Schlotzsky’s strategy calls for four new restaurants

The expansion is part of a national plan that calls for 50 new restaurants per year – a strategy crafted by Schlotzsky’s new owner, Focus Brands Inc., which purchased the chain last November. The “fast-casual” sandwich shop has five locations in the area, and there are about 350 restaurants worldwide.

“(Springfield) is growing in the right kinds of ways,” Schlotzsky's Vice President of Development D’Wayne Tanner said. “We were already there, and we do well there from a sales perspective.”

Tanner declined to disclose local store revenues.

No specific sites for the new locations have been identified, Tanner said, but the company is eyeing outlying cities such as Rogersville and Ozark. A typical store employs about 15 and is between 2,400 and 3,400 square feet, according to Tanner, who said the new stores likely will be part of strip centers or malls.

There are two franchisees who handle the existing Springfield locations. The franchise fee is $30,000 and the investment to own and operate a Schlotzsky’s restaurant is between $400,000 and $500,000, according to a company news release.

Focus Brands also owns Carvel Ice Cream, Cinnabon and Moe’s Southwest Grill. Tanner said Schlotzsky’s is considering adding Carvel or Cinnabon stores inside existing Schlotzsky locations.