Franchising

How Fry The Coop's operational changes led to soaring sales

Like so many other small businesses, the pandemic forced Fry the Coop to close its dining rooms, but owner Joe Fontana immediately transformed his dine-in areas to take-out hubs.

Owner Joe Fontana quickly pivoted Fry The Coop's business model when the pandemic forced him to close the dining rooms. (Photo from Facebook.)

October 5, 2020 by Cherryh Cansler — Editor, FastCasual.com

Fry The Coop, a four-unit Nashville hot chicken concept based in Chicago, learned to fly this year despite having its wings clipped by COVID-19.

Like so many other small business owners, the pandemic forced Joe Fontana to close his dining rooms, but he immediately transformed the restaurants' front doors into take-out areas.

"We spent around $5K on tents, hand-held tablets for ordering, plus restructuring the doors into take-out and pick-up windows," Fontana told FastCasual.com. " Also, our weekly disposable (plates, silverware, cups, bags, etc.) costs went from $2K to $5K after we went from 50% takeout to 100% takeout.

The remodel not only allowed the 3-year-old chain to stay in business but to keep all staff, said Fontana, who applied for and received a $400,000 PPP loan. The only permanent loss was the Fry the Coop inside Wells Street Market, a food hall in the Chicago Loop, closed and never reopened.

"We relocated those employees to other Fry the Coop locations," said Fontana, who has donated over 1,200 meals to frontline workers at hospitals, police and fire stations, totaling $14,000.

Despite the closing and with the new take-out format in place, Fry The Coop reported a 20% increase in sales and has been steady since with two new locations set to open by year's end.

"The most important element was communication with our guests at all of our store locations," Fontana said. "As soon as a customer walked up to the door, we informed them immediately as to how to order and the safety protocol. It was a very confusing time and we wanted to not only educate our customers but eliminate confusion. If we made the process easy for them, we knew they would come back knowing they could get a meal easily and safely."

About Cherryh Cansler

Cherryh Cansler is VP of Events for Networld Media Group and publisher of FastCasual.com. She has been covering the restaurant industry since 2012. Her byline has appeared in Forbes, The Kansas City Star and American Fitness magazine, among many others.

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