You know the feeling you get when you watch Rudy? That’s what Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux wants you to feel about its food and atmosphere. It’s a brand built on the spirit of the walk-on athlete, like Rudy Ruettiger was at Notre Dame, and like Walk-On’s founders Brandon Landry and Jack Warner were at LSU. And with its reimagined store prototype and enhanced off-premises operations, it’s ready to inspire more consumers.
Chris Porcelli, CEO of Walk-On’s
One adjustment it’s recently made is it to make itself smaller and more nimble, not unlike Sean Astin. “Our stores have been massive, 8,000 to 10,000 square-feet, with 75 TVs, and 300 seats,” said Chris Porcelli, the new CEO as of September, in an interview. “We spent a lot of time asking ourselves, How’s that working in today’s environment?”
It came up with new conclusions.
In late October, the brand rolled out a leaner store prototype, which includes a refreshed to-go area, placed directly off the kitchen, with enhanced technology to assess the quality and timing of orders.
“Right now off-premises makes up 13.9 percent of our revenues,” said Poricelli. “Two years ago that was sub-10. We’re investing in and growing that business. We’re seeing guests react to it.”
The brand reported $335 million in sales from 80 locations in the latest Franchise Times Top 400 Franchises Survey. A jump into the double digits in off-premises sales means beaucoup bucks. No wonder it’s putting a premium on it.
“We’re often busy on Saturday afternoons during the college football season and we have a dedicated person right in the to-go area to check orders in the KDS system,” Porcelli said. “And for people doing pick-up, I want them to see that there’s a lot of energy coming out of the kitchen. I want them to look in and say, Hey, that looks pretty good. Maybe they picked up this time, but hopefully next time they’ll come in.”
Not only is Walk-On’s running a tighter ship with delivery, it’s doing more with catering.
“Catering is a big area for us,” Porcelli said. “We partner with ezCater and that’s been wonderful. Whether it’s a corporate event or a sporting event, or something for the local high school or T-ball team, we can handle it. And we can capture that data and give it to our local marketing teams. If we have a school ordering once a month, we can reach out and build that relationship. We use catering to ingrain ourselves in the community. You can enjoy Walk-On’s in our restaurants or bring the game home.”
More franchisees are signing up to bring the game to their communities. Last month, Walk-On’s signed a 20-unit restaurant agreement with Port Royal Brands for locations using the new prototype in Georgia and Tennessee.
“That’s about a $100 million investment on their part,” Porcelli said, noting that Walk-On’s is also building its own corporate restaurants with the new prototype in Atlanta.
The sports-bar niche is a good one. There’s always a big event around the corner. But ultimately for maximum growth and sustainability, the brand has to stand on its own without the allure of Cris Collinsworth on the call.
“There are 50 major sporting events in a year and we’re open the other 300 days,” Porcelli said. “We want to make sure that it is our food and hospitality that draw people back. We’re a family-friendly sports bar, and that isn’t always the case. We’re leaning into that.”
