8/28/2023 0 Comments Tijuana flats restaurant menuInstead of plain tables, Tijuana Flats uses theirs as branding opportunities. The result was Tijuana Flats’ new prototype - and the chain’s first franchise location in years - which opened in Noblesville, Ind., in late 2020. Although a lot of brands attempt to do that, it is just not possible.” “Let’s face it: you can’t be everything to everybody. Keeping the checklist in mind, we continued with a narrowing process until we had the existing design,” says Wright. “There were a wide variety of ideas we started with. Along the way, they used the checklist to stay on task and balance priorities, including functionality, guest appeal and maintaining the brand’s identity. With all this information, the project team began developing design concepts and ideas. Checklist items covered everything from big picture topics like the restaurant’s overall look and feel to more granular issues, like the need for a space to put down trays at the hot sauce bar. These exercises were combined with feedback from focus groups to create a redesign checklist. This helped the new leadership team uncover and articulate the brand’s key elements and strengths. Taking the customer feedback to heart, the chain hired a design firm, Push, and began conducting brand explorations. It really did highlight the need for change.” They said while they loved the playfulness, it felt more like a restaurant they would have visited when in college as opposed to a place they might go today. We did a number of focus groups - the majority in our major markets - and what we heard from consumers was that the brand had not evolved with time. “If you look at the original design, it had anything from superheroes to cartoons to monsters painted into the murals of the restaurants. ![]() While that’s a core part of the brand, he felt the expression of that personality had grown stale. Tijuana Flats’ leadership - many of whom were brought on board by Wright - reviewed its operations, franchise support program and, of course, the restaurant’s look and feel.Īccording to Wright, Tijuana Flats had long cultivated a fun and slightly irreverent personality. ![]() That meant looking at the business from top to bottom. One of Wright’s goals was to revive the chain’s franchise program. Only around 20 locations were franchised, and the brand hadn’t opened any new franchise restaurants since around 2007. While the company’s corporate store openings have been ongoing, its franchise sales had been put on ice. This menu-focused approach and elevated service model combined to help Tijuana Flats hit 125 locations, primarily in the chain’s home state of Florida. After ordering, customers find a seat and table runners bring them food, drinks and refills. ![]() Guests order at a POS counter from a broad menu that includes tacos, burritos, chimichangas, nachos, wings and more. Tijuana Flats operates on what Wright calls a “fast casual-plus” model. That was one issue facing Brian Wright in the Summer of 2019 when he became CEO of Tijuana Flats. That goes for restaurant design as much as for anything else. What’s fun and edgy today feels dated tomorrow. Images courtesy of Tijuana FlatsThis Tex-Mex chain is keeping its irreverent feel with a redesign aimed at franchising. This Indiana location’s mural shows tacos growing from corn stalks. A localized mural is a key design element in each store.
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