Only six months after taking over as lead executive for Ascent Hospitality Management, James O’Reilly, the company’s new CEO, has already made significant progress on several elements of his Five-Step Strategic Plan to accelerate growth for the company and it’s flagship brands, Perkins Restaurant & Bakery and Huddle House.

The plan outlines five key directives with specific target metrics for each. Already, O’Reilly has made significant headway in multiple areas.

Directive: Build Strong Distinct Brands
Metric for success: Consistent profitable same-store sales growth for all brands
Progress to date: O’Reilly and a new executive team have carved out a barbell-focused menu strategy emphasizing premium signature offerings and everyday value offerings to maintain steady restaurant traffic while also significantly increasing the company’s investment in menu innovation for both core brands and two new virtual brands which are about to begin pilot testing.

O’Reilly has appointed a new creative agency of record, Dunn & Co., leading to new brand positioning and ad campaigns for Perkins Restaurant & Bakery and Huddle House.

Perkins Restaurant & Bakery and Huddle House also made strides to increase their catering business, including meal options tailored for the business community, large family gatherings, and specific offerings for Thanksgiving and winter holidays.

Directive: Create Leading Guest Experiences
Metric for success: Top 5 Industry Leading Guest Experiences
Progress to Date: The Ascent Hospitality Management Team has seen new expansion opportunities based on the historic strengths and longevity of the Perkins Restaurant & Bakery and Huddle House brands. Early interest has shown Puerto Rico as a possible new market with existing brand awareness and interest in major metropolitan areas. Due diligence and preliminary deals for new franchises are being finalized for 2024 and beyond. Existing multi-unit franchisees are also looking to take these well-known brands to new domestic territories, with Pennsylvania at the top of the list.

“We are seeing steady improvement in our rate of new restaurant commitments, and our pipeline of new franchise opportunities is the most robust it has been in years,” said O’Reilly.

Directive:  Drive Digital Capability
Metric for success: Be the Family Dining Technology Leader

Progress to Date: As part of the end-of-year catering expansion, digital teams are mapping out new back-end infrastructure for online ordering and further exploring relationships with third-party digital providers in the casual dining space. The brands plan to overhaul their e-commerce capabilities and have shifted their media mix to make digital a more significant component of their marketing plans.  Franchisee marketing also benefits from a shared-service messaging approach in email and collateral efforts.

Directive: Accelerate Quality Restaurants
Metric for Success: Profitable Net New Unit Growth
Progress to Date: One of O’Reilly’s key first-year objectives has been to drive down costs for franchisee ownership while simultaneously boosting restaurant revenue. An example of his progress here has been expanding the Perkins asset portfolio to feature three new restaurant design options for Perkins Restaurant & Bakery – large, medium, and express. The new express model is a 1,500-square-foot layout designed for non-traditional locations. The first deal for this model is in the works for Ontario, one of the brand’s first new restaurants in Canada in several years. Other Canadian multi-unit groups and investors are also showing strong interest in the new restaurant options. The medium model is 3,500 square feet, a tighter, more streamlined version of the traditional large footprint that currently exists throughout much of the system.

The shift reflects the evolution of the dine-in business and allows for more seamless off-premise and catering operations. “This model decreases the initial investment significantly for prospective franchisees,” explained O’Reilly. “Our brand and our operators will be far more competitive entering new markets and acquiring prime real estate.”

Directive: Be a Winning Culture
Metric for Success: Be a Great Place to Work & Develop Winning Teams
Progress to Date: In the last six months of 2023, O’Reilly brought in a new president for each brand. Perkins Restaurant & Bakery is now led by former Managing Director for Little Caesars Canada, Toni Ronayne, who also has a great depth of franchise development and operational expertise with brands such as Starbucks, Teavana, and Freshii. Huddle House is now led by Blain Shortreed, who previously was VP of Operations for Yum! Restaurants International and CEO of Long John Silver’s. Other new leadership appointments made in 2023 include new Ascent Chief Technology Officer Steven Roach, previously with Focus Brands, and new Ascent VP of Menu Innovation Mindy Armstrong, previously with Inspire Brands.

“I strongly believe leadership is foundational to our future success,” shared O’Reilly, “which is why we have prioritized bringing in some of the top talent in the industry to help execute our strategic plan moving forward.”

The Road Ahead
While it’s still early in 2024, O’Reilly is already looking at metrics to see where the next opportunity to build the Ascent Portfolio exists. “The Five-Step Strategic Plan is a framework that creates accountability from the restaurant level to corporate leadership,” he shared. “All of us at Ascent are committed to the success and growth of our franchise systems and also to realizing our vision of becoming a world class franchisor and leading edge shared services provider.”