New competition for LBEs - restaurants evolving to eatertainment

It appears that restaurants have finally figured out what we have been writing about for years - the synergy of pairing quality food and beverage with social gaming. Mainstream restaurants are jumping on the eatertainment bandwagon. As if there aren't already tons of competition for community location-based entertainment venues, now we have restaurants evolving to become direct competitors with the advantage of having already developed a reputation and following for their food and beverage offerings.

A rendering of the newest Five Four Restaurant and Drafthouse in Cedar Park, TX.

One such example is 54^th Street Grill, a family-owned restaurant chain established in 1989 with 33 locations throughout Texas and Missouri, including in our hometown of Kansas City. Their new updated concept, Five Four Restaurant and Drafthouse, serves the same scratch-made menu as their original concept but with added outdoor amenities such as pickleball courts, golf bays, yard games, and outdoor seating with fire-pit tables, all housed in a 10,000-sf courtyard. They have already launched one of these new concepts in Cedar Park, TX, which is slated to open this month, and have two new locations planned for the Kansas City Metro. Another KC Metro location has already been remodeled to include the updated outdoor amenities.

The company intends to rebrand all its current locations with the Five Four look and name, although they will not be adding pickleball courts to all the locations. However, for future locations they will be prioritizing locations with the space to have pickleball courts. The reason for these changes? According to the CEO, Michael Norsworthy, "It's just another way for us to differentiate ourselves from the competition."

If you want to stay competitive now and in the future, it is essential to keep up with the latest trends, including at least matching the appeal of the established food and beverage offerings of restaurants that are evolving into eatertainment and social gaming venues (often mistakenly called as competitive socializing). We hope that our newsletter helps in achieving this. And if you need assistance developing an location-based entertainment venue or growing an existing one, please don't hesitate to contact us.

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