Goodwin & Associates Blog
The most trusted name in hospitality.Archive for Featuring Our Clients
Stonewood Grill is Growing
The Daytona Yacht Club is changing hands and a new restaurant is going to be open to the public!
Continue reading for more information: http://www.news-journalonline.com/business/local-business/2012/08/03/daytona-yacht-club-changing-hands-new-restaurant-to-open-to-public.html
Another Goodwin Hospitality Success Story
Check out this cool Philadelphia restaurant called Dettera Restaurant and Wine Bar:
Ben & Jerry’s Franchisees Serve Up Benevolence in the Bahamas Social Mission Outreach Always a Priority for Scoop Shop Owners
NASSAU, Bahamas, Jan 27, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — At first glance, the cleanup effort had absolutely nothing to do with ice cream. The hot Nassau sun beat down on the hundreds of volunteers. The sweat, soil and a few bruises did nothing to dissuade the blue-shirt clad workers’ support for the global community. In the end, it was just business as usual for a day in the life of a Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop owner.
Keeping true to the company’s social mission and the belief that there’s more to business than the bottom line, over 200 Ben & Jerry’s franchisees, managers, staff and friends gathered on Friday to help rehabilitate two separate underserved recreational areas for children while in the Bahamas for their annual Global Franchise Meeting.
Working with the U.S. Embassy to coordinate logistics, Ben & Jerry’s chose two project locations: Father Marshall Cooper Park, a popular but run-down commons, and the Woodcock Primary School, a public institution that serves over 400 children which previously had no playground equipment.
Waist-high students gathered and watched in anticipation — the boys with crisp dress shirts and ties, the girls in pleated skirts — as the school was repainted and refurbished. All eyes watched eagerly for the final completion of the playground. The celebration kicked off with a community ice cream party hosted by company cofounder Jerry Greenfield and ended with a crescendo via a Junkanoo performance by the Woodcock Primary School.
“This activity is as good for us as a company, as it is for those we help out,” said Greenfield who seemed comfortable in the chaos of school kids screaming and bouncing happily on the new hallowed playground. “Businesses not only have the opportunity, but — we believe — the responsibility to give back to their communities. Our franchisees make this happen every day in their communities, too.” Greenfield praised the U.S. Embassy for helping make the project possible working hand in hand with Ben & Jerry’s planners.
The group working at Father Marshall Cooper Park focused on picking up trash, repairing and painting old playground equipment, spreading sand in the play areas, and painting a perimeter wall and doing some neighborhood clean-up.
Similarly, the group working at Woodcock Primary School spread sand, landscaped, gave several spaces a fresh coat of paint, and installed new playground equipment donated by Ben & Jerry’s and the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort.
The staff returned to the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort to discuss the newest 2012 flavors, marketing, and social mission programs, as well as to award those best in class performers of 2011.
Goodwin & Associates Hospitality Services (GAHS) is a proud partner of Ben and Jerry’s Franchisees providing mystery shopping and management recruitment programs. GAHS is proud to have participated in the Ben & Jerry’s 2012 Global Franchise Meeting in the Bahamas.
If you’d like your company to be among our many success stories, please contact us to see what GAHS can do for your company. Contact Brian Calderone, Director of Sales at 603-223-0303 x132 or bcalderone@goodwin-associates.com
Client Spotlight: Pret A Manger
Pret A Manger is headquartered in London, where they opened their first store in 1986. With a kitchen in every store, Pret creates handmade, natural, preservative-free ingredients prepared fresh from scratch every day. Pret A Manger means “Ready To Eat” in name and concept. It is fresh, convenient food – fast.
With an established base in the UK, Pret is now aggressively expanding into the US, with 10 new stores opening within just the past year in New York City, Chicago, and Washington DC. Pret is a privately held company and now has over 250 store locations in the UK, Hong Kong, New York, Washington DC and Chicago. 41 of those stores are located in the US, with the majority (32) in New York City.
Goodwin & Associates is proud to partner with Pret during this expansion by providing mystery shopping and management recruiting services to all US stores. To learn how your company can benefit from our services, please contact Brian Calderone at bcalderone@goodwin-associates.com or 603-223-0303 x132.
