Case Study:
Multi-Unit Golden Corral Franchise Boosts Sales With Drive-Thru and Expanded Off&/case-studies/golden-corral/8209;Premises Service Powered by Digital Menu Boards
In the midst of unprecedented challenges for dine-in restaurants worldwide prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic, Golden Corral Buffet + Grill franchise Platinum Corral has a new lease on success.
The Jacksonville, North Carolina Golden Corral significantly expanded its off-premises guest service options by launching a drive-thru and retrofitting its store with a âTo-Go Roomâ that services all to-go channels. Both are powered by bright, engaging, centrally managed digital menu boards from Xenial. The restaurant is now equipped to further expand its digital service channels and serve guests regardless of possible future pandemic-imposed restrictions.
Key Benefits include:
- Drive-thru creates an entirely new âmeal period,â boosting sales
- To-go room serves multiple points of order, saves on labor and food costs
- 120-second drive-thru service times match or beat typical QSR service times.
The Beginning
In many ways, Golden Corral Buffet + Grill has gone against the norm. While competitors in the buffet concept space have seen sales decline an average of 3.8%, Golden Corral enjoyed modest growth in 2019: 0.8%, according to Technomic. While trends have shown the dining public shying away from traditional buffets, with the sector averaging a 5.6% decline between 2015 and 2020, Golden Corral has bucked the trend with 0.1% sales growth during this same period. Platinum Corral is the franchise organization led by Billy Sewell, son of one of the original investors in the Golden Corral buffet concept launched at Sewellâs parentsâ dining room table in 1973.
While its dine-in endless buffet model continues to be the brandâs main staple, many locations have begun offering takeout and delivery branded âGolden Corral On the Go.â When Covid-19 forced dining rooms across the country to close in the Spring of 2020, dine-in sales were suddenly in jeopardy.
The Transformation
Sewell and his Platinum Corral leadership team decided to fast-track expansion of off-premises dining options. Specifically, they envisioned a drive-thru and a remodeled interior that would house a âto-goâ room at the Jacksonville, North Carolina location near Camp Lejeune. When they asked their architect to suggest a restaurant technology partner to help bring the vision to reality, he recommended Xenial.
âWe selected ¶¶Òőbased on its past successes partnering with well-known brands including Biscuitville, Bojangles and Taco Bell,â says Billy Sewell, President of Platinum Corral. âWe were confident that ¶¶Òőwould help us launch these new service channels quickly.â
The Solution
Today, the epicenter for all Jacksonville Golden Corral On the Go orders is the new âto-go roomâ. This room houses a walk-up counter where guests can place to-go orders. In addition, coworkers in this room prepare and fulfill all orders for all of these off-premises channels:
- The single-lane drive-thru in the parking lot
- Orders placed by phone
- Catering
- Third-party delivery (through partnerships with UberEats, GrubHub, DoorDash, and ezCater).
Walk-up guests order from four bright, engaging 49-inch digital menu boards suspended from the ceiling above the counter. In the drive-thru, guests make their selections from three 46-inch outdoor digital menu boards. During the ordering process, part of the drive-thru screen turns into an order confirmation display to help ensure order accuracy.
Because of the building configuration, a food pick-up window was not an option for the drive-thru. Instead, once drive-thru guests have placed their order, they park in one of six parking stalls. A Golden Corral coworker brings their order to the car window and accepts payment.
âWe were confident that ¶¶Òőwould help us launch these new service channels quickly.â
- Billy Sewell, President,
Platinum Corral
The Outcome
Platinum Corral is currently planning the addition of a drive-thru at a second restaurant. It is also encouraging Golden Corral corporate and its fellow franchise owners to consider retrofitting their restaurants with drive-thrus and to-go rooms.
âI perceive that guestsâ behavior has changed for the long term as a result of Covid-19,â says Michael Cox, Marketing Director for Platinum Corral. âOffering these On the Go options gives us an opportunity to intersect with our guestsâ ânew normalâ behavior in new and different ways, and more often than we would have been able to in the past.â
Charles Stafford, Area Leader at Platinum Corral, adds, âWhen you look around, you see all kinds of places going out of business. As a business, we must evolve. If we donât, we risk closing, too.â
New, Robust Sales Channels That Are Safe for Guests and Coworkers
âAs we planned our response to the reality presented by Covid-19, central to our internal discussions was the question: âhow do we do a few things differently, to serve and protect both our guests and our coworkers, since both groups have concerns related to the virus?â,â says Cox. âExpanding our On the Go options with the to-go room and the drive-thru opens sales channels, while reassuring both guests and coworkers.â The brand has also implemented measures that go âabove and beyondâ what is required, to ensure cleanliness and Covid-safe service, according to Cox.
Drive-thru Service Faster Than Some QSRs
âPlatinum Corral started with a service time goal of 360 seconds in the drive-thru. They exceeded their goal by 60%.
