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February 19, 2008
Adopted Concept Finds Loving Home
February 19, 2008
Everyone loves a happy ending. No one could be happier than the team at Corner Bakery Café and their newly adoptive parent, Il Fornaio. Since joining together in 2006, Corner Bakery has become the growth vehicle for this upscale casual restaurant organization. Corner Bakery has had over 21 straight quarters of positive sales comps. They have the highest average annual sales volumes of any national bakery café brand. They are expanding aggressively across the country and have over 100 locations.
I have always taken a high degree of interest in the evolution of Corner Bakery since my days at Brinker. We acquired both Maggiano’s and Corner Bakery from Lettuce Entertain You in 1995.
To be fair, we acquired Maggiano’s and Corner Bakery came with it because they couldn’t be separated. Corner Bakery was developed in 1991 to be the on-premise baker for Maggiano’s. The original location was at the entrance of Maggiano’s and the others that followed shared space also. Over time, many Corner Bakeries were stand alone operations and they developed their own identity and expansion program.
The original service approach at Corner Bakery was a cafeteria line where you chose from bread, sandwiches, salads and pastas that were on display in the case. It was highly visual and fast since the food was right in front of you. This approach had several limitations. A higher likelihood of waste, and food not as fresh as made to order. The cafeteria approach gave a downscale perception of what was upscale food. Also, customers didn’t feel comfortable skipping other people in line with complicated orders when they had something ready to be paid for.
Brinker invested a lot of time and money studying what Corner Bakery needed in order to be successful. The most important change was in the order and delivery system of the food. You now order at a register and your food is made to order and delivered to you when ready. A very traditional fast casual approach that resonates with the customer.
I had breakfast the other morning at the Corner Bakery closest to my house. I had to wait in line for a chance to order. The dining room was full of happy looking people. Why? The food is an outstanding value for the quality and quantity.
Corner Bakery has followed a twisting path. Born into the Lettuce Entertain You organization as an amenity for another concept, adopted by Brinker and given an expensive private school education, and then readopted by Il Fornaio (in English, The Baker) who have made it the centerpiece of their growth plans as they continually enhance the quality of the product. Everyone loves a happy ending…especially the customer.
Posted by Lane Cardwell on February 19, 2008 | Comments (0)
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