|
|
Saturday, October 11, 2008
|
|
Depot Grill thinks it's found the
menu for
success
Senior Reporter In a challenging economy, a restaurant just south of Brainerd changed its business model to survive.
"I learned a few things," said owner Chad Knudson.
Knudson and his wife, Ginny, own the Wild Rice Depot convenience store and gas station and Wild Rice Liquors on Business 371. When the restaurant was built next door last summer, it was designed to have seating for 100. At its peak, the restaurant employed 39. Now it's down to about eight.
Knudson said he tried to be too many things for too many people when he first opened. And the difficult economy means dining out is one of the places people may cut back on.
The full-service restaurant closed in July and reopened about a month ago with changes to its interior and its business strategy. Once one large room, a deli case now divides the space with pool tables and a game area on one side and dining tables on the other.
The full-service restaurant was too labor intensive.
"We needed to redo our business plan to find a way we could afford to stay open until things turn around," said new general manager Kim "Skip" Murray. She worked for Wild Rice Holdings as assistant manager at Wild Rice Depot and Wild Rice Liquors for the past three years.
The new business plan offers a quick turnaround with an emphasis on creating food people can pick up on their way home. They stopped serving breakfast and now open at 11 a.m. Affordability was an emphasis - costs range from $2.99 for a hot dog or sloppy joe to $12.99 for a supreme pizza.
Along with the other changes, Murray said they want to inject a little personality into the place.
"We're going for that real homey atmosphere," Murray said. "We're doing a lot of foods from scratch. I don't' think there is anything you can order that takes 12 minutes to get."
Salads, selections of cold chicken, homemade take-and-bake pizzas and deli sandwiches fill the deli display case. The restaurant cooks turkeys and beef roasts and hand slices sandwich meat along with making its own meatloaf and meatballs for its Italian meatball sandwiches.
The restaurant features Broasted chicken, baked potatoes or wedges, cole slaw, potato salad and homemade biscuits, jumbo beef hot-dogs and chili dogs, along with homemade soup. A signature item is a personal size pie, what the Depot calls a PSP for a little pie that sits in the palm of the hand.
"The take out business has been a huge increase for us," Murray said, adding that side of the business is now 50 percent of the operation. Cutting hours and doing the same sales with a reduced staff level is adding up to savings for the business. Now Knudson said it is what he first envisioned and fits the concept of the other businesses on the southern tip of the Brainerd Bypass.
The convenience store provides another option to reach customers and eventually attract them to the restaurant as the deli sandwiches and pizzas are sold in both places.
Last week, Colleen Seevers stopped by the Depot restaurant for the first time. She lives nearby and was looking for an affordable and quick wedding anniversary meal. Her husband was in charge of finding a couple of movies to watch.
Employee Ronda Johnson from Barrows recently started working at the restaurant to add to her regular job as a hair stylist. With a marriage and homebuying in her future, Johnson was looking for a second job.
"I grew up coming to this gas station," she said, adding the work has been fun and different. "I just hope this place takes off. I know Skip and Chad really well and they're good people and they work hard. I hope this places does succeed."
RENEE RICHARDSON may be reached at renee.richardson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5852.
To Subscribe to the Brainerd Dispatch, Click Here.
Note: Comments are not edited and don't represent the views of The Brainerd Dispatch. Please read our posting rules in the terms of service policy. To report a post that may be inappropriate, click the triangle alert icon.
|
|
|
|
|
 Top Commented Articles
Over the last 7 days
Most Recent Comments
|
|
|
|
Thinking about a New Job?
These employers want you!
|
Loading...
|
|
|
