Most turtles are not known for their speed, but the planned growth of
The Greene Turtle Sports Bar and Grille is anything but slow.
By the end of 2014, the Maryland company plans to open an additional 16 to 20 restaurants, including a major expansion in Long Island, N.Y., Greene Turtle CEO Bob Barry says. The restaurants will be a mixture of company-owned and franchise locations. The company hires 60 employees at each location that opens. The average Greene Turtle location seats 220 in the dining room and another 120 in the bar area.
The company and franchisees could spend as much as $36 million on the expansion while the company's staff of 1,800 employees could grow by 1,200 workers across the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, Barry says. Greene Turtle restaurants are, on average, about 7,000 square feet.
So how has the Edgewater company been able to expand so rapidly? A
report released by food consulting company Technomic suggests that restaurants focused on franchising such as The Greene Turtle have grown the most during tough economic times. By focusing on expanding their brands, franchise restaurants can also move into locations vacated by closing businesses, according to the report.
Barry says that because more people have home entertainment systems, The Greene Turtle needs to provide more for customers than flat screens to watch sports games. They have focused on trying to make the venues family-friendly.
The company currently has 34 locations, and plans to expand to 40 by March 2013. They will open an additional three locations in 2013, and 10 in 2014.
Construction began on the restaurant's newest location at the
White Marsh Mall, and should open in January. Plans for the location include an outdoor patio with a roof for winter and summer outdoor dining.
Three of the company’s new locations will be in Delaware including in Dover and Newark. Construction is underway at the location in Dover and the restaurant plans to open February 2013.
The company is also scouting locations in central Pennsylvania, including the areas of York and Harrisburg.
Source: Bob Barry, CEO and President of The Greene Turtle
Writer: Alexandra Wilding,
[email protected]