BUSINESS STRATEGY
Plan B Burger Builds Recipe For Success
By Kathryn M. Roy
Special to the Hartford Business Journal
09/20/10
Just three years after partners Al Gamble and Shawn Skehan decided to grow their two-restaurant business, their business entity, Yoshu LLC, is making a name for itself.
The conglomerate’s Hartford-area chain — Plan B Burger Bar — recently made Inc. magazine’s 2010 ranking of the 5,000 fastest growing private companies with a sales growth of nearly 600 percent, to $5.5 million, in just three years.
With a marketing focus on offering healthy, natural foods in a fun, casual atmosphere, Gamble and Skehan are bucking the odds and thriving in a tough economy with lots of competition.
Gamble and Skehan, who also own The Half Door Irish pub and Tisane Tea House/Euro-Asian Café in Hartford, opened their first Plan B Burger in West Hartford three years ago. Just a few months later, more Plan B Burgers opened in Simsbury and Glastonbury.
They had a simple plan to sell certified natural and Certified Humane® beef, with no hormones, antibiotics, fillers, or colors, raised under the strictest natural food regulations available today. Beef would be ground fresh daily, at the restaurant. And vegetables would come from nearby farms.
“All of our produce is locally sourced in the growing season,” said Gamble, co-owner and CEO. “We work with Rosedale Farms (in Simsbury) right now. We publicize that we get our produce from them, so we hope our customers support them as well.”
Gamble said Plan B has truly developed a following among consumers.
“The product has been amazingly received,” he said. “It’s easily approachable. We’re delivering a high-quality dining experience in a casual environment.”
At $10 to $12 for most specialty burger entrees, diners can certainly find a burger at a national chain restaurant for less. But Gamble said Plan B’s educated consumers recognize the value in their products.
“In a tough economy, people are still flocking to our restaurants,” he said. “They want value, and they’re getting quality food in a quality environment.”
Plan B makes an effort to inform customers about the food they’re eating, with notes about the chain’s certifications on the menu and on its website.
“We’re the first multi-concept restaurant group serving Certified Humane®, certified natural beef,” Gamble said. “We can trace our beef back to where the cow was born. We grind our meat in house daily, and I truly believe that freshness is what people are coming to get.”
Skehan, co-owner and president, said he takes pride in being frugal by doing extensive research.
“Our job is to be fiscally responsible so they can continue to eat quality food at a decent price,” he said. “We find ways to make it more affordable — we’re not afraid to put our neck out.”
While Plan B has grown quickly, the conglomerate started off slowly nearly 15 years ago. Gamble, a former “door guy” and bartender, and Skehan, a former bartender and bar back, opened The Half Door Irish pub in Hartford, with the concept of serving only European beers.
Soon after, they opened Tisane Tea House/Euro-Asian Café, also in the capital city. Tisane serves up over 120 specialty teas, offers an extensive martini bar and dishes out unique Asian fusion bites. Each establishment serves a niche market, with that same fresh food/casual atmosphere attitude.
“The different concepts reflect the different aspects of our personality,” Gamble said. “We love a casual environment. We don’t believe you have to eat low quality food in that kind of environment.”
With a staff of some 200 employees, Gamble and Skehan make sure to remain accessible to employees at all times.
“I just had 35 people in our office doing a training refresher on beer, the menu, our beef products and our philosophies,” Skehan said. “They get really pumped up after these meetings. We’re not just some guy in an office cutting the checks. Our door is always open.”
Because of their humble starts, Skehan and Gamble say they are willing and able to do any job there is to do.
“I won’t ask anybody to do something I wouldn’t do or we haven’t done ourselves,” Skehan said.
Amid all the success, Gamble and Skehan have their sights set on expanding again. They’re in lease negotiations for Plan B Burger on two sites in southern Connecticut, to open in 2011, and one in Massachusetts, to open in 2012.
“I feel we’re positioned perfectly in the marketplace,” Gamble said. “A lot of fine dining has shifted to be more casual like we are. It means we must be doing something right.
