GEISHA KOWLESSAR-ALONZO
Senior Multimedia Reporter
geisha.kowlessar@guardian.co.tt
Wendy’s has opened its first containerised “concept store” and, according to franchise owner Daniel Fakoory, this is also the first of its kind internationally.
Fakoory is the CEO of Quick Service Holdings Ltd the parent company to Pita Pit, Domino’s Pizza, and Food Hall—the country’s first grocerant.
Speaking at the opening, which took place in Diego Martin on Wednesday, Fakoory said the “concept store” is made out of five shipping containers.
“This prefabricated structure is the first of the Wendy’s kind and it is a pretty big deal for such a large and otherwise conventional brand as Wendy’s to innovate in this way.
“We have the opportunity of opening this store in post-pandemic world where distinct changes in consumer preferences have been established. The post-pandemic customer places much greater emphasis on convenience and speed of service and this model caters directly to this demand,” Fakoory said.
While not wanting to divulge the cost of the newest store, he said it was about 25 per cent less than the traditional brick and mortar store.
He added that the Wendy’s concept store therefore, caters direct to that.
With no internal dining, the store’s operations have been streamlined to service the drive-thru customers with greater efficiency.
“In addition to looking very cool, the smaller footprint of this model also provides greater flexibility for site selection, allowing stores to open where previous models would not fit,” Fakoory further explained.
Additionally, he said the prefabricated model also allowed for quicker construction with a two-month period from start to finish and to become operational compared to traditional brick and mortar concept which can take from six to nine months from start to finish.
Going forward Fakoory said there are plans to introduce other concept stores as the Wendy’s brand continues to expand locally.
“Therefore, you can expect this model populating the QSR (quick service restaurant) landscape of Trinidad in the coming months.
“Expanding Wendy’s nationwide with construction already in progress for Brentwood in Chaguanas, Maraval and plans in place for Arima, San Fernando and Piarco,” Fakoory said.
He also shared some insights about Quick Service Holdings Ltd, stating that 11 years also the company took “a chance” with the Canadian franchise, Pita Pit and coincidently the first location is at Starlite Shopping plaza, opposite to the Wendy’s concept store.
“This was our first foray into the food industry and over the years Pita Pit has grown to a nation-wide brand ... and in 2017 we got the opportunity to acquire Dominos.
“A struggling franchise locally at that time with restructuring investments in technology, overhauling of the operations, we were able to turn around this franchise and open five new stores in four years. Two of which were pandemic years,” Fakoory added.