Location, Location, Location!

Primarily important to a restaurant chain's success is its location within a city. After all, a chain cannot claim to be more than just one flagship store without multiple locations. The three restaurants we looked at all fulfilled this requirement, however it is the strategic placement of their locations which makes things important.

Starting off with Chilis, that has 16 locations within Utah, their placement is obviously key to their success. In looking at their Salt Lake specific locations, we saw that the placement was adjacent to main through ways or shopping centers. The specific location we visited (off of 400 south on 700 east), is primarily located across from a trax line as well as a main shopping area. This location is central to many other restaurants located in the area, and is easily accessible from other businesses. Paradise bakery shares a parking lot with this Chilis location and thus is also centrally located within the city, as many of the other Paradise stores seem to be. However, the placement of Paradise can sometimes be a little bit awkward or hidden, as it is set back from the street behind the parking lot and can sometimes be missed by passers by on the street. I think some kind of large sign on the street (that lights up), would be helpful to Paradise as it would alert visitors to the location of the restaurant. Chilis does not need a sign as there is already one placed and glowing right out front of the restaurant, however access to the parking lot can be tricky. If travelling West on 400 south, patrons are not able to turn left into the parking lot due to the trax line. The only access is from 400 south when travelling east, or from 600 east when travelling north or south. I think both of these restaurants would benefit from a left hand turn lane in the trax stop (as many trax stations do have), that would allow patrons by car to access the buildings without having to go around many blocks.

Training table is also seen in many locations throughout the city, however I have found that they seem to be slightly more residential or hidden. The location we visited is only a few blocks up from Chilis and paradise, however it is on a part of 400 south that turns slightly into residential housing and has little other dining nearby. Though these restaurants do want to draw users into their space specifically, it is important to be near other restaurants, as patrons generally tend to gravitate toward FOOD AREAS rather than specific restaurant locations. If the owners of Training Table were to build another location, I would recommend they choose a spot that is more heavily clustered with other restaurants so it did not feel like such a stand alone store.