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Chain pins hopes on a wing and a player
After surviving a flap with Hooters, ex-Cowboy betting his restaurant concept will fly in Texas
http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sharedcontent/dws/img/v3/06-11-2005.NB_10CRAWFORD.GQC1K7E7M.1.jpg
Crawford Ker, ex-Dallas Cowboys guard and current restaurateur, may sell chicken wings (like Wingstop), employ scantily clad servers (like Hooters) and own a restaurant that resembles a sports bar (like Buffalo Wild Wings).
Former Dallas Cowboy Crawford Ker plans to open his first Ker's WingHouse in Addison this November or December.
But Mr. Ker, a bear of a man with a noticeable "Joisey" lilt, sees his Ker's WingHouse Bar & Grill as a completely different animal. And when his company, Ker Inc., opens the first Dallas outpost of the Florida chain late this fall, he'll invite the locals to come see for themselves.
"Wingstop and Hooters have done a great job, and I applaud their success," said Mr. Ker, a 43-year-old Philadelphia native who spent time in New Jersey.
He said his chain has done well in Florida, where he grew up. It's home to his first 16 sites. So moving outside of that comfort zone "is more of a challenge for me to put out a better product because I'm newer," he said while preparing to hawk his barbecue sauce at this weekend's gourmet food show at the Wyndham Anatole hotel.
Similar challenges
Mr. Ker considers his challenges to be about the same as those of any other restaurateur – finding good locations and management, and executing his "A" game.
And restaurateurs are finding that chicken prices today are not cheap.
The wing business is soaring, with annual growth of more than 30 percent, according to Chicago research group Technomic Information Services. That compares with 4.6 percent sales growth in the overall $11 billion chicken business.
"We all have the same challenges to execute our business," said Mr. Ker. "Whoever prepares and does the best job should win."
Late last year, Mr. Ker won Round One of a highly publicized fight with Hooters of America Inc., the Atlanta-based company that owns the Hooters chain.
In 2003, Hooters sued WingHouse, saying that the chain copied several of Hooters' trademarks, including its tank top and short-shorts uniforms.
Mr. Ker said he had an agreement with Hooters' previous owner, Hooters Inc., allowing him to keep the minimalist dress – if he changed the color to black. But Hooters of America, a former licensee that acquired the trademark in 1999, objected to Mr. Ker's sartorial selection and other similarities, and sued.
"Mr. Ker pretty much copied ... Hooters in the way the restaurants look, the menu, the food that's offered as well as the Hooters girls and the uniform they wear," said Hooters spokesman Mike McNeil.
In December, U.S. District Judge Anne Conway in Orlando ruled against Hooters on all counts. Hooters has appealed, arguing that the judge made errors in her ruling. So the legal battle continues.
So does Mr. Ker's campaign to try to carve out market share in the increasingly competitive chicken wing business – without looking like a "me too."
In that offensive, Texas is a strategic battleground.
As the chain ventures out of Florida, this will be the first real test of whether Mr. Ker's wings have legs.
Dallas debut
The company bought a site on Belt Line Road in Addison for its Dallas-area debut. It is minutes from a Hooters branch and is set to open in November or December. Mr. Ker also said he made an offer on an East Plano site.
"Dallas gave me the opportunity back in the 1980s to showcase my skills," he said of his 1985-90 Dallas Cowboys stint. "I always liked the people in Dallas more so than any other place I've been. I thought it was a logical choice."
The company plans to build out the Dallas market "before we move on," said Chip Reid, 47, Mr. Ker's vice president of operations for Texas. "Our desire is to build quite a few here. We could have more in Texas than Florida," he said.
That is, if customers see a compelling reason to pick WingHouse.
Mr. Ker insists that with its heavy dose of Cowboys memorabilia and menu featuring wings prepared three ways, the restaurant is filled with his individualized touches.
Yet he knows that there are striking similarities between his concept and existing chains:
And that's about where the similarities end, said James "Jim" Flynn, president and chief executive of Wingstop Restaurants Inc.
"We serve mainly families," he said of his chain, which had $100 million in systemwide sales for the 52 weeks ending June 4 – a company milestone.
"I make a distinction between a sports bar that happens to serve wings and somebody like us," he said, adding that 80 percent of his sales come from wings.
The percentage at WingHouse is about 50 percent, with an additional 28 percent of sales coming from alcohol. But Mr. Ker bristles at the notion that his is a haven for hard-drinking brutes who are there largely to ogle the wait staff.
"Our typical customer is all kinds of people," said Mr. Ker. "We serve families. We have games for kids. I wouldn't stereotype it to just one group of people."
Keeping his cool
If he's at all apprehensive about his ability to attract those people – given the heads-up food fight that is the Dallas restaurant scene – it doesn't show.
"They will have some competition in the marketplace. That's a definite," Mr. Ker said, in a brief display of athletic swagger. "We're coming back to Dallas full throttle. Come in and judge for yourself."
E-mail krobison@***BANNED-URL***
After surviving a flap with Hooters, ex-Cowboy betting his restaurant concept will fly in Texas
http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sharedcontent/dws/img/v3/06-11-2005.NB_10CRAWFORD.GQC1K7E7M.1.jpg
Crawford Ker, ex-Dallas Cowboys guard and current restaurateur, may sell chicken wings (like Wingstop), employ scantily clad servers (like Hooters) and own a restaurant that resembles a sports bar (like Buffalo Wild Wings).
