![]() ![]() “It’s a brand that’s been around for 56 years in the Midwest that’s beloved by people,” Rusk said. The Columbus, Ohio-based company had all the attributes Red Robin was looking for: operational excellence and a legion of nationwide followers despite being a regional chain. Post then turned her attention to Donatos. While the Round Table product was good, the partnership didn’t work out as the chain was undergoing leadership changes at the time. “Consumers gave us permission to be able to do this,” Rusk said. “We learned a lot, specifically around operational complexity and how needs to fit in and be executed at our restaurants in the timeframe that our burgers are today so that it can be consistent,” Rusk said.ĭespite the challenges, Red Robin also discovered that diners liked having pizza as a menu option. Batches, which required proofing, were not consistent. Making pizza dough from scratch is tough. near Portland.ĭuring the pilot, Red Robin quickly learned what all craft pizza makers know. They hooked up with Round Table Pizza for a one-store test in Gresham, Ore. In 2017, the brand decided to get back into the pizza game by finding a partner that would give Red Robin instant credibility with consumers. Restaurants also sell pizza on the kids’ menu. The casual dining brand dabbled with pizza in the 1990s, then retreated. Yet, the Donatos deal almost didn’t happen. “It is certainly a game changer for us,” Murphy said when he announced the partnership at the ICR Conference in Orlando. ![]() With the chain facing declining guest counts, Murphy unveiled a turnaround plan last month that included serving Donatos at up to 425 Red Robin restaurants by 2022.īy finishing what Post started, Murphy is betting that pizza will drive guest frequency and increase average check while also lifting the brand’s delivery business. Red Robin spent three years researching pizza under three CEOs, including newly tapped leader Paul Murphy. So, a category extension is something super, super interesting to us.” “But from an opportunity standpoint, pizza is very Americana just like the food that Red Robin offers. It always will be,” Jason Rusk, vice president of business innovation at Red Robin, told NRN. “As we looked at are overall menu, burgers are always at the heart of who we are. Led by then-CEO Denny Marie Post, the Greenwood Village, Colo.-based casual dining was searching for a food offering that would complement its burger-centric menu. That all changed in 2018 when the family-run pizza company was approached by Red Robin Gourmet Burgers. “We were very cautious about who we got involved with,” Donatos CEO Tom Krouse told Nation’s Restaurant News in a recent phone interview. After the founder of Donatos Pizza repurchased the chain from McDonald’s in 2003, the Ohio-based pizzeria brand – known for its edge to edge toppings – was reluctant to partner with any big corporation. ![]()
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