âOur average drive-thru service time is 120 seconds, which is about 60 seconds better than most Quick Serve Restaurants,â says Stafford. âCompared to QSR or Fast Casual concepts, we believe our guests are getting a better meal, served faster,â adds Cox. âOur guests are looking for value, as well as low-contact or no-contact service. Weâve achieved both, and our drive-thru adds speed to the equation. Safe to say, weâre putting smiles on the faces of a lot of guests.â
Engaging Digital Displays Boost Sales
Industry studies show that 42% of guests are influenced by digital menu boards. Those guests tend to spend 20% more, per order. Displayed on large, bright vivid digital screens with plenty of images, the highly popular Golden Corral menu is mouthwatering. It offers substantial, home cooking-style comfort food main dishes like bourbon chicken, fried chicken, and pot roast, along with sides, in individual or group/family portions.
To help capture guest attention and present menu offerings in the best light, Platinum Corral menu boards can engage guests by having parts of the menu change out or by displaying short video elements showing, for example, steam coming off the brandâs famous Bourbon Chicken.
Central Menu Portal Readily Scales from One Restaurant to Many
Platinum Corral can manage menu content and pricing for all of its menu boards from a central portal. This helps ensure consistency and accuracy. It also gives the owner or operator control of not only menu offerings but also specials / limited time offers. Menu change-out between dayparts is automated. The ability to manage menu and pricing centrally also scales well for multiple unit franchisees like Platinum Corral. The offerings and pricing can be pushed out to all locations, or a select sub-set of restaurants.
The web portal-based menu control encourages experimentation, which can be an important tactic when introducing entirely new channels like a walk-up counter and a drive-thru. âThe restaurants that are doing well with their Covid-19 rebound are the ones that are listening to customers, responding to the needs of guests, and adapting,â says Stafford.
ⶶÒődigital menu boards and the ¶¶ÒőDMB portal support this kind of menu experimentation, adaptation and flexibility. Restaurant managers can start small and simple, like we did with our drive-thru breakfast, and then scale up.â
Drive-thru Creates a New âDaypart,â Generates More Sales
The Jacksonville drive-thru has a traffic flow and sales pattern that is slightly offset from the dine-in meal period. Pre-drive-thru, the location was typically slow from 2 to 4 pm. Now, the drive-thru often picks up between 2 and 4. âThe drive-thru buys us a meal period that didnât exist before,â says Cox. âWhich is great because labor costs are the same, regardless: our coworkers and managers were already in the building and on the clock. Only now, theyâre serving more guests, and more meals.â
One Investment with Rapid Return, Exponential Possibilities
The Platinum Corral leadership team couldnât be happier with the results they are seeing from the investment in the to-go room and drive-thru, featuring ¶¶ÒőDigital Menu Boards. Platinum Corral invested approximately $100,000 in the to-go room remodel, drive-thru and other minor property enhancements. Sales from these new channels are expected to be $400,000 to $500,000 in the first year, with 45 to 50% cash flow generation.
âWho wouldnât want that kind of return?â asks Cox. With the drive-thru and to-go room in place, the team can now add channels and sales, growing revenue, with minimal, if any, additional investment in either in capital or operations. âIf we expand digital and off-premises, weâll bolster our business, service channels, sales, and revenue, and give our guests additional convenience, and it all can be served by a single asset â the to-go room, with its resources and labor pool.â
Labor and Food Cost Savings
The to-go room was a big experiment, so a lot of planning went into its design. âWe knew a lot of meals would go out through the to-go room, so it would need to support efficient operations in a small footprintâ says Stafford. âStill, we didnât overanalyze anything so we could move quickly.â Itâs an experiment that will pay big dividends for a long time.
âWhen you merge multiple service channels into one area, you minimize labor expense and food cost because youâre streamlining how youâre putting out orders,â says Stafford. âOne room consolidates all the channels, the execution, and operation into one package.â
Responsive Partner with a Highly Professional Team
âEveryone at ¶¶Òőhas been very solid in their approach,â remarks Cox. âIâve worked with a range of ¶¶Òőteam members, from team leads to back-end content people. All of my conversations have been extremely positive. When Iâve needed help, theyâve gotten me what I needed quickly."
"Iâve got high marks on all my interactions with Xenial.â Sewell adds, âI appreciate that ¶¶Òőturned around our request for menu boards in our very tight timeframe of 3 to 4 weeks. Xenialâs responsiveness speaks volumes about their service-first mindset and execution.â
Company Overview
Golden Corral Buffet and Grill offers an endless buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Its wholesome, hearty main dishes, sides, soup, salad, and dessert have become legendary favorites among loyal fans. Founded in 1973, Golden Corral has expanded to nearly 500 locations in 42 states. About 100 of these are company owned and operated, and the rest are franchises. To meet customer demand for off-premises dining, many locations offer âOn the Goâ services including delivery. Platinum Corral is the franchise company led by Billy Sewell, son of one of the original investors in Golden Corral restaurants. Platinum Corral owns 23 locations. Find a location or learn more about or explore franchising opportunities.
