Shopping Centers Today

MAR 2013

Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)

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R E T A I L I N G T O D A Y are its cheesesteak sandwich and the Capistrami: fresh pastrami grilled instore, Russian dressing and homemade coleslaw. "We make our own coleslaw and our own tuna in-house," said Walls. "We make meatballs with our own special recipe and use fresh bread from local bakers. No one is doing what we are doing in terms of roasting whole turkeys." Margolet let family and friends franchise additional shops around the mid-Atlantic. In 1994 she moved to Las Vegas and opened her first shop in the region, just off the Vegas Strip. The shop soon began winning awards, and Margolet began franchising throughout Nevada. Two friends from Vegas — Ashley Morris and Jason Smiley — decided to open a Capriotti's shop in 2005. While they were building that one, another Capriotti's opened in Henderson, Nev., and then yet another. Morris and 28 SCT / M A R C H 2 0 1 3 Smiley bought those other two as well, and all were so profitable that Morris and Smiley approached Margolet about buying the franchise rights for Arizona. She declined the offer, but eventually decided to sell the chain. Morris, Smiley and some other partners bought the company in 2008. At that time Capriotti's comprised about 45 stores. Morris and Smiley hired Walls away from McAlister's Deli, a fastgrowing chain based in Mississippi, in 2009. Last year Capriotti's opened 13 restaurants, bringing the current total to nearly 90. Walls says the company expects to open 25 more this year. As of January, Capriotti's restaurants were operating in 11 states. Some 250 franchises have been sold and are to be developed over the next five years or so, Walls says. At present, only five units are companyowned, but Walls says he would like to boost that to about 10 percent or 15 percent of the total, because franchisees are drawn to a brand whose corporate office is itself opening restaurants, an indication the company has skin in the game. Capriotti's shops open at least one year post about $675,000 in sales each, on average. The shops open 10 years or more are approaching about $1 million in sales each. The $1 million-plus units are located in Delaware. The company's sales systemwide last year exceeded $50 million, and Walls says he hopes to push that up by an additional $5 million this year. Still, he wants to keep growth even and manageable, he insists. "We don't want to grow too quickly," said Walls. "We could open 100 stores in 2013, but I wouldn't want to. It would tax our infrastructure and support. The industry is littered with concepts that grew too fast." SCT

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