THOUSAND OAKS CALIF. Baja Fresh Mexican Grill’s new owners, just months after buying the troubled chain from Wendy’s International Inc. at what was considered a fire-sale price, are attempting to add value and novelty to its menu and reverse perceptions of slow service. —
The menu overhaul is the first by the 292-unit fast-casual chain since the $31 million purchase in November by investors led by David Kim, an Anaheim, Calif.-based Cinnabon franchisee and owner of the Sweet Factory candy store chain. —
Kim has not wasted time in attempting to revive the Mexican brand’s image. Under Wendy’s, the chain suffered from flagging sales, in part because of competition from rivals Chipotle Mexican Grill and Qdoba Mexican Grill, but also because of wait times aggravated by Baja Fresh’s lengthy, scratch-cooked menu. —
James Walker, now president of the Thousand Oaks-based chain, said the latest dishes on its redesigned, easier-to-read menu boards are aimed at improving ticket times. Most of the new items have production times in the three- to four-minute range and some can be served in as little as 30 seconds, he said, adding that wait-inducing combination plates are being phased out by the chain. —
“We want to be known for freshness, but we also want to be known for fast flavor,” Walker said. —
Among the new items is a $5.75 Nacho Burrito, a 23-ounce extension of Baja Fresh’s burrito line that Walker described as “a plate of nachos wrapped in a tortilla.” The item is filled with grilled chicken, black and pinto beans, rice, sliced jalapeños, salsa crema, a smoky “queso fundido” cheese sauce, and crunchy tortilla strips to add texture. —
Other new items include a mango-chipotle chicken salad made with mango salsa, avocados, chipotle-mango-glazed chicken, lettuce and a chipotle dressing in a bowl-shaped, fried tortilla shell. The item replaces a previous version of a chipotle-chicken salad. —
“Mango is a hot flavor right now, and this salad has flavor and eye appeal,” said Jon Rogan, director of research and development for Baja Fresh. —
The new salad is the same size as the one it replaces, but at the franchisor-recommended price of $6.45, it is slightly less expensive. —
However, he said, other new opportunities for incremental sales accompany value pricing. For example, another new item is Pronto Nachos, which includes tortilla chips and a 3-ounce cup of queso fundido. It’s priced at $1.35. —
Baja Fresh also is offering desserts for the first time. The two new options are a 99-cent churro, rolled in cinnamon and sugar, and a $1.29 Aztec chocolate-chip cookie, also spiked with cinnamon. —
Two new salsas added to the fresh salsa bar are a mango blend with habanero peppers, red onion and cilantro, and a molcajete salsa with roasted tomatoes, roasted jalapeños and cilantro. —
In another move to improve service times, the 145 Baja Fresh branches owned by the franchisor are discontinuing combination meals, Walker said. —
The meal plates had assembly times of five to six minutes “on a good day,” Rogan said, adding that some of the chain’s 147 franchised units already have followed suit in discontinuing the combo meals. —
Baja Fresh franchisee Stephen Pettise, co-owner of B.F. Gold Group, which owns three units in Northern California, said the new menu options are “interesting and innovative.” —
The new ownership has done more development work in six months “than Wendy’s did in three and a half years, and I salute them for that,” Pettise said. “They’re not standing still, and that’s good news for the long term.” —
However, Pettise questioned the haste with which the brand’s new owners have deployed the revamped menu. —
“They have been so concerned about getting things out there, [the new items] may not have been tested operationally as much as they would have been under the previous regime,” he said. —
Still, he said, “I’d rather have that than my feet stuck in cement.” —
Since the acquisition, Baja Fresh’s buyers have closed six underperforming units, though observers said such pruning was to be expected. Meanwhile, three new restaurants have opened. —
“After taking stock, they may have found that some units were not in the best locations,” said Stuart Morris, president of QSR Consulting Group in Coronado, Calif. “I applaud them for trying to get people in and out quicker. That, along with some value perception, was their biggest stumbling block. —
“When you look at who’s doing it well, that’s Chipotle. They’ve mastered the simple menu and getting people through at a pretty good price.” —
Chipotle, however, remains a public company with constant shareholder pressures, and Baja Fresh, as a private company, has the advantage of “being nimble” with the development of new products, Morris said. —
“They’re the ones I’d be looking over my shoulder at, if I were one of the big boys,” he said. —