News

2019 a good year for The Melt

Provided

January 24, 2020

A 2-year turnaround plan that included a revamp of the menu and a real-estate strategy aimed at spurring growth in 2019, proved successful for The Melt. The San Francisco-based grilled cheese and comfort food brand saw sales increase 17% in 2019, according to a press release.

Launched in 2011, the brand grew fast with locations in California, Texas and Colorado but after five years, and 17 stores in operation, it began seeing declining sales. The company, under CEO Ralph Bower, launched a turn-around plan, according to the release, and is seeing steady growth a return to stability.

"We learned from past mistakes. We didn't have a clearly focused concept," Bower said in the release."We took a step back, listened to our customers, and shifted focus to a slower, more deliberate growth plan, being selective about prime real estate locations. We closed a number of locations and decided to exit Colorado and Texas to focus on our home state of California.

Since then the company invested in new locations and remodeled several others.

"It was tough work, but we've now seen 88 weeks of positive comp sales, which tells us our strategy is working," he said. "This hasn't been easy. We had to make some tough calls over the last two years, but it's nice to see all that hard work begin to pay off. In my 30-year restaurant career, I've never seen a turnaround like this. I'm deeply proud of our team."