Rib Crib, a 32-unit barbecue chain with a full-service
format, will
test its concept in a co-branded unit with KFC. The unit
will be built in a 6,000 square foot KFC 2n1
prototype building
along Interstate Highway 44 in Marshfield,
Missouri.
The operator of the
2n1 unit will be Bold
Ribs Company, LLC,
a 6-unit Rib Crib
franchisee, and Restaurant Management
Systems, a 33-unit Yum! Brands operator. Mike
Treadwell and Dick Pendleton of Springfield,
Missouri, own and operate both franchisee
companies.

Franchisees Treadwell and Pendleton
initially came up with the idea for a test
pairing of the barbecue and chicken concepts.
“It is the perfect picnic pairing,” said
Dick Pendleton in his initial meeting with the Rib Crib corporate team. At
the time, Treadwell
wanted to replace their
existing 20-plus year old
Marshfield KFC with the
new KFC 2n1 prototype
building and re-locate it to the location
along Interstate 44, but there was not a YUM!
Branded concept available for a co-branded
unit in Marshfield.

Treadwell, a more than 25-year veteran of KFC, and the Bold
Ribs team put together a three-dimensional rendering of the proposed
concept to give the YUM! co-branding
personnel a vision of how the pairing
would look. The co-branding team then visited Rib Crib units and
were suitably impressed — enough so to eventually earn approval for the
barbecue and fried chicken 2n1.

Rib Crib is traditionally a full service concept, but the 2n1
will employ a fast-casual style
counter service
format.
Customers will
place their orders
at the counter by choosing from a backlit menu
board that hangs above the order counter and
then wait for servers to deliver it to them in the
dining room.
Both concepts will also offer take-out service. Rib
Crib will feature a dedicated take-out counter
along with exterior and interior signage to guide
customers to the take out counter and
dedicated “Take Out” parking spaces
immediately adjacent to the exterior portion of
the building dressed out like a Rib Crib. KFC
will also offer traditional drive-thru service.

“We remain committed to the
continued development of our concept as a
casual-dining restaurant,” said
Marc Chastain,
vice president of
franchising for Rib
Crib, “but we think there
could be tremendous opportunities for us to
grow our revenue base and brand awareness in
smaller co-branded venues. Especially in
markets like Marshfield that probably do not
carry the demographic base to support our full-size concept.
We might also attract quick-serve
operators looking for a way to boost sales
through co-branding
with our
concept.”