Schlotzsky's

All American Angus beefs up sandwich offerings

"I love the name All American for this sandwich," says Schlotzsky's franchisee Don Stitt. "It's a great name, and all good products need a great name."

Stitt, who owns four Schlotzsky's stores in Amarillo, Texas, is speaking of the All American Angus Sandwich, which was introduced last summer as a limited-time offer and now has earned a permanent place on the deli's menu.

Joyce Cates, Schlotzsky's senior vice president of franchise operations, says the sandwich is served on a wheat bun with garlic dressing, mozzarella cheese, and Angus roast beef. It also features fire-roasted red and green bell peppers and onion plus romaine lettuce, a fire-roasted tomato and garlic sauce.

"I was really pleased to see something done with fire-roasted vegetables because that gives the sandwich a distinctive taste," Stitt notes. "Of course the roast beef was a hit down here in cattle country. Both men and women liked it, but the ones who really wolfed it down were the guys."

Leading development of the All American Angus Sandwich was Cates, a nine-year veteran of Schlotzsky's, and Lori Schneider, the research and development coordinator, who has been with the company for three years.

Based in Austin, Texas, Schlotzsky's has 658 franchise-owned stores and 38 company-owned locations. With so much franchisee involvement, it's no surprise that one of the key panels for any new product introduction consists of franchisees.

That is the Menu Concept Committee, a group of 24 franchisees that, as Cates says, is a tasting panel that also makes recommendations on flavor profiles and operational execution.

When the exuberant Stitt was asked to participate on the committee, he answered this way: "You want me to fly to Austin, spend a few days hanging out with maybe the best operators in the system, and eat and talk about food for two days. Heck, yes, I can do that!"

When he tasted the All American Angus Sandwich at one of those meetings, Stitt liked it right away. However, some new products don't pass muster with the group.

Stitt recalls joining a few other franchisees in voting thumbs down on a particular product.

"John Wooley [Schlotzsky's president and chief executive] was sitting right behind me," Stitt says, "and Joyce tells me, 'That was one of John's favorites.' I turned to him, saying, "If I'd known that, John, I would have voted for it.' "

Wooley replied, "If you had said 'yes' but didn't like it, I would never invite you back."

Although the exchange was good natured, Stitt says it underscored a serious point.

"John Wooley absolutely wants objective feedback, and I've never known him to try and influence anyone else's input on these matters." Overall, Stitt says the committee is a fun group.

"The All American Angus Sandwich was probably the best limited-time offer we've ever done," he says.

According to Cates, Schlotzsky's likes to feature different meats on its menu from time to time because "we're committed to offering our customers variety and choice using upscale products."

For that reason, the All American Angus Sandwich seemed ideal for a summer promotion.

"Beef is popular in the summer, and we've featured chicken and turkey sandwiches in the past, so we were looking for beef," Cates explains.

"Most Schlotzsky's customers are loyal to certain menu items," Cates adds, "so we like to give them an opportunity to experience something new, which we do by offering a special item."

The success of the sandwich is found in the fact that it's coming back to the menu, Cates says.

"Sales were great," she explains. "We also do customer intercepts and focus groups that help us determine the popularity of menu items." Cates came to Schlotzsky's with no prior restaurant experience although she loves to cook.

"This was my first exposure to the restaurant world, and I'm never going to leave it," she says.

Schneider's road to Schlotzsky's began with a chance meeting with Wooley. She was attending Texas A&M, where she earned a degree in science and technology with a goal of applying that to foodservice research and development.

Wooley came to the school to make a presentation to one of Schneider's classes.

"After class, we started talking about job opportunities," she recalls. One thing led to another, and Schneider, who had worked at several restaurants during college, joined the chain.

"When I first came to Schlotzsky's," she continues, "I worked in the restaurant for about a year, which gave me a good understanding of what works and what doesn't."

Cates adds: "After Lori got the meat and cheese table down and then the finish table down in the restaurant, we moved her to the training school. All in all she spent a couple of years learning our system before we turned her loose in her specialty of research and development."

At Schlotzsky's, the R&D group reports to Cates "because everything they develop is on behalf of our franchise system," she says.

And if Stitt is any barometer, the R&D group is turning out winners, with the All American Angus Sandwich near the top of the list.