Article

McAlister’s digs in to operational changes

A new president and a menu and equipment overhaul will bring in the next generation of McAlister's delis.

September 21, 2010

As the head of McAlister’s culinary development, David Groll has been logging some long hours in the kitchen. The brand has started what Groll describes as an “exciting, challenging” transition, with the culinary head leading the charge of a systemwide kitchen and menu overhaul.

McAlister’s is looking to address speed of service issues through the use of rapid-cooking and induction technology and the redesign of its kitchen prep stations.

The company, now in 20 states across the U.S. and looking to enter new markets such as North and South Carolina and Colorado, views the renovation as a way to herald in the next generation of restaurants.

The company also is hoping its new president, Frank Paci, will play a crucial role in that evolution.

Paci is expected to take over the position as president from Phil Friedman Sept. 27.

Paci’s background includes senior positions at Burger King and Pizza Hut. Most recently, he served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of The Pantry Inc., a publicly traded convenience store chain.

Prior to Paci’s hire, the company met with 70 executives trying to find Friedman’s replacement, and executives were impressed with Paci’s achievements with unit level and strategic planning initiatives.

FOCUS Brands president and chief executive officer Steve Romaniello said the timing couldn’t be better for the realignment of McAlister’s brand strategy.

“Even if things were good (with the economy) I’d like to think every four or five years we were taking a fresh look at the brand; I think that’s important in the restaurant business,” he said.

Friedman has helped Romaniello through the transition and was expected to leave his post Sept. 20.

As of right now, Paci will maintain his residence in Raleigh, N.C., even though FOCUS Brands and McAlister’s is based in Atlanta.

“It’s funny because I’ve been a McAlister’s customer since probably the early 2000’s,” Paci said of his new position. “It was interesting because having worked at Burger King and Pizza Hut, I was always looking at concepts. When they contacted me, I thought it was great because it was a concept that I always liked as a customer.”

When Paci begins as McAlister’s president, his initial goal is to meet with franchise partners and corporate and store-level employees to gain an understanding of the franchise operation.

“The franchisees have invested their money in (the business),” Paci said. “I’d like to hear a lot of feedback and comments on what they see in the business. The benefits of a franchise system is that you get to harness the energy and power of the franchisees to help move the business forward. And help figure out what the right kind of thing for the business to do. I’ve got an initial meeting with the franchise advisory council to meet and greet them and understand what’s going on for them.”

Menu and equipment innovation

In the meantime, Groll continues to review every aspect of kitchen operations and is even testing new types of bread for the brand’s hot and cold sandwiches, new types of cheeses and even new condiments.

Items Groll has put into a year-long test include goat and feta cheese, roasted almonds and a blueberry pomegranate salad dressing. For example, one item in test is a Turkey Florentine sandwich that features a new French baguette, artichoke and spinach spread, fresh spinach leaves, turkey and havarti cheese. It has sold well and the company can use the spinach and artichoke spread as a dip alternative, Groll said.

The company considers each new ingredient and menu item very carefully and even takes the items to a consumer panel of frequent and sporadic guests for approval.

“I think the guest is very, very savvy and they’re proving that to me over and over again,” Groll said. “I feel very secure exploring these exciting areas. The guest is ready; they like the products and they’re buying them.”

Some of the operational changes have undergone scrutiny for the past six months in a select few restaurants and will transition into more restaurants in another five to six months, Groll said.

While some items will be removed from the menu, a few of the slower-selling ones will be placed in less prominent positions, rather than removed altogether.

“With so many items on the menu we have to be very, very careful about (taking items off),” Groll said. “Now, when we see a product not selling well, we’ll move it on the menu board to an area where it’s still available, but not prevalent so if someone brings up their favorite sandwich, we still have the ingredients and can make it for them. And we have some signature items that we can experiment with new names to renew popularity and that works a lot.”