Raleigh, N.C. — Golden Corral, the nation’s largest grill-buffet chain, has launched an incentive for franchisees to remodel their current restaurants to the Golden Corral brand’s new Gateway design package. The comprehensive incentive program will support franchise owners with a reinvestment credit, a local marketing credit, and a people hiring and training credit. Currently, the company plans to remodel 60 franchise restaurants in 2020.
Golden Corral first introduced the new Gateway restaurant design in December 2017, featuring a contemporary appearance with oversized windows, stacked stone fireplaces, redesigned buffet service areas, and multiple seating areas to give customers a more relaxed dining experience. The prototype was created with the input of experienced franchise owners. Golden Corral currently has 17 restaurants that have completed the Gateway remodel, with another 34 locations in the remodel pipeline.
“Golden Corral is committed to a 100-year plan. To stay relevant in an increasingly competitive environment, a key component of our plan is the revitalization of our restaurants,” says Lance Trenary, president and CEO of Golden Corral. “We have an incredible group of franchisees who will fuel our growth, and we are excited to support them even more with new marketing, training and sales incentive credits.”
Franchise owners can receive incentive plans ranging from $10,000 to close to $140,000. The upgrades include a selection of features from the new design to help the franchisee apply the remodel image that is most beneficial for his or her location. Golden Corral will then provide a tailored incentive for the chosen image level. The program aligns with the revitalization goals and includes three potential incentive credits:
- Reinvestment credit: Credit is designed to help offset the investment made in the remodel and is based on the restaurant’s sales growth after the remodel.
- Remodel marketing credit: Golden Corral works with the franchisee to develop a local store marketing plan and will cover part of the cost of the plan.
- Training and hiring credit: This credit is available for retraining or rehiring the restaurant team during the remodel to help improve the guest experience.
Golden Corral has created a remodel team to help franchise owners plan and execute the reimage of their locations. The company has an approved list of lenders to help provide financing options for this program.
“The development of our Gateway design package and prototype is the result of close collaboration with our franchise operators,” says David Conklin, senior vice president of development at Golden Corral. “We have been very pleased with the performance of our Gateway remodels and rebuilds to date and are making a significant investment in this incentive program to accelerate change across our restaurant fleet.”
Golden Corral, based in Raleigh, N.C., is the nation’s largest grill-buffet restaurant chain with 491 restaurants operating in 41 states as of August 2019. For more information, visit www.goldencorral.com.
SOURCE: Golden Corral