If Robert Earl called three people in Boston right now and asked about Bertucci’s, he bets each would respond with how much they loved the brand growing up.
He’s also confident they’d say it’s been a long time since their last visit.
“That is something that the industry is suffering from,” Earl says. “A lot of the names that you’ve seen that have had problems in the last few years, it’s symptomatic. Obviously there are other factors. People have moved locations, people have no time to sit any longer.”
The 44-year-old concept is coming off its third bankruptcy in seven years after feeling pressure from the tough macroeconomic environment and consumers moving away from legacy casual brands (Hooters, TGI Fridays, and Red Lobster, and On The Border faced similar issues).
The chain is down to sit-down 15 locations after shuttering seven leading up to the bankruptcy. That’s a loss of nearly 75 percent of its footprint since 2018, when Earl bought the company.
Bertucci’s is now faced with its own question of what comes next.
Earl believes it’s a transition to fast casual, a segment that’s seen success during recent inflationary times because of its emphasis on premium ingredients, menu innovation, and relative affordability in comparison to fast food and casual dining.
On Wednesday, Bertucci’s Pronto—a new quick-service spinoff—will open at Boston’s Government Center. Earl views it as a concept that can capture frequent visits throughout the year as opposed to the casual-dining version, which may have been only for celebratory or special occasions.
The new location is mostly the same as its casual-dining counterpart, like preparing dough fresh each morning for pizza and rolls. But there are key differences, such as the brick oven being replaced by advanced, electric-powered equipment and the unveiling of a breakfast menu to take advantage of on-the-go customers.
Some breakfast examples include the Croast, a crispy pressed croissant topped with smashed avocado, fried egg, arugula, and parmesan cheese; the Asparagus Tart, a pastry dough topped with gruyere cheese, asparagus, parmesan cheese, and balsamic glaze; and the Egg & Cheese Sandwich, an over-easy egg with cheddar cheese and garlic aioli on an oversized Bertucci’s roll. There is also the Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Breakfast Pizza, with applewood bacon, cheddar cheese, mozzarella, and egg.
Pronto keeps well-known pizza recipes, but also introduces a new lineup and the ability to order by the slice or as a whole pie in various sizes.
The growth of the pizza lineup is tied directly to Bertucci’s increased focus on delivery since the pandemic.
“Up until [COVID], Bertucci’s was not a delivery brand,” Earl says. “It was more a gourmet pizza experience that one consumed on premise, and then some of the family broadened their experience and went to pasta, went to other proteins. But with COVID, we had a massive shift in customer base, and they have continued to use Bertucci’s more for delivery than sit down. I think that’s an interesting fact that’s happened with pizza generally. It was the go-to item in COVID for everyone.”
Pronto also serves sandwiches crafted on house-baked focaccia with a crisp Tuscan-style crust. Guests can choose from premium Italian ingredients like mortadella, prosciutto, and burrata.
The sandwiches will be useful for Pronto’s catering channel, according to Earl.
“In the Boston business area, you expect to do a lot of boardroom catering. Particularly with our range of sandwiches, it’s a fabulous catering offering, and we do some great chicken and we do some great garlic knots and a few fun signature items.”
The restaurant—with a warm and modern interior—is about one-third the size of a typical Bertucci’s and sits 34 dining customers.
“So 34 seats is pretty small for us,” Earl says. “We’re normally in the hundreds. We tried to have an environment that was not too contemporary. It was a different color palette, and it’s all shades of brown, and the uniforms are also shades of brown. It doesn’t look like a new restaurant chain. It doesn’t have that sort of garish bright [color]. You can go there and think it’s been there for years.”
Earl believes Boston could fit four to five Pronto restaurants. His team may convert one or two of the smaller sit-down venues into a fast casual if the first store goes as well as projected.
The expectation is that sales will be split evenly between dine-in, to-go, and delivery. The goal is for the location to generate at least $2 million annually. Earl is confident in these figures because of Boston’s large college population, its residential community, and several offices.
“If I had a map in front of me to show you from the Seaport to other areas of downtown to a big office residential area, there are several perfect locations before we roll it out elsewhere,” Earl says.
In recent years, several sit-down concepts have attempted a jump into quick service because of lower construction costs and the rise of off-premises dining. Some examples include Buffalo Wild Wings, P.F. Chang’s, Hooters, Friendly’s, Golden Corral, and True Food Kitchen.
Some have been more successful than others. While Buffalo Wild Wings and P.F. Chang’s have seen consistent growth from their respective spinoff concepts, Hooters has struggled to scale its fast-casual chain Hoots Wings, and IHOP shuttered Flip’d by IHOP last year. TGI Fridays announced a “Fridays on the Fly” brand in January 2022, but the concept never got off the ground. The chain ended up shuttering hundreds of stores nationwide and declaring bankruptcy.
The difference for Bertucci’s is that Pronto will be the brand’s primary growth vehicle going forward instead of a supplementary piece.
“There are many iconic names, what you call legacy brands that are over 40 years old. Where do they go now?” Earl says. “We’ve had a plethora of new openings with some big boys in the space. You’ve seen a tremendous amount of problems, and where do they go? So I’m constantly thinking about that, and I’m constantly morphing a lot of my businesses into fast casual. Then when I look at the fast-casual space and the great successes that are out there, I don’t see anything that particularly stands out in an Italian space. You could argue perhaps with one or two of the brands that are out there, but what we’re offering is at such a high-quality level.”
