Dive Brief:
- Perkins will open a new fast casual concept, Griddle & Go, later this month, according to a press release emailed to Restaurant Dive. The concept will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.
- The Griddle & Go store model is designed to fit into a wide range of real estate, including travel centers, to help expand Perkins’ development horizons.
- Perkins is also undergoing a rebrand. The company renamed itself Perkins American Food Co. in June and is updating everything from restaurant exteriors to digital signage.
Dive Insight:
The brand said it would share the precise location of the first Griddle & Go unit when it opens later in the fall. Perkins has shifted its unit construction strategy away from its legacy units, which range between 6,000 and 6,500 square feet, toward a 3,000- to 3,500-square-foot base.
The Griddle & Go design roughly halves that footprint, clocking in at 1,500 square feet; the unit does, however, retain a 65-person dining room, according to the press release. This size means it can fit into a wide range of spaces.
“The smaller footprint model allows us to drive brand growth and to reach guests where they are by expanding into premier real estate including colleges, casinos, c-stores, and more,” Perkins President Toni Ronayne said in the release.
Griddle & Go is the same concept Perkins teased under the name Perkins Express in July, a company spokesperson confirmed.
The fast casual concept’s menu still includes a selection of Perkins’ bakery items, like cinnamon rolls, muffins, brownies, cookies and pies. The unit will serve breakfast staples, like omelets and eggs benedict, alongside Perkins’ Griddle Greats — waffles, pancakes and french toast — and burgers and sandwiches. The brand is adding breakfast sandwiches and unspecified lighter fare to the menu.
To support operational efficiency, the Griddle & Go unit will use digital signboards and kiosks, according to the press release.
While IHOP, a competitor to Perkins in the breakfast daypart, has shuttered its fast casual spinoff, other chains are still looking at units designed for speed of service in a smaller space as a valuable tool for expansion. Golden Corral announced a fast casual concept, Homeward Kitchen, last year and has expanded that concept to at least one new market, according to local news reports.
