66 • FOODSERVICE EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES • JUNE 2017
EAST COAST LOOKS
FORWARD WITH NEW
PROTOTYPE
This wing concept is out to attract everyone from Millennials to professionals to families
with its new design.
By Toby Weber
I
n an evolving market, businesses often need to strike
a difficult balance: bringing in new customers without
alienating existing ones.
With the rise of fast casual and now the restaurant-
in-grocery-store phenomenon, many casual dining opera-
tions are grappling with that challenge. Among them is
East Coast Wings + Grill, a 36-unit chain headquartered in
Winston-Salem, N.C.
"One of the reasons casual dining has lost its relevance is
they haven't updated their design, they haven't been thought-
ful about what today's consumers are looking for," says Brett
Larrabee, the chain's vice president of brand development. "A
lot of casual dining companies have a very large base of older
customers. That's because they've held on to the past and those
customers are comfortable in those environments. But in order
for us to succeed in the future, we have to be fresh and viable
and considerate of what younger customers are looking for."
With this in mind, last year the chain rolled out a new
prototype design with an industrial look combined with
warm, comforting touches and a variety of seating options.
chain profile