Landry’s to buy Morton’s for $116.6M
Tilman J. Fertitta, owner of Landry’s Inc., said Friday he has agreed to buy Morton’s Restaurant Group Inc., the owner of the 77-unit steakhouse chain, for about $116.6 million.
Fertitta said he has offered $6.90 per share for Morton’s outstanding stock, a 34-percent premium over Morton’s close of $5.16 a share on Thursday. Morton’s has 16.9 million outstanding shares that have traded between $4.18 and $7.75 in the past 52 weeks. Fertitta already owns about 5 percent of Chicago-based Morton’s outstanding stock, which he said made him one of Morton’s largest individual shareholders.
“Morton’s is one of the most recognizable and successful high-end steak brands in the world,” Fertitta said in a statement. “They are a dominant operator in the high-end steak category. Morton’s will be refreshed and modernized while still maintaining its first-class atmosphere and food quality.”
Fertitta, who on Nov. 8 agreed to acquire Portland, Ore.-based McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurants Inc. in a $131.6 million deal, added that Morton’s plans to introduce new food items and expand its menu.
Christopher J. Artinian, president and chief executive Morton’s, said, Fertitta “really understands the value of the Morton’s brand and our people, and is well-positioned to further enhance our reputation as the world’s best steakhouse.”
Morton’s Steakhouse generates more than $300 million in annual revenue. For the third quarter ended Oct. 2, its net loss was $2.4 million, or 15 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $2.1 million, or 13 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter rose 7.8 percent to $71.4 million, compared with $66.2 million a year earlier.
Morton’s same-store sales rose 5.1 percent in the third quarter, its seventh consecutive period of same-store sales increases.
Fertitta has created Fertitta Morton’s Restaurants Inc. and Fertitta Morton’s Acquisition Inc., both affiliated with Landry’s Inc., to complete the acquisition.
Landry’s, which Fertitta took private last year, owns a variety of hospitality and gaming companies that are expected to generate about $2 billion in revenues in 2011. Restaurant brands include casual-dining Landry’s Seafood House, Rainforest Cafe, The Chart House, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Claim Jumper, Saltgrass Steak House and Oceanaire, as well as a fine-dining Vic & Anthony’s, Grotto, Willie G’s and others.
Landry’s also owns the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casinos in Las Vegas and Laughlin, Nev., and Atlantic City, N.J. as well the Kemah (Texas) Boardwalk, the San Luis Resort Hotel in Galveston, Texas, and the Downtown Aquariums in Denver and Houston.
The following information is from an article today published on Nation’s Restaurant News by Ron Ruggless.
Read more: http://nrn.com/article/landry%E2%80%99s-buy-morton%E2%80%99s-1166m?ad=finance&utm_source=MagnetMail&utm_medium=email&utm_term=rgoebel@goodwin-associates.com&utm_content=NRN-News-NRNam%20Breaking%20News-12-16-11&utm_campaign=News%20Alert%3A%20Landry%27s%20to%20buy%20Morton%27s%20for%20$116.6M#ixzz1giIpDd00
And the winner is….Joey Garlics – 2011 Restaurateur of the Year
Congratulations to our Mystery Shopping Program Client Joey Garlics for winning Restaurateur of the Year at the recently held Connecticut Restaurant Association Awards dinner!
