BIGGER IS BETTER AT PIZZERIA UNO.

Both the pizza and the beer [ldots]

Take a Chicago restaurant legend, L combine it with a crack management team that believes casual dining doesn't have to mean second rate, and you have the makings for a mini empire, one ruled by ever-popular Chicago-style deep-dish pizza and the 15-oz. beer. Six years ago Pizzeria Uno made the commitment to be a major player in the casual dining segment by expanding its menu and adding new equipment. Two years later a comprehensive beverage program, backed up by a lively at-table marketing effort, was added. The company has proven that bigger, with quality, is better, just one reason Pizzeria Uno was awarded the 2000 Cheers Award for Best Chain Beverage Program.

A NEW ERA FOR UNO

Alan Gibson, vice president, food & beverage, came on board Uno four years ago, having spent his career in hotels. He knew from his experience there that if customers were offered a better quality beverage, they would be willing to pay for it. "Our goal was to commit to excellence, with beverage thought of as a food. I'm a believer that what you see in front of the house is a good indication of what is in the back of the house," Gibson explains.

Six years ago, Uno was exclusively pizza, with relatively little attention paid to what customers drank while they were eating. When they set out to create a higher quality menu by adding saut[acute{e}] stations, char broilers, grills and fryers, they took the same approach with the beverage program. Using highest quality beverage ingredients, and searching for the best drink recipes, along with offering good value for the dollar, was Gibson's aim. "Part of our goals and objectives were to give the best quality at the best price. We learned in casual dining that bigger is better. We were one of the first to have a larger size draft, 15 ounces, about 15 years ago," Gibson says.

Uno took the success of the larger beer and decided to apply it to frozen drinks, and now offer 20-oz. portions. The reasoning goes along with the trend seen elsewhere: people are ordering fewer drinks, but are willing to buy a larger size and have just one, Customers are also willing to buy a higher quality branded product. "We found that our customers feel very comfortable with the higher quality brand, that they are accustomed to the flavor and don't know what to expect from a lower quality product," he adds.

MARKETING TILE WET STUFF

Making a commitment to excellence was a good start, but customers had to know that something had shifted. "We had to communicate the new items to our guests. We knew that 80% of sales are done at the table, and that in our segment of the industry it's hard to find educated servers. Our solution was to come up with a comprehensive beverage menu," Gibson says. The new menus, dubbed "Wet Stuff," are four-color, comprehensive listings of all beverages that stay at each table. The dramatic bills of fare change five to six times a year, featuring different drinks per season in the center spread. It's called the "hall of fame" program, and allows them to promote 12 to 15 drinks during each period.

The Winter Drink Menu featured specials like the Frozen Hennessy Alexander, a frozen version of the classic Brandy Alexander; Newcastle Brown Ale; and the Hot Bomber, Baileys Irish Cream, Kahl[acute{u}]a and coffee topped with Gran Gala Orange Liqueur.

"The program allows us to promote items on our core list and to always have something fresh and new on the table for guests. It has given us a way to ask for the business, and has helped us with the second drink." The company's research indicated that guests come in on the average every 20 days or so. Theoretically, every time a guest comes in to Pizzeria Uno, he or she sees something new and exciting on the table.

Gibson walked a tight rope for a while when the new beverage program began, however. His biggest worry was convincing the world that the casual dining segment was ripe for premium pour. "A lot of people thought this segment wasn't ready for it. We wanted to make a dramatic appearance in the business, to make a bold step and be noticed. When we first put 50 beers in some stores, for example, a lot of our operators said, 'we can't do that', but by the next year we were serving 100 beers per store," he says.

He also took a leap with his promotion program. Beverage programs at Pizzeria Uno were not created in a comprehensive manner before this, but the resulting numbers don't lie. When Uno put the menus on the tables, beverage percentages went up. When they took them away, the percentages went down. Now they are kept on the tables all the time.

Deciding which brands to offer was another challenge. Beers brands were decided ultimately on a unit by unit basis, serving what guests in different markets liked. Liquor decisions were often made by finding vendor partners that were willing to go the extra mile with Uno. "We are extremely happy with our vendor partners and want to expand our brands. We sell a lot of Maker's Mark bourbon for example. Six years ago I would have laughed at the idea of selling this premium brand at Uno's," Gibson says. Other brands that have been successful for them include Tanguerey Gin, Hennessy brandy and Sauza Tequila.

