NewHavenBIZ

12 n e w h a v e n B I Z | M a r c h 2 0 2 3 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m Small Restaurant fanchises Better Rhodes' growth fueled by boom in alcohol-free adult beverages By Liese Klein A lmost as soon as spicy sand- wiches started rolling out of their first restaurant in New Haven in 2020, the founders of Haven Hot Chicken started looking for another location. e second Haven Hot Chicken opened in Orange in 2021, followed by a restaurant in Norwalk this January. Now a fourth location is under construction in North Haven with plans to open in April — and Haven Hot Chicken co-founder Etkin Tekin is anticipating more. "e intent has always been to grow a restaurant brand, rather than a single restaurant," Tekin said. "at was the idea from the very beginning." Aer first testing out their products and processes through a series of pop- up restaurants across town, Haven Hot Chicken's four founders — Tekin, Rob LaTronica, Craig Sklar and New Haven food-business veteran Jason Sobocinski — all took an active role in making sure their success was reproducible. "We spent a lot of time really fo- cusing and honing in on quality, and understanding how to do that at scale as well," Tekin said. e team spent a year and a half refining their concept before opening in New Haven, and felt confident in opening new locations soon aer. "We needed to make sure that our operations were consistent, stan- dardized, routine and manageable by a management team other than the owners of the business," Tekin said. "You need to have a good product, a great team — and you have to have happy guests." Haven Hot Chicken is one of several area restaurants that have decided to expand in recent years, with some venturing far beyond state lines. Whether operating new compa- ny-run locations, franchising or adopting new hybrid models, entre- preneurs are looking to expand their brands and grow their customer base — and revenues/profits — in a tough market for restaurants. First leg of expansion Perhaps the most visible legacy New Haven restaurant on a growth spurt has been Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, with new locations sprouting up on a regular basis and advertised promi- nently along the Interstate 95 corridor. In addition to the original pizzeria in Wooster Square, Pepe's now op- erates 14 restaurants in seven states, with the newest location slated to open in Delray Beach, Fla., later this year, according to co-owner Jennifer Kelly, a granddaughter of Frank Pepe. Pepe's began adding locations in 2006, Kelly said, "aer decades of loyal guests asking us to expand to other areas in Connecticut." e first leg of the expansion was to Fair- field County, followed by new Pepe's locations in Manchester, West Hartford, Danbury and Waterbury, then Massa- chusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Virginia, Maryland and Florida. All Pepe's locations are company-owned and run by a team based in Meriden that includes Director of Quality Chris D'Auria and Director of Training Jen Hart, veteran employees with 15 years each of experi- ence at the pizzeria. All pizzaiolo – or pizza chefs – get 10 weeks of training on the restaurant's signature coal-fired ovens before a new location debuts. "Chris and Jen ensure that the train- ing, ingredients and New Haven cul- ture is present in every store we open," Kelly said. "We work incredibly hard to ensure guests are getting an experience as close to New Haven as possible." New Haven-style pizza is also going national thanks to the efforts of the new owners of another Wooster Square leg- end, Sally's Apizza. Descendants of Sal- ly's founders Sally and Flo Consiglio sold the iconic pizzeria in 2017 to a group of investors called Lineage Hospitality, who announced plans "to pursue the vision of bringing this legendary pizza to everyone." A second Sally's location opened in Stamford in 2021, followed a third in Fairfield last fall. Coming soon are new restaurants in Wethersfield, Newington, Norwalk and Woburn, Mass., according to the company website. Hybrid growth model Growing on a larger scale is the New Haven-born Pokemoto chain, which started with a single restaurant PHOTOS | CONTRIBUTED Local restaurants seek expansion through multiple locations and franchising Hungry To Grow Haven Hot Chicken's founding team is seeking to expand the spicy sandwich chain beyond New Haven. Sally's Apizza has announced plans to open four new locations across the region.

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