HAYMARKET, Va. - More restaurant chains are exploring ways to expand without buying expensive real estate locations, including opening scaled-down versions in Walmart stores, supermarkets and convenience stores, Nation€™s Restaurant News reports.
To grow this year, chains like Checkers Drive-In, Huddle House and Fazoli€™s are eyeing nontraditional locations. Checkers has opened several smaller units in Walmart stores, and has plans to look into more partnerships for that brand and Rally€™s with the discount retailer this year.
"With Checkers and Rally€™s being the most value-relevant brands in QSR and Walmart being the most value-relevant retailer, it made sense to join forces. We wouldn€™t go into a Nieman-Marcus, because that€™s not where our consumers live," said Jennifer Durham, vice president of franchise development for Checkers and Rally€™s.
It€™s not just fast-food chains joining with other retailers. Caribou Coffee inked a partnership with Jewel-Osco to have on-site coffee shops inside some grocery stores, which already stocks Caribou packaged coffee.
Meanwhile, Huddle House has debuted restaurants inside Pilot Flying J travel centers. "That€™s really helping us expand," said Brian Kendrick, Huddle House director of development. "As the economy improves, there€™s going to be more and more commerce, especially with professional drivers going back and forth across the country. €¦We want to partner with the leaders of the travel industry, and the fact that Pilot is putting so much capital into these locations €" who wouldn€™t want to get that exposure in a fully upgraded center?"
Fazoli€™s has also targeted convenience stores as an important partner for growth€"both for the restaurant and for the retailer. "If gas prices are the same as the guy across the street, what differentiates c-stores are the offerings inside," said Craig Sherwood, Fazoli vice president of franchise development. "The opportunity for us to differentiate a convenience store with our offering, as opposed to typical sandwiches, is we can really go after that meal replacement piece that€™s becoming more important."