Business View - November 2015 33
baked apples, coleslaw, and mac & cheese. So the cus-
tomer really gets that choice. And we have a ‘Fixin’s Bar’
where the guests can dress their burgers and sandwiches
with freshly sliced tomatoes or lettuce or onion or pickles,
or salsa. We’ve got all those different fixin’s – ketchup,
mustard, and mayo as well as different sauces. We’ve got
a barbeque sauce for our roast beef; we rotate sauces in
and out depending on the season. So, it’s a point of dif-
ference between us and those other quick-serve restau-
rants.”
Apparently, the combination has worked well, because the
chain has “an incredibly loyal following,” according to Pla-
mondon, who notes that the company has over 70,000
Facebook fans. “That’s pretty significant for only 50 units,”
he quips. Of course, success also has come as a result
of marketing efforts that eschew more traditional chan-
nels. “There’s no national advertising campaign; we’re not
on TV,” he says. “We do a lot of grassroots marketing at
the unit level – partnering up with schools, and clubs, and
churches, and businesses on a local level. We try and get
referrals from those loyal customers that we already have.
And we’re not coupon-oriented. We don’t discount be-
cause we feel like that cheapens the food. If you start giv-
ing it away, like two-for-one, or a dollar for a cheeseburger,
then the customer thinks ‘well, this cheeseburger is only
worth a dollar.’ So that’s not a strategy that we utilize and
it never will.”
Mindful of the Roy Rogers brand’s history – both good
and bad – Plamondon looks ahead with anticipation and
confidence. And here, he ends the tale: “Roy Rogers is a
resurgent brand that was once very large and successful.
It’s much smaller today, not because of anything wrong
with the brand but because of real estate decisions by
corporate owners over the years. We believe it’s a great
brand which continues to have great equity and is poised
for growth as evidenced by the growth we’re seeing this
year and already have on the books for next year. Although
Pete Plamondon Jr., Co-President
FRANCHISE