Hartford Business Journal – Plan B Burger Bar
Posted: September 20, 2010 by Certified Humane
BUSINESS STRATEGY
Plan B Burger Builds Recipe For Success
Just three years after partners Al Gamble and Shawn Skehan decided to grow their two-restaurant business, their business entity, Yoshu LLC, is making a name for itself.
The conglomerate’s Hartford-area chain — Plan B Burger Bar — recently made Inc. magazine’s 2010 ranking of the 5,000 fastest growing private companies with a sales growth of nearly 600 percent, to $5.5 million, in just three years.
With a marketing focus on offering healthy, natural foods in a fun, casual atmosphere, Gamble and Skehan are bucking the odds and thriving in a tough economy with lots of competition.
Gamble and Skehan, who also own The Half Door Irish pub and Tisane Tea House/Euro-Asian Café in Hartford, opened their first Plan B Burger in West Hartford three years ago. Just a few months later, more Plan B Burgers opened in Simsbury and Glastonbury.
They had a simple plan to sell certified natural and Certified Humane® beef, with no hormones, antibiotics, fillers, or colors, raised under the strictest natural food regulations available today. Beef would be ground fresh daily, at the restaurant. And vegetables would come from nearby farms.
“All of our produce is locally sourced in the growing season,” said Gamble, co-owner and CEO. “We work with Rosedale Farms (in Simsbury) right now. We publicize that we get our produce from them, so we hope our customers support them as well.”
Gamble said Plan B has truly developed a following among consumers.
“The product has been amazingly received,” he said. “It’s easily approachable. We’re delivering a high-quality dining experience in a casual environment.”
At $10 to $12 for most specialty burger entrees, diners can certainly find a burger at a national chain restaurant for less. But Gamble said Plan B’s educated consumers recognize the value in their products.
“In a tough economy, people are still flocking to our restaurants,” he said. “They want value, and they’re getting quality food in a quality environment.”
Plan B makes an effort to inform customers about the food they’re eating, with notes about the chain’s certifications on the menu and on its website.
“We’re the first multi-concept restaurant group serving Certified Humane®, certified natural beef,” Gamble said. “We can trace our beef back to where the cow was born. We grind our meat in house daily, and I truly believe that freshness is what people are coming to get.”
Skehan, co-owner and president, said he takes pride in being frugal by doing extensive research.
“Our job is to be fiscally responsible so they can continue to eat quality food at a decent price,” he said. “We find ways to make it more affordable — we’re not afraid to put our neck out.”
While Plan B has grown quickly, the conglomerate started off slowly nearly 15 years ago. Gamble, a former “door guy” and bartender, and Skehan, a former bartender and bar back, opened The Half Door Irish pub in Hartford, with the concept of serving only European beers.
Soon after, they opened Tisane Tea House/Euro-Asian Café, also in the capital city. Tisane serves up over 120 specialty teas, offers an extensive martini bar and dishes out unique Asian fusion bites. Each establishment serves a niche market, with that same fresh food/casual atmosphere attitude.
“The different concepts reflect the different aspects of our personality,” Gamble said. “We love a casual environment. We don’t believe you have to eat low quality food in that kind of environment.”
With a staff of some 200 employees, Gamble and Skehan make sure to remain accessible to employees at all times.
“I just had 35 people in our office doing a training refresher on beer, the menu, our beef products and our philosophies,” Skehan said. “They get really pumped up after these meetings. We’re not just some guy in an office cutting the checks. Our door is always open.”
Because of their humble starts, Skehan and Gamble say they are willing and able to do any job there is to do.
“I won’t ask anybody to do something I wouldn’t do or we haven’t done ourselves,” Skehan said.
Amid all the success, Gamble and Skehan have their sights set on expanding again. They’re in lease negotiations for Plan B Burger on two sites in southern Connecticut, to open in 2011, and one in Massachusetts, to open in 2012.
“I feel we’re positioned perfectly in the marketplace,” Gamble said. “A lot of fine dining has shifted to be more casual like we are. It means we must be doing something right.
Category: news