Checkers serves up ambitious growth plan
South Florida’s burger wars are on the verge of a major escalation as Checkers & Rally’s, operator of compact drive-thrus without the dining rooms, says it intends to plant more than 100 new locations in the tri-county region.
Checkers stores are known for their compact footprint of about 900 square feet, stylized with shimmering red trim and shiny checker-board black and white tile patterns. Each location has 25-30 employees and operates nearly 18 hours per day.
With a business model focused on drive-thrus with no dining areas, senior vice president, chief development officer Jennifer Durham said the Checkers and Rally’s food choices and pricepoints are ideal for the consumer on-the-go. In addition to burgers, hot dogs, chicken and fish, menu offerings include chicken wings in five different flavors, Kool Aid slushies and seasoned fries.
The company appears to have the resources to ensure the expansion happens. In March, Oak Hill Capital Partners, a private investment group, acquired the 857-unit Checkers Drive-In Restaurants Inc. brand for approximately $525 million. Currently, there are 158 restaurants in Florida.
The chain’s newest South Florida entries are scheduled to open this month and next in Hallandale Beach and Hialeah Gardens. Both openings were delayed by Hurricane Irma, which also forced the postponement of the company’s annual national convention, which was planned for Sept. 6-9 at the Hollywood Diplomat Resort.
“It’s a family reunion of sorts, with vendors, franchisees and suppliers coming in from all over the country,” Durham said. “We were going to tour the Hallandale Beach site.”
As part of the conference agenda, the company planned to highlight innovations that drive the brand’s growth. On center stage: store model options featuring new efficiencies like kitchen upgrades; improved drive-through lanes and modular and reclaimed shipping container building formats, designed to create price certainty and reduce development schedules.
The company-owned Hialeah Gardens location at 9160 NW 122nd Street could open in the next two weeks, Durham said.
The opening of the Hallandale Beach location, at 4000 W. Hallandale Beach Boulevard, and owned by franchisee Angelo Freites of JAF Restaurants, has been pushed to November as natural gas hookups can’t be scheduled until later this month.
Durham said that post-Irma, there have been challenges to finishing the projects: transporting asphalt to the sites, getting utilities up and running, calling sub-contractors back to the job, and completing site work inspections.
As for the company’s annual get-together, a scaled-down version has been scheduled for early next month in Orlando. “We still have a lot of exciting information to share with the team,” Durham said.