News

Top 100: Restaurants - Luna Grill

Luna Grill is number 6 on our list of the Top 100: Restaurants - Movers & Shakers.

March 9, 2015

Luna Grill is number 6 on our list of the Top 100: Restaurants - Movers & Shakers.

Opening only two new units in 2013, the San Diegobased Mediterranean brand is now on a growth mission to become a national chain. The plan is to double its 10 stores to 20 in 2014, and then again by 2016, said Dan Lowe, director of operations, who joined the brand last year after working several years for Chipotle.

The chain took a break from expansion plans last year to implement a new POS system and to focus on a redesign, featuring an open kitchen that allows guests to walk down the line and watch chefs prepare their handmade meals, said Enrique Lombrozo, chief development officer. “We also worked very closely with Micros to design an elaborate, state-of-the-art POS system with multiple printers and largescreen KDS monitors,” he said. “The moment an order is entered into the system, every kitchen workstation and every cook knows what he needs to do to fill that order. We’ve improved efficiency and reduced ticket times.”

Now that operations are streamlined, the company is ready to expand. Four new stores are set to open within the next four months in California, but the brand isn’t focusing only there. Lowe has developed a multistore management system that includes opening in Texas. Dallas/Fort Worth soon will be home to a cluster of Luna Grills, with the first opening this summer in Flower Mound.