Metrotainment Cafes: Intown Success

July/August 2010

By Jaymi Curley

With a host of popular metro-area restaurants under its belt, local restaurant corporation Metrotainment Cafes is poised for growth in an economic environment when many are just trying to hold their ground.

Metrotainment Cafes was founded in 1991 by CEO Jeffrey Landau as a natural expansion of his career in the hospitality business. “I had worked in restaurants prior to that, learning just about every aspect of the business,” says Landau, “and I wanted to open up my own restaurant.” That first restaurant was to become Einstein’s, a restaurant in Midtown that has since become a fixture in the Midtown dining scene. “I didn’t have very much money at all. It was definitely a low budget endeavor. We found an old restaurant in the heart of Midtown that had recently closed down, and I thought it was a great opportunity.” At first occupying a single 1920’s bungalow, the Einstein’s concept, which Landau describes as a “casual neighborhood favorite with an innovative menu,” has grown to encompass three houses on prime corner real estate in the heart of Midtown.

Though his early focus was on growing Einstein’s, Landau still kept an eye out for chances to take his company forward.  “Midtown was starting to take off in the early- to mid-90s, so we saw a lot of opportunity there,” says Landau. “I don’t think in 1991 we had a vision as to where we were going to go with the company. But we saw potential for growth. Einstein’s was doing really well, and Midtown was really becoming a vibrant community.”

Another opportunity for Metrotainment opened up in 1993, as they added a “casual steakhouse in a honky-tonk atmosphere” called Cowtippers. Its location on Piedmont road in Atlanta made it highly accessible to several popular neighborhoods in the Midtown area. “It was a recently closed-down restaurant as Einstein’s was, so we saw a lot of opportunity there.”

As Metrotainment Cafes has added concepts in its expansion, including sports bars Hudson Grille and Joe’s and a wholesale bakery operation, all of its themes have been connected by the company’s central philosophy that puts the guests squarely in the center of its focus. Landau says that the key is “to offer guests great value in an entertaining environment. We are always focused on offering guests true value in fun, entertaining and interesting environments.”

Landau believes that added value is the difference between success and failure, particularly in an economy that has not been kind to the restaurant business as a whole. “We believe that in difficult economic times—and I don’t think a return to a robust economy is going to be happening anytime soon—focusing on value, rewarding our loyal guests, and providing an entertainment component is really important.”

“Our guests are looking for more than a good meal when they dine out,” says Landau. “We are providing extra value in entertainment, such as sports in our sports bars. Hudson Grille and Joe’s on Juniper all have dozens of plasma TVs, and we purchase all the sports packages from the networks. It is expensive, but we certainly offer more than just a great dining experience.”

Metrotainment Cafes manages the main portfolio of its business with a laser focus on strategy, but still maintains touch with the human factor that helps it to succeed. With a soon-to-expire lease under consideration, the group sold off its popular Buckhead sports bar Cheyenne Grille in favor of opening a Hudson Grille location in Midtown Atlanta. “Hudson Grille is the concept we are attempting to expand really, and Cheyenne Grille was a one-off. We hadn’t had any plans to open any more branches of that one anyway.”

But rather than import a whole new staff as some restaurants might, Metrotainment kept the staff intact, essentially just moving the well-oiled machine that had been providing great service for years. “We relocated the entire team from the Cheyenne Grille after the sale to the new Hudson Grille in Midtown, and it was an existing, built-out restaurant that did not require a large investment.”

Indeed, keeping an eye out for already finished locations has been a key move for improving Metrotainment Cafes’ bottom line. Landau says, “Typically we have expanded into existing locations, which dramatically cuts the initial investments. I would say this cuts the investment by 50 percent plus.”

In a tight economy, this kind of cost saving measure can be crucial. “We would not have gone out and opened up a raw space, especially since it is difficult right now to achieve much financing. I look at the new Hudson Grille as more of a move, rather than a cold opening.”

