Building Block Associates

  • Home
  • Products & Solutions
    • View Supplies
    • What's In Season
    • Manage Mie Foodservice Manager
    • Foodservice Webinars
    • Become A Member
  • Online Store
  • Social Chat Blog
    • Foodservices News
  • Contact Us
  • Careers
  • Home
  • Products & Solutions
    • View Supplies
    • What's In Season
    • Manage Mie Foodservice Manager
    • Foodservice Webinars
    • Become A Member
  • Online Store
  • Social Chat Blog
    • Foodservices News
  • Contact Us
  • Careers

Costco executives are pouring money into a fast-food chain that's unlike anything else in America

5/25/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Image: Organic Coup
A little-known fast-food chain run by two former Costco executives is about to launch a rapid expansion, thanks to an investment from one of Costco's founders.

Also read, Say hello to The 12™: McDonald's® Canada bites into lunch-time cravings.

The Organic Coup, which is the first USDA-certified organic fast-food chain in the US, just raised $7 million in an initial round of financing led by Costco founder and former CEO Jim Sinegal. Costco's chief financial officer, Richard Galanti, also participated in the round of funding.

The Organic Coup will use the investment to open at least two dozen more restaurants over the next year, the company's cofounder Erica Welton told Business Insider. The chain, which specializes in fried-chicken sandwiches and chocolate-drizzled caramel popcorn, has two restaurants — one in San Francisco and another in Pleasanton, California. Welton was a food buyer for Costco for 14 years before leaving to launch Organic Coup with Dennis Hoover, a 33-year Costco veteran.

Welton and Hoover don't have any prior restaurant experience, but when Hoover was at Costco he managed 53 of the company's warehouses in Northern California and helped turn Costco into the largest seller of organic goods in the world, Galanti said. That's a big reason that Galanti decided to invest in Organic Coup.

"I have complete confidence in him — he's a great operator," Galanti told Business Insider. "I also like the fact that my boss for many years is a major investor," Galanti added of Sinegal. Hoover and Welton are modeling the new chain off of Costco in many ways. "Our model is based on that Costco model of efficiency and paying employees a great wage," Hoover said.

Organic Coup is paying starting wages of $16 an hour in San Francisco and $14 an hour in Pleasanton. Fast-food workers in the US make $7.98 an hour on average, according to PayScale. The restaurant's specialty is its spicy fried chicken made from organic, air-chilled chicken breasts fried in coconut oil.

"It's the most expensive oil we could have chosen, but it has good plant-based fats, no cholesterol, and it's high in Vitamin A," Welton said.

The menu is pretty simple. Customers can get the fried chicken with a range of sauces on a bun, in a multigrain wrap, or in a bowl with shredded vegetables. For a side, customers can get organic popcorn covered in caramel and drizzled with chocolate. The chain will be adding tator tots to the menu as well, Welton said.

Organic Coup will also be adding a breakfast burrito soon featuring a wrap with melted cheese, scrambled egg, guacamole, and pico de gallo. The chain is pricier than the average fast-food restaurant. The fried-chicken sandwich costs $9.99, compared with under $4 for a chicken sandwich at Chick-fil-A.

Welton and Hoover have high hopes that Organic Coup will define a new era of fast food. "We have had an architect come in and say it's the restaurant of the future because it's so efficient," Hoover said.

Source Hayley Peterson, Business Insider
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Go to blog
    Advertisement

    RSS Feed

    News & Updates

    Stay informed with the latest news around foodservice, agriculture and other related food news.

    Do you Enjoy our E-news & Updates?
    Get our foodservice E-news, blogs and LTO's sent to your inbox, SUBSCRIBE HERE.

    Advertisement Opportunities 
    To get your foodservice business in our daily e-news, here.

    Archives

    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015

    Categories

    All
    Agriculture And Food Safety
    All Day Breakfast Menu
    Beans Benefits
    Beverage Company
    Building Construction
    Candy Company
    Carbonated Drinks
    Chicken Farm
    Dairy Production
    Fast Food
    Fast Food Chains
    Food Prices
    Generation Z
    Genetically Modified Organisms
    Gluten Free
    Grocery Retailer
    Healthy Meals For Kids
    Imported Foods
    Imported Foods From Other Countries
    Liquor Licence
    Milk Industry
    Milliennials
    National Food Holidays
    Nut Allergies
    Organic & Natural
    Processed Foods
    Produce Industry
    Restaurant
    Restaurant Management
    Restaurant Ordering System
    Restaurateurs
    Seafood
    Sustainable Resources
    Sweet Snacks
    Sweet Tasting Desserts
    Tree Nuts
    Value Menu Offering
    Ways To Reduce Food Waste

    Picture
    Advertisement
    Picture
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.