At National Restaurant Consultants (NRC), we work with restaurant and hospitality businesses throughout the United States and around the world. And as we are based out of Denver, Colorado, it is wonderful to see a spotlight on our booming restaurant business scene, like in this recent profile of Gastamo Group, featured in Nation’s Restaurant News (NRN). This hometown hero of the restaurant industry is the brain behind projects such as Park Burger and Homegrown Tap & Dough, concepts that have franchised well around Denver’s suburban neighborhoods.
In fact, it is this suburban success that sparked the NRN feature, about a growing trend in the restaurant industry: a move to the ‘burbs. “When COVID-19 and the work-from-home trend inspired many consumers to move into the suburbs, the restaurant industry followed suit,” writes Sam Oches for NRN. Gastamo Group “believes that the suburbs are now ripe for a different kind of restaurant experience: casual concepts with a local flare.” They have “committed to developing unique, localized casual-dining restaurant brands throughout Colorado. It particularly sees a lot of opportunity in operating its brands in the suburbs next door to the biggest national chains,” Oches adds.
Peter Newlin, the co-founder of Gastamo Group joined Oches on NRN’s Take-Away podcast to talk about this new trend and his business’s success in the suburbs. Mainly, Gastamo Group has developed a “‘regional fortress’ strategy that confines growth to Colorado and its suburbs — and how the group develops creative experiences that resonate with guests.” This closely aligns with our restaurant consultants’ advice to root your restaurant business in your neighborhood, becoming a part of the location’s culture and meeting the needs of your neighbors and guests.
From his similar philosophy, Newlin shares with Oches how Gastamo Group researches their community’s wants and needs without assuming to know; builds a brand based on this research and looks for opportunities that grow from this branding; focuses on the details and the story of their restaurant projects and how those stories fit into the suburban neighborhoods; and how choosing to remain in-place has actually yielded more growth with small concepts.
“This successful Colorado group is reflective of a nationwide trend towards a migration into the ‘burbs,” writes Richard Weil, owner and principal of NRC. “Consumer dynamics continue to evolve during this post-COVID transition. Careful research and continued diligence from operators reviewing their concepts and future business needs will identity these new and trending business opportunities.”
The restaurant business is a hospitality business—reach doesn’t have to be far-sweeping. Just like at NRC we celebrate our Colorado roots, the Gastamo Group has chosen to focus on Colorado communities and what needs, wants, and opportunities exist here. Your restaurant, too, can be built to serve your local communities and their needs. Our restaurant consultants can help you build a business that caters to your community—and thrives there.