In total, four of Goodwin & Associates Hospitality Services’ Clients were nominated for Restaurateur of the Year at this event. The nominees & services which Goodwin & Associates provides to help their businesses are:
Joey Garlics – Mystery Shopping Program
SBC Restaurant Group – Recruitment Program
Buffalo Wild Wings – Recruitment Program
Max Restaurant Group – Mystery Shopping Program
Congratulations to all of our partner companies! Goodwin & Associates Hospitality Services is proud to be partnered with each of these companies by providing them with mystery shopping and management recruiting programs and celebrate their success. If you’d like your company to be one of our many success stories, please contact us to see what Goodwin & Associates can do for your company. Contact Brian Calderone, Director of Sales at 603-223-0303 x132 or bcalderone@goodwin-associates.com
Darden Announces Agreement w/ Eddie V’s to Purchase Eddie V’s Prime Seafood and Wildfish Seafood Grille Brands
Darden Restaurants Announces Agreement with Eddie V’s Restaurants to Purchase Eddie
V’s Prime Seafood and Wildfish Seafood Grille Restaurant BrandsTransaction Adds
Leading Luxury Seafood Brands to Darden’s Specialty Restaurant Group, Boosting
the Group’s Already Significant Contribution to Long-Term Sales and Earnings Growth
ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE: DRI)
and Eddie V’s Restaurants, Inc. today jointly announced a definitive agreement
under which Darden has agreed to purchase the Eddie V’s Prime Seafood and Wildfish
Seafood Grille restaurant brands, and all related assets for $59 million, in an
all cash transaction. The brands will become part of Darden’s Specialty Restaurant
Group. Darden expects to complete the transaction by the end of the calendar year.
Eddie V’s currently owns and operates eight Eddie V’s restaurants, three Wildfish
restaurants and four Roaring Fork restaurants. (The Roaring Fork brand is not part
of the transaction.) Eddie V’s is a leading luxury seafood brand with strong consumer
appeal, high average unit volumes and a strong return on invested capital. It was
founded in 2000 by Guy Villavaso and Larry Foles. Wildfish, Eddie V’s sister concept,
opened its first location in 2005.
“Our Specialty Restaurant Group, which is comprised of The Capital Grille, Bahama
Breeze and Seasons 52, has been making an increasingly meaningful contribution to
Darden’s sales and earnings growth,” said Clarence Otis, Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer of Darden. “Eddie V’s and Wildfish are an excellent complement to those
brands, enabling us to capture incremental guests in an important segment of full-service
dining. The Group is now even more strongly positioned to help us achieve competitively
superior, long-term profitable sales growth.”
Guy Villavaso and Larry Foles, Eddie V’s founders, stated, “This deal offers tremendous
opportunity for our management team and employees, and puts our brands even more
firmly on a path to achieving their full potential. For our employees, it means
becoming a part of one of the world’s most successful restaurant companies. Darden’s
culture and resources will enable Eddie V’s and Wildfish to prosper in a highly
competitive industry.”
Gene Lee, president of Darden’s Specialty Restaurant Group commented, “With the
addition of the Eddie V’s and Wildfish brands, our Specialty Restaurant Group
has an opportunity to achieve meaningful growth in the very attractive luxury
seafood category. Guy, Larry and their team have done an outstanding job creating
distinctive guest experiences that are comparable to The Capital Grille, but with
an emphasis on fresh seafood. Most importantly, these brands have a culture and
focus that aligns very nicely with our own, which we believe will be an important
factor in our ability to help them grow successfully.”
Highlights
* Darden has agreed to purchase the Eddie V’s and Wildfish restaurant brands for
$59 million; the brands consist of eight current Eddie V’s locations in Arizona,
California and Texas; and three current Wildfish locations in Arizona, California
and Texas.
* Including acquisition-related costs and projected operating results at Eddie
V’s and Wildfish, the transaction is expected to be neutral to Darden’s diluted
net earnings per share for the company’s 2012 fiscal year.
* Both brands will reside within Darden’s Specialty Restaurant Group, which includes
The Capital Grille, Bahama Breeze and Seasons 52.
* Eddie V’s talented team of leaders, who lead both brands, will join Darden and
continue leading the day-to-day operation of the brands. Jim VanDercook, President
and CEO of Eddie V’s, will become President of Eddie V’s and Wildfish, and report
to Gene Lee, President of Darden’s Specialty Restaurant Group.
* Guy Villavaso and Larry Foles, Eddie V’s founders, have agreed to provide consulting
services for two years.
