Emerging Restaurant Chain Tilted Kilt's Uplifting Service
Sexy servers in mini-kilts rev up sales at sports-themed Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery.
By David Farkas, Senior Editor -- Chain Leader, 7/1/2009 12:00:00 AM
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| Good-looking servers in mini-kilts and starched camp shirts account for much of Tilted Kilt’s popularity. |
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| A 6,400-square-foot prototype Tilted Kilt rings up about $2.2 million annually, almost half of it from alcoholic beverage sales. |
Waitresses who wear skimpy uniforms have earned their employers the moniker “breast-aurants,” a term that saddens Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery CEO Ron Lynch. “That's really kind of upsetting,” he laments. “Everyone wants to compare us to Hooters.”
Well, no surprise. The 20-unit chain's employees don tight-fitting tops and tartan plaid mini-kilts, revealing cleavage and flat tummies. Like Hooters' orange and white outfits, meant to suggest athleticism, the Tilted Kilt's skimpy costume invokes its faux-Scottish origins.
The first unit opened in Las Vegas, the brainchild of restaurateur Mark DiMartino, who debuted the sports-themed pub in 2003 in the Rio Hotel & Casino. Two years later, Lynch spotted a licensed version in Tempe, Ariz., and he was hooked.
“I was looking for a concept that would kind of separate us,” says franchise veteran Lynch, a former Schlotzsky's Deli area developer who was also impressed with the technology. Games are broadcast on 24 wide-screen TVs.
Lynch, DiMartino and two other partners struck a deal; Lynch ended up with a controlling interest in the new company, now headquartered in Tempe.
He is expanding Tilted Kilt with 18 area developers. Lynch expects 20 franchised pubs to open this year, half of them in the Southeast. Franchisees could open more, he maintains, if credit terms weren't so onerous.
Menu Improvements
Meanwhile, Lynch has been upgrading the menu to transcend the typical sports bar. Early this year, for instance, consulting chefs came up with 11 new dishes, including the entrees Sausage Artichoke Fettuccine ($9.99), Gaelic Chicken ($11.99) and Buttermilk Ranch Chicken Salad ($9.99). The check average is $13.30.
“We want to be in the category of a Yard House,” he says, referring to the trendy casual-dining chain whose menu boasts Pan-Seared Ahi Tuna and Spicy Thai Chicken Pizza.
Such aspirations give Charlotte, N.C.-based restaurant consultant Fred LeFranc pause. “I think [the Tilted Kilt] can pull off having acceptable food, but to be on the cutting edge is a different issue,” says the former casual-dining CEO, who's familiar with the concept. “It will be a challenge to overcome the obvious.”
The “obvious,” of course, are the servers in sexy duds, who cater to a mostly male clientele (average age: 37.6). Their ability to keep customers happy is the key to Tilted Kilt's $48,000 weekly sales in the one company-owned unit. The franchisor doesn't track weekly sales in the 19 franchised restaurants.
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Sex Sells
“Customers see our girls in sexy little outfits, and they may have a preconceived notion that service might not be good,” Lynch explains. “But we far exceed everyone's idea.” That's accomplished with a home-grown training program, in which new hires “audition” for their part in a variety of role plays.
The company's franchise disclosure document doesn't include average volume, but Lynch says it's about $2.2 million in a 6,400-square-foot prototype. Cost-to-build now $350,000 to $1.3 million per unit. Lynch says that's because so many restaurants have closed, leaving kitchens and bathrooms intact.
