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Daphne's California Greek unveils new brand identity

The former Daphne's Greek Cafe has changed its logo, name and corporate culture since August 2010.

March 22, 2011 by Valerie Killifer — Editor, FastCasual.com

After nine months of intense research and rebranding, Daphne's Greek Cafe has unveiled a new name, logo and brand identity. The company was purchased in August 2010 by Wreath Equity LLC with William Trefethen taking the lead as CEO.

The concept's new name, Daphne's California Greek, is intended to soften the image of an all-Greek restaurant, playing instead to a broad array of California, Mediterranean and Greek fare.

"It's really a mixture of cuisines so we can really invent what we want," Trefethen said of the restaurant's also-new menu items. Those items include the addition of flatbreads and the concept's first official salad, each low in sodium and calories.

The turnover took nine months to complete despite Trefethen's enthusiasm for quick and sweeping changes.

"What took a little time was we did a fair amount of research," he said. "We did surveys and held focus groups and then we looked at the market and the trends going on in the space right now. It all ended up taking three months and so we couldn’t do anything until we had the research. But the research did confirm where we wanted to be. Hopefully, we'll skew our demographic and age group down a little bit without alienating anyone."

Almost every touchpoint inside a Daphne's restaurant has been changed. For example, the restaurants will switch to all new plates and silverware, the addition of bamboo tabletops and a variety of artwork created by local students and artists. The interior design is a reflection of crisp, clean and contemporary designs indicative of Greece.

The first two stores to undergo the renovation have been in California's Aliso Viejo and Carlsbad communities.

"We’re not creating a new concept, but in some ways we are," Trefethen said. "We changed everything. So, the team here has done a really good job."

Community will be another big focus of Daphne's as Trefethen and the Daphne's team is working hard to build restaurants that reflect a lifestyle choice. The company plans to work with programs intended to support local schools, artists, musicians, athletes and activists.

The entire system will be renovated within the next 12 months with financing being provided by a core group of investors, including Trefethen.

"We're not funding it to be a 60-unit chain, we're funding it to make it scalable," he said. "We need a concept that has energy behind it. We will look at franchising in the future, but the idea is to get 60 solid performing stores. There's a lot of money invested to fix up the stores, but a lot of this stuff is more rolling up your sleeves and making it happen."

Click here to view a slideshow of Daphne's California Greek.