Perkins is known for its Mammoth Muffins. But its new store prototype, Griddle & Go, goes in the other direction. It clocks in at a lean 1,500 square feet, with seating for 65 guests and digital-ordering tools for the on-the-move crowd.
The brand refers to the new design as an elevated café experience. That doesn’t mean diners will enjoy pancakes up in the clouds. It’s more that they will enjoy the distinctly cozy Perkins experience only now with digital menu boards and kiosks, which are firsts for the 66-year-old brand.
Steven Roach, chief technology officer at Perkins
Steven Roach, chief technology officer, realizes that the brand has been old-fashioned about digital innovation. It’s Olivia Newton John not Olivia Rodrigo.
“We’re well aware that technology has not been at the forefront of our brand,” he said in an interview. “Griddle & Go will help us engage with our customers in new ways.”
Griddle & Go has been designed to fit into traditional storefront spaces as well as less-obvious locations, like casinos, convenience stores, truck stops, and hospitals. The hope is to grow appeal to the TikTok generation.
“Young consumers expect a frictionless interaction with pay-at-the-table, order-at-the-table, all those kinds of things,” Roach said. “That’s where we’re headed.”
This comes on the heels of an overhaul for the company. In June it announced it changed its name from Perkins Restaurant & Bakery to Perkins American Food Company. And earlier in the year it brought on a new CEO. Big changes. It may need them. Its 2023 sales were about 5 percent lower than 2022, according to Technomic Ignite data.
With Griddle & Go, the brand is starting small, with the footprint and the speed of the rollout.
“We’ll be launching our first one in Saint-Isidore, Canada, which is near Montreal, in a couple weeks,” said Roach, adding that more locations will come online soon in Texas and California.
The brand hopes that the sleek design will be a draw for existing and prospective franchisees. “It’s smaller so real estate is easier to find, operational costs are less, inventory is less, the waiver is less,” he said. “We think airports will work well for us, similar to IHOP Express.”
Along with what it’s doing with technology to appeal to customers, it’s also using new tools to learn about them.
“We’re using a cloud-based point-of-sale system with new credit card processing,” he said. “We’re going to be able to capture all that data to find out what’s working and what’s not, which will help us with more personalized marketing plans. We’re going to get a ton of operational efficiencies. It’s definitely new for us.”
