Jumeirah Group (UAE) Eyes Franchising in the U.S.

P.F. Chang’s watch out! There’s going to be a new player in town, and it might cannibalize your business.

“the noodle house,” from United Arab Emirates (UAE) company Jumeirah Group, plans to open in the U.S. this year and it’s energetically seeking franchise partners.

the noodle house is the flagship restaurant of Jumeirah Group’s portfolio. A casual restaurant, it focuses on Southeast Asian street cuisine, with dishes from China, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand. This is all dished up in classic environments featuring lots of polished wood, granite walls, slate floors, and open kitchens.

The restaurants are similar yet different to P.F. Chang’s, says Phil Broad, managing director of Jumeirah Restaurants, LLC. The ambiance is similar (the open kitchen is a point of differentiation); the food is more focused on Southeastern Asia; and price points of $15 to $18 per head mirror P.F. Chang’s.

But the food is healthier, he says, with no MSG, no trans fats, and many healthy options on the everyday menu. Popular dishes include wasabi prawns, roasted duck (whole, half or quarter), Singapore noodles, seared salmon, and dim sum.

But the food will change from market to market to cater to different tastes. The chain has a bank of 500 recipes to choose from, Broad says.

The first noodle house is likely to open in the fourth quarter of 2012, and the company expects it to be in one of four locales: Florida, Boston, Washington, DC, or Atlanta. Most of this comes from practicality, with these markets being close to the UAE, but Florida is also a big, and growing market and is similar to the UAE in terms of tourism, weather and cultural mix, Broad explains.

“While we won’t limit ourselves to the East Coast in the long-term, it makes the most sense for us to be in those markets now.”

This was chosen as the year to expand, Broad says, because Southeast Asian food is one of the hot food trends, a fact borne out by the National Restaurant Association’s Chef Survey of What’s Hot in 2011, which listed it as the third hottest ethnic cuisine.

But for now, Broad is seeking the perfect franchise partner for the first restaurant, which is the most critical in rolling out a brand, he explains.

“You’ve got to get the relationship right at the beginning to get someone who will protect the brand and treat it right in the marketplace. So that’s the key piece for us.”

He’s seeking franchisees by attending franchising and restaurant shows in the U.S., and ramping up the company’s online presence to help build brand awareness outside the markets where it has operations.

To date, the noodle house has 20 restaurants in 14 territories/countries, with 90 development agreements in place and more markets soon to be signed (the U.K., and Lebanon).

Broad does expect the opening of the noodle house to impact P.F. Chang’s, although says the latter opened in Dubai this year and has been very successful without impacting the noodle house’s sales.

“I think we’ll take some of their customers as it’s a similar market for us. We’re not coming here trying to take P. F. Chang’s market from them, but because we have differentiating points, we do think we can be very successful working the market with them.”

Jumeirah Group is seeking franchisees with food and beverage experience and preferably those who are interested in multiple units.

“That is the key piece—that they understand the market. They have to understand that they’re buying into a brand that’s already been invented. They don’t have to reinvent the wheel and they can concentrate on getting customers in.”

But there’s no rush to swoop in and inundate the U.S. market, Broad says.

“It will be one restaurant at a time. It’s not the pace at which we’ll open, but it’s the quality of each restaurant.”

Source (World Franchise Associates)