THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 5, 1995 TAG: 9502030258
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY XIAOHONG ZHANG SWAIN, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 160 lines
THERE ONCE WAS a time when hungry diners felt they had to leave Chesapeake to find a reasonable choice in restaurants.
Times have changed.
Within the past few years, the restaurant business has boomed here. Dozens of new places have opened, serving a wide variety of foods.
Statistics compiled by Susan Cooley, a supervisor in the city's revenue office, show that business license taxes paid by restaurants have increased steadily from $184,371 in 1990 to $291,595 in 1994. In addition, restaurant meal and beverage taxes climbed from $4,570,470 in 1990 to $7,127,388 in 1994.
During the same period of time, big chain restaurants, lured by the city's growing population, have flocked here to grab their share of the business.
In the Greenbrier area, a large number of chain restaurants has sprung up. The latest newcomers, Lone Star Steakhouse and China Coast, stand alongside Olive Garden, Cheers, Carvers Creek, Ruby Tuesday, Old Country Buffet, Black-Eyed Pea and Pargo's.
On Portsmouth Boulevard, near Chesapeake Square Mall, the giant General Mills food company has opened three of its restaurants - Olive Garden, Red Lobster and China Coast - one next to the other at the same site. Ruby Tuesday, Old Country Buffet and Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar also do a thriving business there.
Along Battlefield Boulevard, Ryan's, Applebee's, Golden Corral, The International House of Pancakes, Captain D's and Shoney's line the well-traveled thoroughfare.
Donald Z. Goldberg, director of Chesapeake's Department of Economic Development, credits the strong growth of industry and business for making the city attractive to the restaurant companies.
``There's a lot of commercial growth,'' Goldberg said. ``The restaurant companies look at population trends, median income levels and industries and businesses before they come in.
``In Chesapeake, the population is increasing steadily, the increase of businesses in general is very strong and, as the businesses grow, people's income level is increasing, too,'' he said.
Goldberg said the restaurant businesses have become a positive force in the city's economy. They are good tax generators and they have brought an increasing source of jobs for young workers such as college students, he said.
For customers, Goldberg said, the increasing numbers of restaurants provides a diversified selection of foods and services.
Goldberg wouldn't hazard a guess as to how many restaurants will be enough.
``People still want more restaurants,'' he said. ``A few more restaurants are looking for locations in Western Branch, Great Bridge, Bowers Hill and Deep Creek.''
The chain restaurateurs, who have been making steady profits, are ever more confident and optimistic about the future here.
Since China Coast opened in November 1994 across from Greenbrier Mall, it has been crowded at dinner times, especially on weekends. Guests sometimes have to wait 45 minutes to an hour for a table.
``We have a full house every day, for lunch and dinner,'' said Henry Yu, the restaurant's general manager. ``The guest comments are very good.''
With standardized recipes developed at the corporate level, the restaurant offers genuine Chinese cuisine and some Americanized dishes, Yu said.
``We try to attract guests who are more American,'' Yu said.
``I like the service and love the food,'' said Debra Speer of Chesapeake, who came to dine at the restaurant with a friend one recent Saturday evening. ``For a chain restaurant, the atmosphere is very good.''
Pat Goodnow, general manager of Olive Garden on Chesapeake Square Boulevard, views the boom in new restaurants as a plus.
``Generally, when a new restaurant opens, it attracts more people than usual to come to check it out,'' she said. ``Then people will see what other restaurants are available. It helps you rather than hinders you.''
Geneva Cash, who lives close to the restaurant, comes three or four times a week for lunch there.
``We just love the food,'' said Cash on a Friday after her lunch with her husband and a friend. ``The service is excellent.''
The Applebee's restaurant at Portsmouth Boulevard is also enjoying a strong sales increase, said Michael Hall, the chain's Tidewater area supervisor.
``This is the busiest year I'm having,'' Hall said. ``Lunch time is absolutely chaos.''
Lenny Buccellato, the store's assistant manager, explained that there's a 14-minute guarantee of serving lunch meals.
``If the lunch is not on the table after 14 minutes, the customer gets the lunch free,'' Buccellato said.
Sandra Johnson, who lives just 15 minutes from Chesapeake Square Mall, lunches at Applebee's every Friday. Her favorite dishes are blackened chicken salad and club house grill.
``Most of the time I come to Applebee's,'' she said. ``The food is delicious.''
Hall said he doesn't see any sign of saturation of the restaurant market in Chesapeake yet. But he doesn't believe many more dinner chain restaurants will be coming in, either.
``There might be some fast food or buffet-type restaurants,'' he said.
Because Applebee's has a diversified menu, with a little bit of everything, Hall said the store doesn't really compete with other restaurants in the area.
There are restaurateurs who are concerned that the restaurant market, especially the one around Greenbrier Mall area, is getting saturated. The saturation means the affected restaurants need to strive harder to survive.
``The new restaurants are going to dilute the restaurant market,'' said Tim Lewis, general manager of Carvers Creek in Greenbrier. ``Within a five-mile radius, 3,500 to 4,000 seats have been added. That's a lot of seats.''
Lewis said his restaurant, which was opened in 1992, has experienced a small decrease in guest count. But he said he looks at the positive side.
``We're not defeated,'' he said. ``We just have to make sure we do our job and provide customers with good food and good service.''
Karon Vond, manager of the Black-Eyed Pea restaurant in Greenbrier, agrees that the new restaurants are going to draw business away from the older ones.
``The market is not saturated yet, but it's getting that way,'' she said.
Vond said that after regular customers of the Black-Eyed Pea try the new restaurants, they usually come back.
Managers of the various chain restaurants shared the view that the competition is always on their minds.
``Of course, you always have that concern,'' said Goodnow. ``That's why you stay on your toes.''
China Coast's Chesapeake area manager Rob Thorncroft is well aware of the competition surrounding his stores.
``It's a very competitive market,'' Thorncroft said. ``Good operators will survive, and some good operators will continue to come in. The competition will never go away.''
Mike Helton, manager of Red Lobster on Portsmouth Boulevard, said a restaurant has to provide ``top-notch'' food and services in order to remain competitive.
For example, he said, ``In the past, people had one server. Now, you may have two or three people coming to your table.''
The growth of chain restaurants in Chesapeake poses some negative effect on independent restaurants, such as the Stonebridge Restaurant Pub owned by Wilson Garland.
Garland is a member of the board of directors of the Tri-City Chapter of the Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association, formerly the Virginia Restaurant Association.
``The increase in chain restaurants has put most of the small, independent restaurants in a hard spot,'' he said. ``Over the last 10 years, most have gone out of business.''
Garland said government regulations are part of the problem, because various taxes and licenses are at fixed amounts, which are a greater burden to a smaller store.
``The large restaurants can cover the fixed amounts more easily,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO ON THE COVER
Carin Prescott and Hung To of China Coast in Greenbrier display
some of the dishes that they hope will attract their share of diners
in Chesapeake's competitive restaurant market. Staff photo by Steve
Earley.
Staff photos by STEVE EARLEY
Pasta maker Dan Wooddell checks some fresh spaghetti at the Olive
Garden restaurant on Portsmouth Boulevard, near Cheapeake Square.
Lena Price-Brown, left, and her mother Tanisha Brown order lunch at
the Red Lobster on Portsmouth Boulevard, where at least five other
restaurants are located nearby.
Associate manager Harry Burke prepares food during lunch-hour rush
at Applebee's restaurant on Portsmouth Boulevard, which is enjoying
a strong sales increase.
by CNB