Lake Forest-based John’s Incredible Pizza Co., which owns Italian-themed buffet restaurants with games and rides for kids, plans to open its first Orange County restaurant.
The company’s struck a deal with Ohio’s Developers Diversified Realty Corp. for a 55,000-square-foot res-taurant in Buena Park Downtown Mall.
Construction is expected to start next year with an opening in 2009.
The mall owner plans to build a separate entrance for John’s Incredible and move tenants around to make way, said Cyndi Taylor, Buena Park Downtown’s general manager.
John’s Incredible plans to spend more than $8 million building the restaurant, founder and Chief Executive John Parlet said.
“It will be a lengthy and expensive process but I’m proud to say we’ll be in Orange County in 2009,” Parlet said.
Since moving its headquarters from San Luis Obispo to Lake Forest about three years ago, John’s Incredible has been working to open more restaurants in Southern California.
The company now counts nine, including the Buena Park location and a Riverside restaurant it opened this month. John’s Incredible plans to open two or three restaurants every year, Parlet said. It’s eyeing $100 million in sales in five years, he said.
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Ride at restaurant: company eyeing $100 million in sales in five years |
The company now has estimated yearly sales of about $50 million.
Its restaurants mostly are in the Central Valley and Inland Empire.
Real estate in areas such as Stockton, Bakersfield and Fresno is more affordable and there’s more space for the company’s big restaurants, which run about 50,000 square feet and employ some 300 workers.
High real estate prices, redevelopment and competition for big space have made it difficult for John’s Incredible to open a restaurant here, Parlet said.
“It’s taken us a long time to find the right space,” he said. “The real estate market here is so expensive and competitive.”
The company originally was eyeing the old Super Kmart site in La Habra on Imperial Highway. That site is being developed into the 215,000-square-foot Imperial Plaza shopping center by Costa Mesa-based Arnel & Affiliates and Irvine’s Hopkins Real Estate Group.
Having a lesser-known brand made it difficult for John’s Incredible to compete for a space at the shopping center against retailers such as Target Corp. and Circuit City Stores Inc., he said.
“A few years ago, nobody knew who we were so it was hard to get into those locations,” Parlet said. “The strategy now is to build the brand so it’s easier for us to expand.”
The Buena Park restaurant’s proximity to Knott’s Berry Farm and the city’s entertainment hub along Beach Boulevard should help, Parlet said.
He said he expects the Buena Park location to be the company’s top restaurant.
The move could boost Buena Park Downtown mall, which has been on a redevelopment kick for the past 18 months, according to Taylor.
“(This restaurant) will really invigorate the entire shopping center,” she said.
The mall, which has empty stores and neighborhood retailers not usually found in a big mall, is working to bring in more people, especially more upscale shoppers.
It recently opened a 24 Hour Fitness and is in talks with higher-end retailers, according to Taylor.
John’s Incredible is an upscale, blown-out version of Texas-based CEC Entertainment Inc.’s Chuck E Cheese’s.
Unlike Chuck E Cheese’s or Dave & Busters, which caters to adults, John’s Incredible appeals to kids and grown-ups. Each restaurant has five themed dining rooms plus arcade games, bumper cars, laser tag and other attractions.
The menu includes pizzas, pastas, salads, soups and desserts for less than $5 per child and $10 per adult.
“I looked at Chuck E Cheese’s and wanted to take my business to a different level,” Parlet said.
Other Southern California areas the company’s looking at include San Diego, Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley, he said.
The company has had one investor for about five years now, Parlet said. He’s in the process of buying him out, he said.
The company could consider taking on investors again or going public, according to Parlet.
“We’ll just see what opportunities come forward. We want to grow the business internally,” he said.
