OAK BROOK, Ill. -- With foodservice continuing to be a bright spot in many retailers' arsenal and consumers consistently calling for fresh and healthy food options, it would seem the move into fresh sub sandwiches would be a natural direction, opening up foodservice offerings to the lunch and dinner dayparts.
However, a check on moves into just such a program by two major foodservice operatorsDunkin' Donuts and McDonald'sshows such programs can be tricky to get just right.
Dunkin' Donuts' deli offer shows very little movement, [image-nocss] with 45 locations open since a soft launch in 2000. A spokesperson for Canton, Mass.-based Dunkin' Donuts said the sites are mostly in New York, Washington, D.C., and Chicago. The company's Web site, however, says there also are deli locations in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Virginia and Wisconsin. There are 5,300 Dunkin' Donut restaurants in the United Sites.
Dunkin' spokesperson Susanne Norwitz told CSP Daily News the deli concept has been received very well by franchisees. When asked why only 45 stores are operational today, she only reiterated how the franchisees who have opted for the format have been pleased. We've had a good response [to the deli program], she said. We're always exploring different things.
Similarly, McDonald's launched a test of sub sandwiches in four or five markets a couple of years ago. It has since been scaled back to only in a handful of restaurants in Illinois and there are no plans at this point to expand the test or make this available nationwide, spokesperson Danya Proud told CSP Daily News.
We test a number of different thingsequipment, menu items, things like thatto determine if it makes sense for us to add to our menus, said Proud. We're not there yet [with the sub sandwich test]. Early indications tell us that the customers are enjoying the options that we're providing, but it would be way too early to speculate on anything rolling out nationwide.
The offering in a McDonald's Restaurant in South Beloit, Ill., included three 6-inch sandwich options: Turkey BLT, Turkey Classic and Philly Cheesesteak. Prices ranged from $2.99 to $3.79.
It's something we're looking at, Proud said of the Oakbrook, Ill.-based fast-food chain. Our main focus continues to be on building our brand and continuing to support the menu items that are currently in existence in our restaurants.
Interest in expanding or even bolstering certain foodservice dayparts is high among convenience retailers looking to improve margins and traffic inside the store. On that front, breakfast and lunch seem to be garnering the most interest.
In a recent Kraft/CSP Daily News poll, 39.7% of survey respondents said morning/breakfast was the foodservice daypart they were presently targeting for growth; 25% said afternoon/lunch. Other responses included evening/dinner, 6.9%; snacking/fourth meal, 7.8%; other, 4.3%; and the option, Foodservice isn't a focus for us right now, 16.4%. In total, 116 respondents took part in the poll.
In 2005, the Dunkin' chain purchased 23 Togo's sandwich shops attached to Dunkin' Donuts restaurants in Illinois. The effort to pair doughnut franchises with Baskin Robbins ice cream and Togo's had begun in earnest five years prior, according to a report in The Daily Southtown.
Currently, Dunkin' Donuts' deli format, from all appearances, seems on par with similar quick-serve restaurants. Franchises in the Chicago area are fully stocked with gourmet sandwich options, including turkey pesto, chicken bruchetta and pastrami supreme. Norwitz said popular sandwiches include the toasted pastrami, toasted Italian and pressed Cuban. Customers can have their meals served cold or toasted.
The format offers salads as well, including Mediterranean, Oriental and Chicken Caesar salads.
A walk into a Niles, Ill., store this spring revealed open floor space, high ceilings and seating for about 50, including two large round tables that sat 10. The site included all three Dunkin' franchise offerings: doughnuts, ice cream and deli.
Signage and danglers touted the sandwich fare, while a two-lane throughway was defined on the left by shelving and the right by ordering and checkout space. On the shelving side, bagged Dunkin' Donuts coffee was the initial offer, followed by an open cooler unit that held salads, juice and dairy products. On the right was the initial glass display of ice-cream tubs with a checkout station, then the doughnut franchise and finally, the ordering and pickup spot for the deli sandwiches.
Behind the counter, employees worked with high-tech ordering equipment and screens, alternately catering to walk-in customers as well as those opting for the drive-thru outside.
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