BEDFORD N.H. —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
The 25-year-old company, based here, now operates seven T-Bones and Cactus Jack’s restaurants and plans to unveil two new concepts as soon as suitable sites are found, said Tom Boucher, owner and chief executive. —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
“We are talking about a concept that would be a little higher-end, The Copper Door, between casual and fine dining, with an average check of $30,” he said. —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
A second brand, Fresh Catch Café, would fall in casual dining at around $15 a head and would have a seafood emphasis. —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
With all of its units currently in New Hampshire, the company has been looking in northern Massachusetts for possible sites, Boucher said, “but it’s a function of finding the right location.” —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
In the meantime, Boucher and his partners, Mark Fenske and Don Fraser, have “focused on our core concepts to drive quality and value in our existing stores,” Boucher said. —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
The company has five T-Bones Great American Eatery units and two Cactus Jack’s. T-Bones serves traditional American comfort food, while Cactus Jack’s offers eclectic Southwestern cuisine. The restaurant in Laconia, N.H., features both concepts. —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
The food is made from scratch at both brands, Boucher said. Corporate chef Nicole Barreina oversees the menus and off-premise catering. —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
Both T-Bones and Cactus Jack’s are “doing terrific—up 1 percent,” Boucher said. “That’s what I tell our staff, because in this economy, that’s good.” —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
The average unit volume is around $3.5 million a year, and the per-person tab is about $15, he said. —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
“We’ve re-engineered our restaurants, and we’ve aggressively marketed,” Boucher said. “We want our staff morale to be high, and we’ve challenged them to bring in new customers. It’s been fun to measure. We are up 4 percent in customer counts.” —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
Earlier this year, Great New Hampshire Restaurants introduced a new program called “Just Enough For Not Too Much,” featuring slightly smaller menu items such as Blackened Chicken Caesar Salad, Chipotle Philly Steak Flatbread Wrap and an Asian Fusion Wrap for $7.99 each. —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
“It was a little risky,” Boucher said. “But they’re ordering them for lunch and early in the week, and then splurging more on weekends.” —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
Both T-Bones and Cactus Jack’s change menus several times a year. Several items are priced for less than $9.99. —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
“We just put on 20 new items in the appetizer section at T-Bones,” Boucher said. “They are added value, smaller appetizer portions, and we also added a few sandwiches. We’ll take ideas from fine dining, like our new baked lobster mac and cheese, which is a huge hit at $14.99, or a reserve choice prime rib meatloaf.” —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
CHAIN FACTS NAME: Great New Hampshire RestaurantsHEADQUARTERS: Bedford, N.H.MARKET SEGMENT: casual diningTOTAL NUMBER OF UNITS: 7, including one dual-concept locationLEADERSHIP: Tom Boucher, owner and chief executive; Mark Fenske and Don Fraser, partnersPER-PERSON CHECK: $15AVERAGE UNIT VOLUME: $3.5 millionYEAR FOUNDED: 1984 —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
Today’s customers “have changed their habits,” he said. “Here in New Hampshire, they’re pretty conservative with Yankee old-school thrift. They’re definitely still going out to eat, though. We’ve inherited some fine-dining customers who go out three to five times a week and now come to T-Bones for a $15 dinner instead of a fine-dining place for $40. We offer a lot of value, and they can go more often. Between the two menus, we have 200 different choices, all made from scratch. Dining out is not going to go away.” —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
The company celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2009 with a variety of contests and giveaways throughout the year. The celebration culminated on Nov. 25 when prices were rolled back to 1984 levels on 22 favorite T-Bones items. Each restaurant hosted a special dinner after which grab-bag gifts were given out offering the opportunity to win $625 in gift certificates. —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
“Our 25th birthday is all about celebrating you,” proclaimed a special website that promoted the event to customers. Regulars posted their favorite stories about the restaurants throughout 2009. —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
“Mark and I first got into this industry to support ourselves in college,” Boucher recalled. —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
Fenske was a line cook at a T.G.I. Friday’s in Boston in the late 1970s and teamed up with friends to open the first T-Bones in Salem, N.H. Boucher took a job as a server in the Hudson, N.H., restaurant two years later, giving up a scholarship to graduate school after one semester to remain in the industry. —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
Darren Tristano, executive vice president at Technomic Inc., noted that being up even 1 percent in 2009 “is an indicator of doing something right,” but wondered about the options for the chain to grow outside New Hampshire. —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
“Most growth today is in sports bars, and the boomers and even Generation X aren’t spending their dollars,” Tristano said. “If they were to grow one unit at a time that would make sense, but casual dining is finding it somewhat difficult to grow in this economy.” —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
Gary Tripp of Inside Hospitality, a St. Louis-based firm that specializes in guest experience management programs, said he sees the T-Bones and Cactus Jack’s concepts as having legs beyond their current geographic region. —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
“They understand where their customers are coming from,” he said. “They are incredibly consistent with things like guest satisfaction and providing value. We don’t hear bad things about them [from their guests], and they keep changing with times consistently. They’re embracing social media, they’re proactive and they are focused on guest satisfaction.” —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
Much like housing, the restaurant industry “has settled into where we should’ve been all along,” Boucher said. “We have to adjust and change our model to what the economics are today.” —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
While Boucher has seen signs of improvement, he noted, “It’s going to be a long, slow recovery.” —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
Boucher, who serves on the board of the National Restaurant Association, added: “Some restaurant companies are not making money, and I think there will be some fallout. We’ve had a long period of overexpansion, and it has had a huge impact on what’s happened to restaurants.” —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
Boucher also is troubled by the high unemployment rate, which passed 10 percent in October and does not reflect people who have stopped notifying their unemployment office that they’re looking for work or those laid-off from full-time jobs who’ve found only part-time employment. —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
To help out the recession-weary, T-Bones and Cactus Jack’s guests can earn complimentary vouchers toward meals by accumulating points. They receive one point for each dollar spent on food on the pretax portion of their bill. —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
“They get $10 Payback vouchers after they’ve spent $10,” Boucher said. —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.
The Gold 55 program allows senior citizens to receive two points for every dollar they spend between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. —Despite a business environment that’s led many restaurateurs to gripe and others to close their doors, the team at Great New Hampshire Restaurants is upbeat and gearing for growth.