Former Dallas Cowboy Crawford Ker plans to open his first Ker's WingHouse in Addison this November or December.
But Mr. Ker, a bear of a man with a noticeable "Joisey" lilt, sees his Ker's WingHouse Bar & Grill as a completely different animal. And when his company, Ker Inc., opens the first Dallas outpost of the Florida chain late this fall, he'll invite the locals to come see for themselves.
"Wingstop and Hooters have done a great job, and I applaud their success," said Mr. Ker, a 43-year-old Philadelphia native who spent time in New Jersey.
He said his chain has done well in Florida, where he grew up. It's home to his first 16 sites. So moving outside of that comfort zone "is more of a challenge for me to put out a better product because I'm newer," he said while preparing to hawk his barbecue sauce at this weekend's gourmet food show at the Wyndham Anatole hotel.
Similar challenges
Mr. Ker considers his challenges to be about the same as those of any other restaurateur – finding good locations and management, and executing his "A" game.
And restaurateurs are finding that chicken prices today are not cheap.
The wing business is soaring, with annual growth of more than 30 percent, according to Chicago research group Technomic Information Services. That compares with 4.6 percent sales growth in the overall $11 billion chicken business.
"We all have the same challenges to execute our business," said Mr. Ker. "Whoever prepares and does the best job should win."
Late last year, Mr. Ker won Round One of a highly publicized fight with Hooters of America Inc., the Atlanta-based company that owns the Hooters chain.
In 2003, Hooters sued WingHouse, saying that the chain copied several of Hooters' trademarks, including its tank top and short-shorts uniforms.
Mr. Ker said he had an agreement with Hooters' previous owner, Hooters Inc., allowing him to keep the minimalist dress – if he changed the color to black. But Hooters of America, a former licensee that acquired the trademark in 1999, objected to Mr. Ker's sartorial selection and other similarities, and sued.
"Mr. Ker pretty much copied ... Hooters in the way the restaurants look, the menu, the food that's offered as well as the Hooters girls and the uniform they wear," said Hooters spokesman Mike McNeil.
In December, U.S. District Judge Anne Conway in Orlando ruled against Hooters on all counts. Hooters has appealed, arguing that the judge made errors in her ruling. So the legal battle continues.
So does Mr. Ker's campaign to try to carve out market share in the increasingly competitive chicken wing business – without looking like a "me too."
In that offensive, Texas is a strategic battleground.
As the chain ventures out of Florida, this will be the first real test of whether Mr. Ker's wings have legs.
Dallas debut
The company bought a site on Belt Line Road in Addison for its Dallas-area debut. It is minutes from a Hooters branch and is set to open in November or December. Mr. Ker also said he made an offer on an East Plano site.
"Dallas gave me the opportunity back in the 1980s to showcase my skills," he said of his 1985-90 Dallas Cowboys stint. "I always liked the people in Dallas more so than any other place I've been. I thought it was a logical choice."
The company plans to build out the Dallas market "before we move on," said Chip Reid, 47, Mr. Ker's vice president of operations for Texas. "Our desire is to build quite a few here. We could have more in Texas than Florida," he said.
That is, if customers see a compelling reason to pick WingHouse.
Mr. Ker insists that with its heavy dose of Cowboys memorabilia and menu featuring wings prepared three ways, the restaurant is filled with his individualized touches.
Yet he knows that there are striking similarities between his concept and existing chains:
• He has an expanded game room. Dallas-based Dave & Buster's has expanded game rooms.
• He has an ex-Cowboys hero as his Texas pitchman: Ed "Too Tall" Jones, who joined Mr. Ker on Friday to sign autographs at the food show. Garland-based Wingstop, the nation's largest chicken-wing chain, has an ex-Cowboys hero as its national pitchman: Troy Aikman.
• He has an ex-Cowboys hero as his Texas pitchman: Ed "Too Tall" Jones, who joined Mr. Ker on Friday to sign autographs at the food show. Garland-based Wingstop, the nation's largest chicken-wing chain, has an ex-Cowboys hero as its national pitchman: Troy Aikman.
And that's about where the similarities end, said James "Jim" Flynn, president and chief executive of Wingstop Restaurants Inc.
"We serve mainly families," he said of his chain, which had $100 million in systemwide sales for the 52 weeks ending June 4 – a company milestone.
"I make a distinction between a sports bar that happens to serve wings and somebody like us," he said, adding that 80 percent of his sales come from wings.
The percentage at WingHouse is about 50 percent, with an additional 28 percent of sales coming from alcohol. But Mr. Ker bristles at the notion that his is a haven for hard-drinking brutes who are there largely to ogle the wait staff.
"Our typical customer is all kinds of people," said Mr. Ker. "We serve families. We have games for kids. I wouldn't stereotype it to just one group of people."
Keeping his cool
If he's at all apprehensive about his ability to attract those people – given the heads-up food fight that is the Dallas restaurant scene – it doesn't show.
"They will have some competition in the marketplace. That's a definite," Mr. Ker said, in a brief display of athletic swagger. "We're coming back to Dallas full throttle. Come in and judge for yourself."
E-mail krobison@***BANNED-URL***
