Where’s the beef ?
New owner of multiple OKC-area Wendy’s looks at makeovers
The owner of 18 Oklahoma City area Wendy’s restaurants plans to gradually upgrade its stores.
Quality is Wendy’s recipe when it comes to food, according to its website.
Likewise, quality is a high priority for a national company that acquired 10 Oklahoma City-area Wendy’s stores in 2016.
Meritage Hospitality Group Inc., based in Grand Rapids, Mich., bought the 10 Wendy’s stores in August, bringing the total to 18 that it owns in the greater Oklahoma City market.
Meritage already has integrated the stores into its web-based operating and accounting systems.
Now it’s time to begin updating stores, said Tyler Boik, brand manager of the Wendy’s division for Meritage.
“We are one of the nation’s largest Wendy’s franchisees,” said Boik in January, noting that Meritage owns 178 Wendy’s locations across the Southeast, the upper Midwest and in Oklahoma.
Boik said the company seeks to remodel 10 percent of its existing restaurant locations each year. Some of those properties scheduled for a makeover in 2017 are in the Oklahoma City market.
Boik said renovations can be cosmetic, where the local operation’s lobby and exterior are refreshed.
“That involves exterior work to freshen up the outside of the building, redoing the dining room, and then replacing whatever is needed in the back of the store,” Boik said, adding that a job like that usually takes about six to eight weeks to complete.
He added that the company decides whether or not to keep a store operating during such an overhaul on a case-by-case basis, depending on what work is being done.
On Meritage “Image Activation” overhauls, the company typically rebuilds the front end of the store. “Essentially, we build a brand-new front end to the building. That can take anywhere between two to three months to complete.”
Boik said that type of renovation, which closes the store during that time, pulls the public space of each building into the 21st century.
“The interior has a very modern look to it,” he said, noting they include fireplace lounges and free Wi-Fi.
“You just wouldn’t recognize the interior of a new Wendy’s versus an old one,” he said. “It will have a warm, friendly atmosphere where people will want to come in, enjoy a good meal, and relax.”
Then, there is a complete rebuild category, where Meritage actually takes the location back to raw dirt, and rebuilds the operation from scratch. That process usually takes six to eight months to complete.
“Obviously, we want to get them done as quickly as we can, but we also want to do them right, in accordance with the local permitting and construction requirements.”
Boik said Meritage sees big sales increases from its remodels.
“From a customer’s standpoint, it makes it a more of an inviting place to go,” he said, noting there are plans in place to renovate multiple locations in the Oklahoma City in 2017.
“We have big plans for Oklahoma City, and we are very excited to be part of that,” he said.
In a news release about the deal, Meritage estimated acquiring the latest 10 restaurants in the greater Oklahoma City Market would add about $13.8 million in annual sales to its portfolio.
But Meritage hopes the profit doesn’t just run down a one-way street. It also wants to see local employees of its Oklahoma City area stores to expand their educations and their horizons, as Meritage has management opportunities available throughout its system.
The key message the employer wants to send its workers is that they aren’t just working a job. They have a chance to make it a career.
“We are giving them a lot of opportunity to grow,” Boik said, noting Meritage offers career opportunities for workers in eight different states.
“So far, in the six months that we have been operating those restaurants, we have seen a big turnaround for them.”
A retail consultant, Mark Inman of CBRE, said he is excited about Meritage’s plans for Wendy’s in the greater Oklahoma City market.
Wendy’s, Inman said, serves its customers “a quality product,” plus, Meritage’s portfolio of Wendy’s is situated on great locations.
Inman observed area eating establishments frequently upgrade their buildings and menus to stay relevant and fresh to their customers, and said Meritage’s plans for its Wendy’s locations is part of that trend.
“That’s what cuttingedge companies do to stay competitive in the marketplace.”