Britain, they're more likely to be independent, family-run businesses that tick over but never really make the hospitality headlines.
Enter PF Chang's China Bistro, launched in 1993 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Seven years and a stock market listing later, there are 40 restaurants in nearly 20 states. The company went public in 1998 and revenue tripled to $153m (£101m) last year.
PF Chang's was dreamed up by Paul Fleming (he's the PF) and Philip Chiang (he's the Chang, despite the dropped "i") when Fleming, a franchisee for a steakhouse chain, moved from California to Arizona and bemoaned the dearth of good Chinese restaurants. He hooked up with Chiang, who owned and operated the Mandarin in Beverley Hills, and a new concept was born.
The food is traditional Chinese, although it strays into US fare, with desserts such as the Great Wall of Chocolate, a six-layered chocolate cake, and New York-style cheesecake. There are also more than 50 premium wines, many of them Californian, which make up 10% of sales.
The décor and service is every bit as much East meets West - handpainted Chinese murals; an open kitchen, as is the trend with many US eateries; and servers who explain the menu, mix condiments at the table, and tell customers what goes best with what. "We took the mystery out of Chinese food," says the company's public relations manager Theresa Nakata.
PF Chang's claims to be the only Chinese restaurant chain in the country. It is growing by 13-15 outlets a year, but its limit will be 150. "That's as many as we want to open," says Nakata, who admits that the company is fearful of over-ambitious expansion. However, it will continue the Asian theme with a new concept, the Pei Wei Asian Diner, which tests in one location in Arizona this summer. Pei Wei will offer counter service and take-out, and the average spend is expected to be about $7 for lunch and $9-$11 for dinner - half the average cheque at PF Chang's.
Another restaurant group that has gone eastern is Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises (LEYE), Richard Melman's Chicago-based empire. LEYE has more than 70 restaurants and 32 different concepts. One of its most recent is Big Bowl. With the slogan "a lot of food, a little Zen", it serves steamed dumplings, combos, fresh noodles - in the words of executive vice-president Kevin Brown, "approachable Asian food". There is also a Mongolian Barbeque-style counter where you can choose your own stir-fry food to be wok-cooked in front of you.
Like PF Chang's, Big Bowl is a lot of East with a little bit of West. "There are very fine high-end Asian restaurants, and Chinatown-style restaurants. We wanted to create a Western atmosphere," says Brown. "Asian food is going to be what Italian food was 20 years ago." Big Bowl is in Chicago and Minneapolis, and there are plans to take it to Washington DC, Dallas and Denver.
Among LEYE's other new brands are a French bistro, Mon Ami Gabi (named after executive chef Gabino Sotelino) in Chicago and Las Vegas; Tru, a high-end continental French restaurant which opened in Chicago last year; and Wildfire, a 1940s-style steakhouse (three in Chicago). LEYE is looking for partners to expand in London, and Brown says that Big Bowl will probably be the first of its babies to cross the pond.
But not everyone has been successful with Asian food. Darden Restaurants - owner of, among others, nationwide chains Red Lobster and the Olive Garden - tried and failed with its own Chinese brand, China Coast. It is hoping for better results with Bahama Breeze, a Caribbean-themed restaurant now in 16 locations and growing. It offers made-from-scratch food such as Cuban black bean soup, jerk burger, West Indies patties and palomilla steak (thin-cut, marinated and grilled, Latin American-style), plus live music.
Steve Peterson, executive chef for Westin Hotels, part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, says that Latin food is one of the USA's fastest-growing food trends. "We've had the Latin music invasion with Ricky Martin and Jennifer Lopez, and food is piggy-backing on that," he says.
Peterson has been experimenting with what he calls "Nuevo Latino" menus in Westin hotels, with dishes such as mashed plantain with bacon and onion, and blackened steak infused with chillis, pepper and herbs. A Latin-themed seafood restaurant is planned for a new hotel in San Diego next year. He will also introduce cebicheria tapas bars ("a Spanish version of a sushi bar") in hotels in San Antonio, Texas, and Phoenix, Arizona.
Two of the big casualties in the USA in 1999 were Planet Hollywood and Boston Market, and both have resurfaced. Planet Hollywood has another $30m in the bank and the promise of new celebrity backers. Boston Market, famous for its take-away and home meal replacement offer, has a new owner in McDonald's, which will close 100 of the restaurants and convert some more, but plans to retain the majority as Boston Market.
A strong rival for McDonald's in this new market will be Blimpie International, which last year launched Pasta Central, a fast food, take-away and meal replacement brand. It combines counter service with a "food chute" at the entrance selling jarred sauces, dried pasta, salads and desserts.
Pasta Central numbers five stores in the USA and one in Canada, and six more are under construction. It will stand alongside Blimpie's Subs and Salads shops (currently numbering 2,000 in 12 countries) and, the company hopes, add sales throughout the day (70% of Blimpie's sandwich sales are made between 11am and 3pm). The signs are good so far. Joe Morgan, group president of Blimpie Subs and Salads and Pasta Central, says: "As a brand new business, we expected about 30% of sales from Pasta Central [at a Blimpie location], but it's representing about 50% of sales. The average [spend] at a Blimpie Pasta Central is about $6.70, compared with $4.65 at a Blimpie."
Separately, Blimpie is developing Maui Tacos, a Mexican-Hawaiian hybrid selling "high-end" fast food such as mahi mahi, and meat marinated in lime and pineapple juice. The food is cooked centrally and heated on-site, and there is a counter where customers can mix their own salsa. The concept was begun in Hawaii and bought by Blimpie in 1997 (founder Mark Ellman is now executive chef), and is now in New York, Georgia and Delaware. There are 15 franchised units and plans for 130 within 10 years and, although standing alone from Blimpie Subs and Salads, in many sites Maui Tacos will be co-branded with another of Blimpie's concepts, Smoothie Island.
The company plans to develop all of these brands abroad, starting with Maui Tacos next year.
FACTS
PF Chang's China Bistro
Tel: 00 1 602 957 8986
Web site: www.pfchangs.com
Number of units: 40
Average seats: 220
Average spend: $17 per person
Blimpie Subs and Salads with Pasta Central
Tel: 00 1 800 447 6256
Number of units: 6
Average seats: 60-75
Average spend: $6.70 per person
Average covers: 150-170 per day
Big Bowl
Tel: 00 1 773 878 5588
Number of units: 6
Average seats: 175
Average spend: $10 at lunch, $15 at dinner
Average covers: 600-1,000 per day
Maui Tacos
Tel: 00 1 800 447 6256
Number of units: 15
Average seats: 40 in smaller units,80 in larger ones
Average spend: $6.75
Average covers: 200 per day
More trends for 2000 and beyond
Cinema dining - not popcorn and pop, but dinner and cocktails as you watch the film.
Self-service, and not just at the lower end of the market. At Pluto's restaurant in San Francisco, you move along a cafeteria-type queue, get the food piled on your plate,a sales ticket punched as you go, and pay at a checkout at the end.
On-line restaurant reservations - available from eSeated.com and foodline.com.
Designer doggie bags - custom-made, gold-foiled, and with logos and thank-you cards (already picked up by some independent restaurants).
Gourmet food for kids - mini filet mignons, stuffed chicken breasts and cinnamon rolls.
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts - they're 70 years old but are the snack du jour, with cameo appearances in prime-time hospital drama ER, a mention in Zagat and accolades from Hollywood stars. There are 150 stores in 27 states and counting.
Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 6-12 July 2000