Moving in to spaces where other restaurants have already been thwarted might seem a risky undertaking since location is a key factor in success in the restaurant business. But Landau maintains that keeping the focus on the people in the equation—guests and staff alike—gives Metrotainment Cafes a solid basis for overcoming any lingering ghosts of restaurants past. “We commit to employee training, we offer a concept the neighborhood finds more unique and we constantly look for ways to provide the guest with an experience at a reasonable price point,” says Landau. “Hudson Grille has a great feel, but the burgers are still $7.95. We’re not doing a ten-dollar hamburger at the Hudson Grille.

When guests walk out the door, they are going to think ‘Hey, we got our money’s worth and then some.’ We are always trying to exceed their expectations.”

Landau believes strongly in providing the best training for every member of his staff, seeing that as a prime investment in Metrotainment Cafes’ success. “It is paramount to achieving that goal. The dining experience is driven more by service than any other component. If the staff is not well-trained and well prepared, we will not be able to offer our guests an enjoyable dining experience.”

Currently Metrotainment is focusing all of it plans for growth inside the perimeter of metro Atlanta. “There are exceptions of course, but we feel more strongly about the potential for growth inside rather than outside the perimeter right now.” With consumer spending pulling back across the board, the city centers appear to be the areas where money is still comparatively fluid.

“I am not an economist,” says Landau, “but I feel strongly there is far more disposable income ITP than OTP right now. We have experienced both, and I think a lot my peers and our vendors share this opinion. If you are getting a lot of singles and young couples without a lot of dependents, you can still do well and excel in this environment. If your clientele is more family oriented—lot of dependents, big home, big mortgages, college tuition, private school tuition—you are relatively going to get creamed in this economy. Young people are still going to go out to eat, drink, socialize and meet people of the opposite sex. Families don’t have to.”

Landau fully embraces technology and social media as a way of connecting with Metrotainment’s client base.  “We are trying to create online community by communicating with our guests on a weekly, even daily basis.” Harnessing opt-in email blasts, Facebook, Twitter and other avenues keeps his customers informed while building a sense of loyalty to the local restaurants. “We let them know about specials, who’s working tonight, what events are happening. We are even sharing recipes. We’re trying to create what we have done within the restaurant—creating a community—and move it to the online world.”

This connection with customers has resulted in getting the kind of feedback that marketing teams salivate over. And in return, Landau notes that guests of Metrotainment’s establishments feel like they are making an impact. “We pride ourselves on responding in a timely fashion to all our customer feedback. It is invaluable for helping to ensure the best customer service. If we see a trend, we can respond quickly. And you’ll find that a number of changes we’ve made, from menu items to the events we host are based on customer feedback we get on Facebook, Twitter and by searching comments on the web.”

Metrotainment’s new concept, a retail bake and beverage shop called Sugar Shack, which at press time was due to open at the end of June was a direct result of customer feedback. “We have the Metrotainment Bakery, which is primarily wholesale baked goods, though we did sell some limited retail goods there. And we kept getting feedback that what the people wanted was to have those bakery items available in a retail space, someplace where they could actually have a seat, slow down and enjoy their pastry there. And then an opportunity came up where we could get a space in Brookhaven, about 500 feet away from a Hudson Grille location that was already there. We decided it was absolutely the right time for it.”

Sugar Shack will be featuring Metrotainment Cafes baked goods along with a limited assortment of sandwiches and coffee, and the location in Brookhaven Station at a crossroads of several metro neighborhoods combined with a buzz created by social media chatter presages a successful opening.

Restaurant Forum asked Jeffrey Landau, president of Metrotainment Cafes, what three things he’s done in the last three weeks that have improved or impacted his business:

1) We’ve made a concerted effort to hire from within the company. In the last three weeks, we’ve taken three individuals who worked for the company on an hourly basis for a long time and promoted them to manager positions. All three of them are off to a tremendous start, and I have the utmost confidence in them. I think we’ve improved the restaurant by rewarding their loyalty, and in turn we have hired people who understand the culture of the company and I think are going to be even more committed at the outset more than an outside individual.

2) We’ve made some enhancements to our loyalty card program. We’ve been working with our loyalty/gift card provider and been making that program more user-friendly for our guests. It is becoming a little easier to earn those rewards.

3) At Joe’s on Sullivan, our restaurant in College Park, and at Cowtippers, we have made changes to the menus at both those establishments. Both menus have gotten major overhauls, and we are getting a lot of positive feedback on both.