Expanding demand for sandwiches will bring not one, but four California-based sourdough restaurants to the Dallas-Fort Worth area by next year.
The four San Francisco Style Sourdough Eatery shops — which will be owned and operated by Synecore Inc. — will kick start franchise plans for up to 10 locations in North Texas in the next few years, said Patrick Mervine, president to the Nevada-based firm, which owns the franchise and development rights to the cafe in Texas.
“There are reasons Dallas was chosen to be the starting point,” Mervine said. “If you do it right in Dallas, you’ll do it right anywhere in Texas.”
Mervine also plans to expand franchise development to Austin and San Antonio, as well as surrounding suburbs.
One of the things that attracted him to Dallas was the area’s demographics that demand high-quality sandwiches, he said. The average meal cost is $10 per customer, he said.
Mervine is looking at real estate sites that match those demographics with the help of SRS Real Estate Partners’ Jack Burgher and Tyler Isbell.
The company is targeting Class A properties with average store sizes from 1,500- to 2,100-square-feet in either the suburban or urban market, Mervine said.
The sandwich shop serves soup, sandwiches and salads, with a sourdough pizza option in test markets.
SRS Real Estate Partners will likely tap the top restaurant markets in Dallas-Fort Worth, including Uptown, Preston/Royal, Addison, Frisco, Irving and Plano, said Burgher, an associate with the Dallas-based real estate firm.
“We are going to be looking for a strong daytime population,” Burgher said, adding the real estate group is actively looking for sites.
Burgher wouldn’t disclose the lease rates Synecore Inc. could see for the desired store space.
However, the rates for Class A properties can range from the mid-$20s into the $30s, said Bob Young, managing director at The Weitzman Group, a real estate firm that has sandwich clients, such as Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches and Smashburger.
There are numerous bread-oriented eateries in the North Texas market, such as Panera Bread, Einstein Bros. Bagels and Paradise Bakery & Cafe, that have done well, but the sandwich segment is crowded and competitive, Young said.
Ultimately, real estate and positioning to differentiate itself from the pack will be very important as the group moves forward in plans, he said.
“The product has to be good and they have to have a certain level of panache,” Young said. “Dallas-Fort Worth as a market has ready, willing and able customers who are ready to try out new restaurants and concepts. It’s a fertile ground and sandwich places are hot right now.”
Success will likely be determined based on the customer demand for sourdough bread and the store’s ability to build a menu off that mainstay, he said.
That’s something that Mervine said he’s banking on.
The Texas-based eateries will have authentic sourdough bread and secret sauce delivered by trucks daily from the family-owned original store in California, Mervine said.
Other expansion markets for the sourdough eatery — which started in 1979 — are Arizona and the East Coast.
Franchise owner Robert Lenhart opened the first store in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. There are 10 franchise locations on the West Coast, including Washington, Utah and Nevada.
“We’re bringing authentic sourdough to Texas,” Mervine said. “This is the real deal. We’re going to be doing something that has not been done in the sandwich business to Texas: a high-quality traditional sourdough bread.”