Meritage Hospitality Opens Michigan's First O'Charley's
Restaurant
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Aug. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Meritage Hospitality
Group Inc. (AMEX:MHG), the nation's only publicly traded Wendy's franchisee and
the nation's first O'Charley's franchisee, today announced the opening of
Michigan's first O'Charley's restaurant located in Grand Rapids. O'Charley's
Inc. (NASDAQ:CHUX), a leading regional high quality food concept in the casual
dining restaurant category, is based in Nashville, Tennessee and operates over
220 corporate restaurants throughout the Southeast and Midwest.
The newly opened O'Charley's restaurant, located at 1600 East Beltline Avenue,
N.E. in Grand Rapids, is 6,800 square feet and features O'Charley's new
prototype design with a seating capacity of 271. This prototype includes an
open seating and bar area with high quality finishes and decor to enhance the
O'Charley's dining experience. Area residents will also enjoy Grand Rapids
history and culture depicted in O'Charley's signature mural of local landmarks
and images.
Erik East, a 20-year veteran of the restaurant industry, will serve as general
manager. Other management team members include Dave Frasier -- kitchen
manager, Heather Halligan -- bar manager, and Rich Mullarkey -- dining room
manager.
"This new restaurant is symbolic for both Meritage and O'Charley's. For
Meritage, it is our first store under a multi-unit development agreement that
gives Meritage the exclusive right to develop O'Charley's restaurants
throughout the State of Michigan. For O'Charley's, it represents the first
unit developed under its newly launched franchise program. These are important
milestones for both companies," stated Roger Zingle, President of O'Charley's
of Michigan.
"O'Charley's is best known for the freshness and homemade quality of its food,
in addition to the outstanding people who make up our restaurant teams," added
Zingle. "O'Charley's puts a lot of thought and hard work into the development
of the recipes and preparation of our food, producing only high quality items
which we believe are well worth the extra development effort. The menu features
specialty items such as hand-cut and aged steaks, a variety of seafood and
chicken dishes, freshly baked yeast rolls, fresh cut salads with special recipe
salad dressings and our signature caramel pie," concluded Zingle.
O'Charley's restaurants are also known for actively supporting local community
needs. A grand-opening event for vendors, managers, company executives and
community leaders was held Monday, August 23rd with all proceeds going to the
St. John's Children's Home of Grand Rapids.
In addition to the O'Charley's concept, Meritage Hospitality Group Inc. operates 47 Wendy's restaurants in the Western Michigan region. DATASOURCE: Meritage Hospitality Group Inc.
CONTACT: Robert E. Schermer, Jr., CEO of Meritage Hospitality Group Inc., +1-616-776-2600 Web site: http://www.meritagehospitality.com/
|