Einstein Bros. unit on campus of University of Nevada–Las Vegas

Dunkin’ Donuts has been very agressive securing college campus locations.

Mark Brandau of the Nation’s Restaurant News reports that Denny’s, Bojangles’, Einstein Bros., Moe’s Southwest Grill share lessons learned from non-traditional growth.

Einstein Bros. unit on campus of University of Nevada–Las Vegas. Restaurant brands are learning to love on-campus locations as growth vehicles and testing grounds for new operations or service techniques.

Nation’s Restaurant News recently spoke with movers in the segment, including Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ’n Biscuits, Denny’s, Einstein Bros., Moe’s Southwest Grill and Beef O Brady’s to share lessons learned.

Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ’n Biscuits opened its first on-campus restaurant Monday at the University of North Carolina–Greensboro. First-week sales surpassed $50,000 for a unit of about 600 square feet, said Eric Newman, executive vice president of Charlotte, N.C.-based Bojangles’. That kind of performance makes higher-education locations “a valuable tool” for accelerating the brand’s already rapid growth, he said.

“[Non-traditional growth] can bolster what you already have and increase market share in penetrated markets, or be a spearhead to introduce more people to the brand,” Newman said. “It’s a great addition to reach people you’re not reaching normally at certain dayparts.”

For instance, he said, Bojangles’ can drive strong sales at lunch from students at the on-campus unit without cannibalizing sales from its three locations in Greensboro near the university.

Read More at: Nation’s Restaurant News

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Terms of the deals were not disclosed.

The Louisville, Ky.-based Yum Brands, which also franchises KFC, Pizza Hut  and Taco Bell, said Long John Silver’s would be sold to LJS Partners, a  consortium of franchisees and other investors. A&W Restaurants will be sold  to A Great American Brand, which Yum described as a “franchisee leader with  substantial interest in A&W restaurants.”

Both sales are expected to be completed in the fourth quarter, Yum said.

“As we continue to sharpen our long-term growth focus on international  expansion and improving our U.S. brand positions in KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco  Bell, Long John Silver’s and A&W no longer fit our long-term growth  strategy,” Yum Brands chairman and chief executive David Novak said in a  statement.

Yum noted that the two sales would not have a material impact on corporate  earnings or cash flow.

Goldman, Sachs & Co. acted as Yum’s exclusive financial advisor on the  sales.

Read more: Nation’s Restaurant News

Anthony Braun, Heartland Restaurant Group’s COO, says his employees’ relationships with the company’s guests is what drives revenue growth.

Tim Schooley of the Pittsburgh Business Times writes, ask Anthony Braun why the Heartland Restaurant Group continues to grow and thrive, and he quickly turns it into a survey question to shoot past some of his staff.

Before Braun, the chief operating officer for Heartland, which operates a growing Dunkin’ Donuts franchise in the Pittsburgh region, wants to tabulate the sales growth in new restaurants, transactions per day or same store sales, he thinks first of his team. He knows how they interact with guests buying coffee and donuts can translate into loyal customers.

“It’s our relationship with our team and their relationship with our guests that results in driving our revenue growth,” said Braun, noting that customers can find coffee and donuts elsewhere. “It’s these individual, one-on-one interactions that really make a difference for us.”

Not that Braun doesn’t have the sales numbers always available. Currently, Heartland Restaurant Group is serving 315,000 guests each month, not bad considering the 350-employee company only started opening franchise locations for Dunkin’ Donuts here in 2008, just as the recession was taking hold. Between 2008 and 2010, company sales grew by 853.97 percent.

The company has 18 locations up and running and at least 10 more in the pipeline. At the same time, Braun said Heartland’s established restaurants are seeing double-digit sales increases from year to year. The company’s Oakland location near the University of Pittsburgh  .. campus has been a boon for Heartland, generating 11,000 guests per week against an average of 5,000.

Heartland’s success has been recognized by Dunkin’ Brands corporate in a way that could generate continued strong growth in the future. Earlier this year, the company named Heartland a Dunkin’ Donuts certified developer, a best-in-class status that comes with more autonomy and the ability to cut the approval times for new locations from 90 days to two weeks, along with corporate financing opportunities, if necessary.

Read More at: Pittsburgh Business Times

“In the four years that I’ve been writing about Dunkin’ Donuts franchisees, I’ve been impressed by the abundance of interesting stories about franchise owners’ expertise as business operators and entrepreneurs, dedication to their communities and local charities, and the role they’ve played in the success of the Brand,” said DDIFO Communications Director Matt Ellis. “We need these stories, because all of our members can learn from and be encouraged by the experiences of their peers: They are simply the best source of information and inspiration.”

In recent years, Ellis and DDIFO Writer Susan Minichiello have covered stories like,

• The Boston Marathon challenges, success and lessons learned by franchise owner George Alepedis (read article; p. 10 of June 2011 Independent Joe)
• The success of Dunkin’ Donuts shops on college campuses as experienced by franchise owner Matt Doyle (read article; p. 5 of December 2010 Independent Joe)
• Two charity golf tournaments in memory of franchise owner and DCP Chairman John Henderson (read article)
• The response of the Brand to franchise owner Mike White’s predicament after flooding in the Atlanta area (read article)
• Franchise owner Neal Faulkner’s partnership venture with Citizens Bank (read article)
• President Obama’s recognition of franchise owner Andy Cabral in a speech about the SBA (read article)
• The 50th anniversary celebration of the Deslauriers family’s franchise ownership (read article) and its implementation of solar power and other green technologies (read article)
• Inside the largest CML in Chicagoland and why owner Vishal Shah says the 45,000 square foot facility can lower upfront costs for new franchisees in the market (read article; p. 10 of December 2009 Independent Joe)

“These are just a handful of the outstanding and uplifting stories we’ve been able to share,” said Ellis. “But it’s important to note that even if something you’re doing is routine for you, it could be eye-opening for other franchise owners, especially those who are new to the business.”

DDIFO’s communications team is working on Issue #10 of Independent Joe which includes articles on how the Rhode Island Fair Dealership Act paved the way for a fair franchising bill under debate in Massachusetts and what franchisees need to know about using social media to communicate with customers.

DDIFO is eager to hear your stories about daily operations, charity work and community involvement, innovative programs and practices, successes and celebrations, lessons learned, and legacy stories—i.e., those that highlight multiple generations of ownership. Please email your story ideas to Matt Ellis (matt@ddifo.org) or DDIFO President Jim Coen (jim@ddifo.org).

In February, Dunkin’ announced a deal with Green Mountain’s Keurig brewers to  sell packs of 14 K-Cup servings at its coffee shops starting this summer.

While single portions are a booming area of the coffee business, the strategy  is not without risks for Dunkin’, which could see consumers trade in their  regular cup of morning Joe for K-cups.