Wine has been Gibson's biggest challenge. One of the biggest problems be has found is the price point. He uses the analogy of having five dollars in his pocket with which he can buy a good beer or pour of spirits, but not a great wine. At the present time, the company serves a high tier and middle tier of wines, but wine doesn't attract the younger audience. Gibson has challenged his wine vendors to find some way to appeal to the twenty and thirtysomethings.

BEST BAR SERVICE AROUND

With beverage service improved through good tabletop promotion, it was time to concentrate on the bar area. Not only was this a good idea from an increased sales standpoint, but it also served to make bartenders an important part of the equation. "The biggest thing we have done in the past two years is to institute a bartender training program with Showtenders. I met with 'Magic"

Mike Werner [of Showtenders] and we talked about how we could make an impact in our beverage market. Just sitting there he showed me a little thing that can be done with bar napkins to give the bartender a reason to talk to the guest," Gibson explains.

There is now a certified training program that all bartenders and general managers go through and, Gibson says, it has made a big impact in the restaurants. The bartender, he believes, is very important to the growth in beverage sales. Why, after all, do people go to certain places for a drink? It is often because of the person behind the bar and they way he draws customers in. That isn't to say that some bartenders weren't kicking and screaming when chosen to go to Florida last year for training. But one such dissenter admitted that he doubled his tips in one week after the training. And the proof is in the gradual improvement in sales after the training.

Now Pizzeria Uno bartenders may be seen flipping glasses, making a perfect martini, free pouring and doing that fancy thing with the napkins. They learn, like a chef, that it isn't just the quality ingredients, but how one works with the ingredients. "Our bartenders now feel that we are recognizing them. They get more job satisfaction. The bartender position is the least turnover position in the company. We wanted to make a statement to them that they are important to us," Gibson says.

After all, the beverage future for Pizzeria Uno[ldots]Chicago Bar & Grill, a name change that happened in 1997 to emphasize the new identity of the restaurants, is to focus on bar sales. "We feel comfortable with at-table sales and will continue to stay the course there, continually offering new and exciting things. But we will make our biggest impact in the bar area. We want to be known for the best bar service anywhere."

VITAL STATISTICS

Pizzeria Uno[ldots]Chicago Bar & Grill

Units: 105 company-owned, 62 franchises

Company-owned sales improved by 6.1% in 1999 Franchised store sales rose by 5.0%

Average annual unit volume for all full-service Pizzeria Uno[ldots]Chicago Bar & Grill units: $2.0 million (6.4% increase over 1998)

Beverage sales: averaging 18% to 20% of total at company-owned units

Total restaurant sales: $198,560,000

Consumer product sales: $10,568,000

TOTAL: $214,233,000 (note: this represents 53 weeks)

A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY

If Chicagoans knew anything about pizza before 1943, it was probably because they were Italian. Ike Sewell changed all that when he created the Deep Dish Pizza. He figured that if he combined some old Italian recipes with large quantities of the good quality meats, spices, vegetables and cheeses, pizza would no longer be just a snack, but a full meal.

So he opened the first Pizzeria Uno and gained a fast reputation. So quickly did his idea catch on, that there was soon not enough room for all the customers and he opened Pizzeria Due one block away in 1955 in a charming Victorian mansion. To this day people argue about which pizza is better, Uno's or Due's. Sewell's pizza became known as Chicago pizza and until 1978, one had to travel to Chicago to taste the original.

Pizzeria Uno left the friendly confines of Chicago in 1978 to introduce the world to pizza served in a dish, a meal in itself. The first unit was opened in Boston. A year later the franchising began and today there are 79 franchised units, and 103 company-owned restaurants under both the Pizzeria Uno[ldots]Chicago Bar & Grill and Pizzeria Uno Restaurant & Bar names, in 29 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Seoul, Korea. The company also has a consumer products division which supplies American Airlines, movie theaters, hotel restaurants, colleges and supermarkets with Pizzeria Uno brand products.

The menu diversified in 1994 when saut[acute{e}] stations, char broilers, grills and fryers were added allowing new menu items like charbroiled steaks and hamburgers, grilled chicken dishes, pasta and desserts. In 1996, new prototype restaurants were unveiled to capture the feeling of old Chicago and a comprehensive beverage program was instituted. Last year, with a commitment to the new "Bigger and Better" mantra, Uno started offering larger portions.