Country Kitchen International

60th Anniversary Skillet Menu

With new products and an eye-catching menu leading the way, few restaurants are feeling as "young at heart" these days as the 61-year-old Country Kitchen chain.

In 1997 Country Kitchen franchisee Chuck Myers bought the chain from Carlson Restaurants Worldwide. The largest franchisee in the system when he made his move, Myers says, "We basically stopped the trolley and redesigned everything, from the basic operating system and menus to foodservice and training manuals."

The expansion-minded Myers, who is president and chief executive, plans on adding three new stores a month to the 250-unit chain. "I want this system to hit 600 stores in the next 10 years," he says. To help smooth the way, Myers assembled a staff of people who have worked in the system. "Their CK experience helps them relate to franchisees in the field."

Menu development has played a key role in the resurgence of this $260 million family-dining operation based in Madison, Wis.

According to Scott Hughes, vice president of marketing: "Last year's 60th-anniversary menu was different from those in the past. It was a little flashier. We wanted to play off our heritage but also show that we are a progressive company.

"We added photos and did some really interesting things with some of our Benedicts and new skillet items," he says of the 1999 menu, which earned a MenuMasters Award for Best Menu Promotion.

The menus, combined with the recent marketing tag line, "Are you ready for a real meal," were the chain's way of going up against the fast-food segment by targeting mothers with kids, young families and women.

"Same-store sales were up over those of last year, and the new menu has definitely helped," Myers adds. "Anytime you place a color photo in front of someone, they're more inclined to buy something. People want to see what they're ordering."

Donette Beattie, director of purchasing and product development, is part of the new wave at Country Kitchen. She joined the company in 1998 after spending 13 years with the distributor, Sysco, in Baraboo, Wis. One of her largest accounts was Chuck Myers when he was a franchisee.

"When Chuck bought the stores from Carlson, he asked me to come aboard," she explains. "CK had fragmented distribution," and Myers wanted all the stores to purchase from one source. Beattie coordinated the effort.

Aside from her distribution background, Beattie brought other assets to Country Kitchen; a dietetics and nutrition degree from Northern Illinois University and management experience gained at Sizzler and Ground Round restaurants.

"When Chuck learned of my background, he said, 'How about doing product development, too?'"

Although the company's test kitchen is just outside her office door, Beattie says, "I'm not a big-time culinary person, but I helped put myself through college by working in a restaurant, and I'm comfortable in the kitchen."

New product ideas come from various departments and franchisee consultants, she says.

"We throw around ideas. Chuck might say, 'Let's do something with kielbasa,' or a franchisee might say, 'I'd like to see beef tips and noodles.' A concept also might come from a manufacturer."

The kielbasa skillet dish was a hot item on the 60th-anniversary menu. It appealed to the Country Kitchen team because it featured an underutilized product already available in the chain's kitchens, "orphan items we call them," Beattie says.

In this case it was red potatoes.

In last year's Skillet Days promotion, three of the four new items -- Kielbasa, Baja Tortilla and Country Fried Skillet -- used diced red potatoes.

In addition to skillets and Benedicts, key inserts to the 60th-anniversary menu included fruit platters, featuring a new dessert, fruits-of-the-forest pie, which won its way onto the regular menu.

The Farm Aid insert also did well, offering hearty breakfast specials like smoked pork chop and eggs, pigs in a blanket and the real favorite, "country's best skillet," featuring eggs, diced ham, sausage and bacon, toast or pancakes, all over a bed of seasoned red potatoes.

"Twice a year we have the option of adding or deleting things that aren't moving," Beattie explains. "There are several stores here in Madison, and I visit them all the time for feedback."

An avid idea collector, Beattie devours the foodservice trade magazines. "We get ideas from everyone, and I read everything -- Bon Appetit, Martha Stewart, Nation's Restaurant News, which is right here on my desk. You never know what might spark something we can use."

Getting recipe approvals is the biggest challenge for Beattie. "What sounds good in marketing may not work for ops," she says.

"A lot of people think, 'Oh, it would be great to write recipes.' But you have to do it within a lot of restraints: Can we do it with ingredients already in our restaurants? Can we prepare it properly with existing equipment? What about price?"

Seeing what's happening today and what's ahead for Country Kitchen energizes Beattie. "I love the vision and evolution of this chain. We're on track, and everything is going forward together."

Another person who loves the excitement is Myers, who owned 36 restaurants as a franchisee and 60 others as a subfranchisee before he bought the chain from Carlson. "I was the largest franchisee, so I was basically protecting my own interests," he says. "Today, when I have existing franchisees coming back for more stores and saying, 'I like where we're going,' that's a great compliment."