Buffalo's Southwest Cafe Franchise - The Stampede Continues...

Posted on July 10, 2007 by

Announced last fall to BFCI’s Franchise Business Partners was the official introduction of our new Buffalo’s Express Cafe concept.  Designed to provide fast casual service in in-line space (1,800 to 2,000 sq. ft.), in areas with a high concentration of daytime population the restaurant will feature a tempting display of rotisserie chicken with popular side dishes, wings, wraps, salads and more, all prepared fresh to order and served within three minutes. 

The contemporary eye-catching interior will reflect brilliant colors of the southwest with unique built in architectural features.  Food preparation will be in full view of customers, and orders will be fulfilled via counter service.  To-go and possibly delivery service will be a big part of this concept, however seating for approximately 66 guests will be provided.  While we expect lunch to be the most popular food service time we plan to market the concept for evening home replacement meals as well. 

Buffalo’s Express Cafe is not intended to compete with nor replace existing full service Buffalo’s Southwest Cafe restaurants. Full service facilities combined with Express facilities is expected to accelerate growth and brand recognition within the casual and quick serve markets.  With the continued elevated cost to build and operate full-sized restaurants the Express concept will make it more cost effective for franchisees to become multi-unit operators much quicker. 

Before advertising the Express concept to the public existing franchise Buffalo’s business partners were given the opportunity to reserve territory and be one of the first to open a Buffalo’s Express.  Agreements have been signed with Antone Davis (Florida), John Sommers (Georgia), Mark Hagwood & Wally Deer (Mississippi) and several others are under consideration. 

While the advertising campaign for Buffalo’s Express Cafe franchise opportunities will not officially be unveiled until August an agreement has been signed for a single location in Forsyth, Georgia.  Rocky and Meena Patel are officially the first franchisee for the concept and negotiations are nearing conclusion for a multi-unit development agreement with a group out of Atlanta.  The location for the first BFCI owned Express is expected to be announced within the next two weeks and additional corporate sites are under consideration. 

This is an exciting time for our brand!   2007 is on target for new Buffalo’s Southwest Cafe openings in Florida, Mississippi, New Jersey, Nevada, Puerto Rico and internationally in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.  Several more are slated for early 2008 openings and recent discovery days with new franchise candidates have set the path for even more development soon to be announced.  Franchise renewals have been signed by Thompson/Bailey in Dublin (GA) and Jason Hembree in Griffin (GA).  Express openings will continue to add to the excitement and buzz about Buffalo’s!