In movie terms, the news in January that Wahlburgers was ending its partnership with grocery supermarket Hy-Vee, a relationship that lasted eight years and spawned 79 locations, seemed as juicy as the Brangelina split. But Wahlburgers CEO Randy Sharpe insists it wasn’t.
Randy Sharpe, CEO of Wahlburgers
“Hy-Vee is very good at what they do, but they’re not restaurateurs,” he said in an interview. “The locations weren’t run like restaurants. They were run more like a grocery store counter. It just didn’t fit our brand anymore. We’re happy with where we are now.”
Where it is now is about to it turn the key on its 50th Hy-Vee-free location. “We’re opening a store on August 4 in Detroit Metro Airport,” he said.
To some extent, what’s helping the brand stay vital is its success with its off-premises operations. Sharpe has made the optimization of these channels a priority.
“When I came on board a year and a half ago, I was surprised that off-premises revenues weren’t as high as I expected them to be,” he said. “Our brand is a natural for off-premises ordering. We want those orders to be treated the same as in-store orders.”
Tweaks were made. One was in packaging. “We wanted to doll it up a bit, make it look nicer, while continuing to make sure the food travels well,” he said.
Ensuring delivery satisfaction was another point of emphasis. “We love it when consumers go to our website and order because it’s more equitable,” he said.
But that’s not to say the brand discourages orders from third-party delivery marketplaces. “You have to make any ordering process work for you,” he said. “You want the experience to be something the guests will reorder, no matter where the order comes from. It’s part of the business.”
Catering is providing a lift.
“It’s been a big boon to our P&L,” he said. “We use ezCater and that’s been a good partnership. We’re excited for football season to start. Nothing’s better than a party ordering a dozen burgers, fries, and all the fun stuff that goes with it.”
When Sharpe looks under the hood he finds Olo ordering technology.
“We like its integration. If a guest orders on the website, the ticket spits out in the kitchen. It’s seamless. And it integrates nicely with the marketplaces. If a consumer orders on DoorDash, the order will automatically arrive in the kitchen. The order doesn’t have to go through another employee and then to the kitchen.”
Wahlburgers has a mix of company owned and franchised restaurants. Some are doing better than others. “Our corporate locations that we personally oversee from an operational standpoint are all up in sales for the year,” he said.
And when the brand needs a marketing push, it doesn’t hurt that two of the three founders are pop-culture superstars.
“Mark is launching a movie soon, and we typically run promotions with his movies,” he said. “I don’t want to tip my hand on what it will be but we’re pretty excited about it.”
The brand recently introduced a smashburger, which has become its second-most popular menu item. If the co-founder delivers a hit movie, smashing profits and boogie nights may follow.
“We’re expecting to see gains in traffic and continued growth the rest of the year,” he said.