About Darden
Darden Restaurants, Inc., (NYSE: DRI), the world’s largest full-service restaurant
company, owns and operates more than 1,900 restaurants that generate more than
$7.5 billion in annual sales. Headquartered in Orlando, and employing approximately
180,000 people, Darden is recognized for a culture that rewards caring for and
responding to people. In 2011, Darden became the first full-service restaurant
company ever to be named to the FORTUNE “100 Best Companies to Work For” list.
Our restaurant brands – Red Lobster, Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, The Capital
Grille, Bahama Breeze and Seasons 52 – reflect the rich diversity of those who
dine with us. Our brands are built on deep insights into what our guests want.
Client Testimonial
Wanted to congratulate our team on a job well done. We’re always proud to share our clients satisfaction in our valuable Mystery Shopping Program. This testimonial says it all:
“Being new to the US market, we selected Goodwin & Associates from a shortlist of four companies. Quality of customer feedback was our biggest selection criteria and we have been absolutely delighted with the insights Goodwin’s Shoppers provide. Their understanding of our business, ability to comment to the level of detail we expect and provide constructive suggestions on how to improve has been far superior to all of the mystery shopper companies I have ever used in the past. This coupled with the attentive and responsive service from their operations team means you really do get a professional, customized program that really meets your business needs. I couldn’t recommend them more highly.”
- Chris Gwilliam, Pret A Manger
October 18, 2010 – Preparing for the Holiday Season
Business Owners! If you’re in Philadelphia today, here’s an event you won’t want to miss!
This event will focus on upcoming trends for this holiday season, how to be creative in generating business and how to share your exciting options with potential guests.
Monday, October 18th
2:00pm at Bridget Foy’s
200 South Street
Philadelphia, PA
Our panelists will include:
Dennis Gaudenzi: Owner of UpcomingEvents.com, YoungProfessionalEvents.com, NYEphilly.com, NetMixer.com, and PhillyTrips.com
Nicole Shatzel: Director of Catering at DiBruno Bros.
Chef Daniel Stern: Owner of Daniel Stern Restaurants currently operating R2L and Midatlantic
Our panel will be moderated by
Ed Doherty:
Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill
If your looking for a great place to have a drink, Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill is the right place. Bikinis adds a twist to any ordinary bar experience. We had a quick Q&A with Chris George of Bikinis, and this is what we found out:
Q.) How did Bikinis get started?
A.) It all started back in the winter of 2001. Weary of the technology world, and discouraged by the “dot-com” implosion that was happening all around him, Doug Guller packed his bags and headed to Australia for a much-needed vacation. While sitting at a bar on the Australian coast, watching some rugby on a small TV nearby, an attractive server approached and asked, “Wanna beer, mate? At that moment, all Doug could do was smile. Life suddenly made sense to him. He thought to himself, “This is a nearly perfect combination: relaxing, drinking, sports, girls…” From that day on, all Doug could think about was creating a place close to home that combined that same beach vacation atmosphere with sporting events, friendly service, plus great food. The idea behind the Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill concept was soon born.
Q.) Do you have any summer deals you’re running that we can let your customers know about?
A.) We have just rolled out a new food menu, drink menu and daily specials.
Q.) What’s the best time of day for our readers to stop by?
A.) Any time!! We are happy to entertain our Fans anytime of day. With high definition flat screen televisions
positioned throughout the entire restaurant, our fans are guaranteed a great view no matter where
they choose to sit. Multiple games can be seen throughout the bar and dining area regardless of
what time of day it is; there is always a game to watch! And for those needing to catch up on some
work or simply check their e-mails, we provide free Wi-Fi allowing our fans to stay in their seats
without missing any of the action.
Q.) What’s your most popular menu item?
A.) Our Bikinis Burgers! We feature 11 Different types of Burgers… The Pittsburgh-er, Mushroom Swiss Burger, Jalapeno Chili Cheese Burger, Southern Bacon Cheddar Burger, Tex Mex Burger, Bikinis Burger, Heart Attack, Black and Bleu Burger, Buffalo Burger, Mini Burgers
Q.) What words of wisdom would you give to our readers?
A.) Stop by a Bikinis and experience *Sports with a View*!
To find out more about Bikinis, check out their website at bikinissportsbarandgrill.com
