99 Restaurant & Pub

By Naomi R. Kooker

Dishes: Bamboo Chicken Skewers, Shrimp Primavera Skillet, Smokin' Apple Bourbon Chicken Skillet
Price: $6.99-$10.99
Rollout: Nov. 24, 2003-Jan. 4, 2004
Company: 99 Restaurant & Pub, Woburn, Mass.
Units: 90
Seats: 170 to 220
Description: One dish, Bamboo Chicken Skewers, comprises: five 2-ounce chicken skewers flame-broiled, glazed with sesame-pineapple sauce and served with a spicy peanut dipping sauce, presented over crispy noodles to reach 4 inches in height. Developers: George Tagarelis, director of research and development; David Mader, culinary supervisor; the R&D team

The 99 Restaurant & Pub "Happy Holidays" menu from last season shows glistening Bamboo Chicken Skewers, $6.99; Smokin' Apple Bourbon Chicken Skillet, lunch, $5.99; dinner, $8.99; and Shrimp Primavera Skillet, $10.99. The Super Blondie Avalanche, $3.99, on the back cover certainly could cure a sweet tooth.

But it's the savory plates that won the chain Nation's Restaurant News' 2004
MenuMasters Award for Best Limited-Time Offer.

"It's reflective of eating habits in America," says George Tagarelis, director of research and development for the New England-based company.

The dishes take into consideration presentation,
flavor, health-conscious eating, the use of alcohol as flavoring and "interactive food."

"Americans love to have food they can interact with," he says, citing the skewers that people pick up and eat and the hot, cast-iron skillets that sizzle. Skillets were a mainstay of the promotion. "When these items travel through the dining room, they're head turners."

The Bamboo Chicken Skewers, served as an appetizer, were five 2-ounce, flame-broiled chicken "tenderloins" arranged in a vertical presentation over crispy noodles. The dish also hit the Pan-Asian craze, glazed with a sesame-pineapple sauce and served with a spicy peanut dipping sauce. The chicken skewers have the appeal of lighter fare, as did the vegetables tossed with the sautéed shrimp in the Shrimp Primavera Skillet.

The Smokin' Apple Bourbon Chicken Skillet was so popular that it has joined the regular 85- to 100-item menu. One skinless chicken breast is used for lunch, and two are for dinner. They're flame broiled and glazed with an apple-Bourbon barbecue sauce. The chicken is laid over sautéed onions and peppers and signature rice pilaf. Bits of applewood-smoked bacon and habanero pepper Jack cheese top the skillet off.

The Bamboo Chicken Skewers posed the most challenge with the grilling procedure. The quick cooking time took some practice. The promotion was eight months in the works before being rolled out.

The top three items on the regular menu are boneless Buffalo wings, broiled sirloin tips, and fish-and-chips and seafood products.

Tagarelis holds food and labor costs confidential. And he won't divulge check averages for the 90 stores, which have from 170 to 220 seats. Nor will he give sales figures for the winning LTO menu, though he says LTO promotions have a "significant," positive impact on the company's profits and sales.

According to press releases, 99 generated revenues of $221.6 million in 2003. A 52-year-old company, it runs LTO promotions four to six times a year.

"It creates excitement," Tagarelis says. "It drives new customers in and gives us an opportunity to develop new items."

New items can take as many as 12 months - or as few as three — to develop. "You've got to be able to turn on a dime," he says.

New dishes generally are tested at two locations: Lynnfield and North Attleboro, Mass. Dishes run as specials for a good four weeks and then are evaluated. Tagarelis pays great attention to customer comment cards.

"We work from the bottom up," Tagarelis explains. "We listen to our customers, and we listen to our people and empower R&D people to elicit information from our employees and line cooks.

"If you have to go back two or three times refining an item, then you probably should move on," he says. "It's either not customer driven or operationally friendly."

The 99 has a commissary, though most of the prepping and cooking is done at the individual units.

Along the way the 10- to 14-member R&D team analyzes trend data, looks at competitors, reads trade journals and focuses on the company's customer base, aware of the company's strengths and weaknesses. If a dish fits the concept and customer base, it's likely to be a winner. Two kitchen managers are on the R&D team.

"He's extremely well organized," culinary supervisor David Mader says of Tagarelis. "He's always open- minded, knows the industry and is sometimes three to four years ahead of his time." Tagarelis has been with 99 20 years, the last three as R&D director. His family owned restaurants in Brighton, Mass., and he worked for years in fine dining, including holding a job at Boston's Park Plaza, before starting at 99 as a kitchen manager.

Tagarelis gets ideas from traveling and dining at competitor's restaurants and from holding "idea sessions" with his team. But he's inspired when employees say, "Wow" about a dish his team created and when customers leave with a smile. "Having someone walk away from the restaurant, who has had a great meal at a great price, is rewarding to me," he says.

99 is introducing a new LTO low-carb category this summer. "We're riding the wave right now," Tagarelis says. "It's what America is eating."