Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 21, 1993 TAG: 9304210046
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: TOWSON, MD. LENGTH: Medium
Picking up on a trend of retro diners springing up nationwide, Giaimo has built four Silver Diners he hopes to expand into the family restaurant chain of the '90s.
"I don't see why there can't be as many Silver Diners as there are Denny's or maybe McDonald's," said Giaimo, 41. "Denny's did a great job in their day, so did Bob's Big Boy; but they're tired."
The Silver Diner offers meat loaf, hash and hamburgers served in a frenetic '50s atmosphere in which the sounds of the grill bump up against oldies from refurbished 1940s jukeboxes.
The no-nonsense food, friendly service and shiny stainless steel have been brought back, but the greasy atmosphere has been left out. Meal prices average $4 for breakfast, $6 for lunch and $8 for dinner.
"We're revolutionizing, reinventing what a family restaurant is, in that we're calling it a family restaurant only in the sense that it has reasonable prices," Giaimo said.
The New York native views himself more as a problem-solver, claiming that all successful businessmen find a problem and solve it. In this case, he says, Americans are hungry for something between fast food and more formal restaurants.
"This is a wide-open area that used to be dominated by family restaurants," he said. "What's the problem? As people become more sophisticated, the family restaurants' . . . decor is boring, the food is bland, the service pedestrian. They've left the market wide open."
Terry Bivens, an industry analyst with Argus Research Corp. in New York, said the weak economy is making things tough for new eateries, although many niche restaurants are bucking the trend.
Giaimo said diners usually fare well in tough economic times. In fact, the concept took off in the Depression-era 1930s, when more diners were built than in any other period. Their varied menus, 24-hour schedule and relaxed atmosphere appeal to many segments of the population, he said.
Giaimo's interest in the restaurant business dates to 1974, when he opened the American Cafe restaurant after graduating from Georgetown University. He built a chain of seven American Cafes, with annual sales reaching $20 million, and sold it to W.R. Grace & Co. in 1986.
After that, he began researching diners. He visited dozens of them nationwide, including one refurbished art deco rail-car diner in Philadelphia, which was serving 17,000 meals a week and pulling in $4.5 million a year in sales.
"We had some of the worst meals I've ever eaten, but met some great people. Some of the most wonderful people are part of the diner world," Mount said. "That really is the basis.
"It's not a nostalgia trip; it's a new way of looking at diners. I didn't want to design a diner full of kitsch when the architecture and the food are the most memorable parts of it."
Giaimo began opening Silver Diners over the past few years after lining up $2.4 million in seed money with a limited partnership of 50 investors, including former Washington Redskins running back John Riggins, and another $2.5 million in loans.
So far, his gamble appears to be paying off. Two of the four Silver Diners in the Baltimore-Washington area are expected to generate more than $3 million, while the other two should take in more than $4 million this year, Giaimo said.
"Those are very significant numbers," said David Leibowitz, an analyst for American Securities Corp. in New York. "That's a heck of a number and he's to be commended, to put it mildly. First, for attaining that, and, second, if he can maintain it."
Bivens, of Argus Research, said Giaimo's sales figures were well above the average McDonald's, which he says pulls in around $1.5 million a year.
Giaimo says he wants to expand slowly at first, growing to 10 restaurants by 1995. Eventually, he'd like to find experienced restaurant operators and open multiple units.
"I'd like to see a Silver Diner on the corner of every Main Street in America," he said.
by CNB