The guys behind Denver’s popular Brothers BBQ plan to take the chain national by franchising.
Brothers Chris and Nick O’Sullivan have formed Blokes BBQ International and plan to have 100 franchised and company-owned locations by 2008. Brothers has four metro locations, with three more opening by early 2006.
Restaurants outside Colorado will bear the Blokes BBQ name tag – an homage to the brothers’ English birth and because they couldn’t get a federal trademark for Brothers. Colorado locations will operate as Brothers BBQ.
“My sense of things is that the concept is replicable because they’ve already succeeded in having four,” said Denver restaurant consultant John Imbergamo. “They have figured out how to cook the product and present it on a consistent basis.”
The restaurants will also fill a niche in the fast-casual market, which hasn’t seen many barbecue offerings, he said.
Fast-casual restaurants are the among the hottest sectors of the restaurant industry, combining speedy service with higher-quality offerings than traditional fast-food restaurants.
“People are getting a lot smarter about how they eat, and fast-casual appeals to people who are looking for higher-quality food,” said Blokes chief executive Will Glennie, a franchise veteran who joined the company 18 months ago.
Nationally, the $5.5 billion fast-casual market is expanding between 8 percent and 12 percent per year, or twice the rate of the overall restaurant sector, according to Technomic, a Chicago restaurant consulting firm.
The Brothers franchises will cost $30,000. The total startup cost, including the fee, will range from $315,000 to $466,000.
Staff writer Kristi Arellano can be reached at 303-820-1902 or karellano@denverpost.com.
Food chains
Colorado-based restaurant chains, ranked by number of eateries worldwide:
1. Quiznos 3,500
2. Einstein Bros. 700*
3. Boston Market 630
4. Chipotle 420
5. Village Inn 375*
6. Red Robin 260
7. Qdoba 180
8. Noodles 100
9. Champps 60
10. Old Chicago 75
11. Nick-N-Willy’s 50
*Includes restaurants under same ownership operating under other names
Source: Denver Post research
