August 29, 2008

Stock Cars and Steaks

From the short track to the sports bar-NASCAR has partnered with Entertainment Concepts Investors (ECI), an affiliate of Baltimore-based The Cordish Company, to create a new version of a themed restaurant.

“NASCAR Sports Grille showcases NASCAR but it celebrates all sports.  The restaurants are a destination for any sporting enthusiast,” says Reed Cordish, vice president of the Cordish Company.

“This is a high-quality concept,” he adds.  “It is thoughtfully designed with fine finishes.  It exceeds all expectations for sports-themed concepts.

Each restaurant features a 40-foot media wall to view NASCAR races and other sporting events.  Inside the bar area, customers hear the audio from the event displayed on the media wall, creating a high-energy environment.

Each built-in booth has it’s own LED screen, where customers can choose their programming.  Restaurants also display NASCAR memorabilia, which ranges from trophies to a tower of illuminated helmets to actual race cars suspended from the ceiling.  The décor includes artwork commissioned for the restaurants, including black and white photographs of races, and a NASCAR leader board that shows drivers’ standing in the current NASCAR rankings.

An outdoor grill area evokes the excitement of tailgating at a sporting event.

The restaurants, which serve high-quality American grille cuisine, take great pride in their steaks.  “The cuisine is excellent,” Cordish notes.  “It is important that the food is the most memorable part of the experience.”

There are two different prototypes for the restaurants.  A 20,000- to 25,000-square-foot store seats 440 people and is ideal for high-profile developments that attract many tourists. The 10,000-square-foot prototype seats 220 people and is a more intimate setting design for smaller markets.

Currently, there are two NASCAR Sports Grilles open. The 25,000-square-foot Orlando location, which serves as an anchor at Universal City Walk, opened in February 2007.  The 20,000-square-foot Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, restaurant is located at the entrance to Broadway at the beach; it opened in May 2007.

A third location will open in first quarter 2009 at The Power Plant of Hampton Roads, a 75,000-square-foot development by The Cordish Company in Hampton Roads, Virginia.  Also in 2009, ECI will open a NASCAR Sports Grille at The Cordish Company’s Indiana Live!, a new 700,000-square-foot casino and resort project located in Indianapolis.

Cordish expects aggressive growth for the project, predicting that several NASCAR Sports Grilles will open each year.  “We’ve captured the imagination of consumers and developers,” he says.  “We receive tremendous interest on a weekly basis.”

And the restaurant numbers speak to its success.  Weekly sales at the Orlando location regularly top $250,000.

“NASCAR is immensely popular,” says Cordish.  “It has the highest ticket sales of any sport in America and it ranks second to the NFL in television ratings.”  He also notes that 40 percent of the fan base is female.

Cordish continues, “There is incredible brand loyalty, with many fans wearing NASCAR merchandise, reading about NASCAR and now dining at NASCAR Sports Grille.”

The restaurants sell NASCAR and driver merchandise, including T-shirts, hats, leather jackets and die cast cars, as well as a line of NASCAR Sports Grille items.

The restaurants host special events, including driver appearances and live music by local and national acts.  The Orlando location has also hosted events with the National Basketball Association’s Orlando Magic and Major League Baseball’s Tampa Devil Rays as well as college sports teams.

ECI is also working with NASCAR sponsors to develop interactive experiences for fans.  For example, the current stores have a virtual reality area with speed-and racing-related games.  “This is a great opportunity to create value-added experiences for guests,” Cordish says.

ECI, which owns the restaurants, handles the day-to-day operations of the business.  Both ECI and NASCAR are actively involved with promotion and positioning of the concept.  NASCAR arranges driver appearances, provides memorabilia, creates content for the video screens and provides tickets for giveaways. 

The NASCAR organization is also developing the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina; Cordish notes that their may be an opportunity to create a traveling Hall of Fame exhibit that will be displayed at the restaurants.

 

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