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Top 100: Restaurants – Schlotzsky's

Schlotzsky's is number 41 on our list of the 2014 Fast Casual Top 100 Movers & Shakers: Restaurants.

February 1, 2015

Schlotzsky's is number 41 on our list of the 2014 Fast Casual Top 100 Movers & Shakers: Restaurants.

When it comes to rebranding, few restaurants have seen as much success as Schlotzsky's. Last year, it launched its "All round, Lotz better" campaign, which focused on improving the service model and the look and feel of the brand as opposed to overhauling the menu. Other than adding fresh salads, Schlotzsky's left the food alone and worked on adding messaging that focused on its made-from-scratch round buns, as opposed to the subs served in most restaurants. Those round buns in-spired the chain's new design, which incorporates circular elements everywhere from on the walls and the lamp shades to cups and bags, said CEO Kelly Roddy.

The design also incorporated fresh, modern colors, including apple green, sky blue and bright red mixed with some earth tones.

"It's just a cool, hip look," said Roddy, who believes the upgrade has helped give back the brand the relevance it had lost. The chain has 350 units but plans to add 25 before the end of the year.

"If you want to be a relevant brand, you have to look like it, behave like it," he said.

Roddy also attributes Schlotzsky's growth to its cobranding strategy, where it added Cinnabon Express inside about 200 of its locations and Carvel Ice Cream in 30.

"When we add these brands, we are more of a complete package," Roddy said. "We may be selling ice cream to one out of 10 customers during the day, but it's more about creating family events at night. It helps bring in more families. We've seen a nice little bump in the Carvel stores at dinner."