CraftWorks Restaurants & Breweries Inc., which has headquarters in Broomfield and Chattanooga, Tenn., has plunked down roughly $10 million so far into a “refresh” of its Old Chicago restaurant concept, which got its start in Boulder in 1976.
The effort includes a new logo, redesigned interior, new menu and an increased focus on “handcrafted” offerings — notably craft beer.
The face-lift for the 37-year-old chain comes as the casual-dining segment continues to lumber along in a slow recovery from the recent recession, said Darren Tristano, executive vice president of Technomic Inc., a Chicago-based research and consulting firm in the food service industry.
Old Chicago’s 96 restaurants, which include company-owned and franchised eateries, reeled in $230 million in revenue last year, according to Technomic data.
The restaurant chain’s sales were down slightly from previous years.
Old Chicago is banking on that combination in furthering a potentially aggressive expansion in its future store plans and franchising operations.
The brand has 58 corporate locations and 38 franchise-operated locations. About 75 percent of them have received the remodel.
