Creating a Fast-Casual Brand

Zuka Juice founder David Duffin, president and CEO of Rumbi Island Grill, is again partnering with Bradley Davis, vice president of development and general counsel to build the national name. In 1999, the Zuka Juice team merged the $50-million annual operation into Jamba Juice after building a network of 108 locations, mostly franchised, in eight western states in less than three years. The Rumbi Island Grill plan calls for all corporate-owned sites except for Colorado, which has been franchised to a longtime friend and restaurateur, Craig Held of Boulder, CO, who's planning six locations.

Davis tells GSR that 10 Rumbi Island Grills will open this year in a even split between the two states. At least 100 sites are being eyed for the five-year plan, which includes a rollout in California. Duffin and Davis have five Rumbi Island Grills in the Salt Lake City region. A sixth location and the largest, 3,000 sf, will open in the spring at the Gateway, a 2.5-million-sf, mixed-use development in Downtown Salt Lake City.

The first Phoenix locations will be in Dana Park in Phoenix and the Shops at 43rd Street. Colorado's first sites are still being screened.

Leading the site search in Arizona is the father-son team of Larry and Daniel Ortega with Colliers International. Daniel Ortega says sites are under negotiation in Central and North Scottsdale, Tempe, Gilbert and Chandler. Rumbi Island Grill's team is chasing high-profile end caps with 2,500 sf to 3,000 sf, primarily in under-construction centers, and signing five- to seven-year leases to claim the spots, according to Daniel Ortega. Patio space is a must-have, he adds.

"For a startup company, they needed to have the A sites right off the bat," Daniel Ortega says. "They aren't able to have any average sites."

Duffin and Davis, both Utah residents with relatives in Phoenix, have turned to familiar stomping grounds to start the branding process. "We go to places we know and understand the best," Davis says. "As we begin to branch out, we will go East. We firmly believe we will be a brand."

Rumbi Island Grill, like Zuka Juice, is an offshoot of Duffin's love of the tropics and experience gleaned from living for several years in Jamaica. The goal is to turn everyday lunch or dinner breaks into tropical escapes. "We want to take your mundane daily experiences and turn them into a tropical experience," Davis says of a menu embracing flavors from the Hawaiian Islands, Pacific Rim, South Pacific and Western Caribbean and tropical interiors with island music to set the tempo. Locations will seat up to 80 customers inside and another 20 on the patio.

Davis says all major restaurant owners are jockeying for market share in fast-casual dining. "It's the darling of the restaurant industry right now," he says. Rumbi Island Grill's closest competitors are Bahama Breeze and Islands, but both are full-service venues. Duffin and Davis' concept has a time stamp of seven to 10 minutes to get food to customers' tables.

"We are the Pei Wei of tropical dining," Davis says. "We are delivering ambience and quality food like full-service with the speed and convenience of fast-food and a price point that right's in the middle." The menu holds fares like Hawaiian and Jamaican teriyaki bowls, a one-of-a-kind Volcano Blackened Mahi Island entree, Bahama Mama tortilla soup and Voodoo chicken salad. David Prows, a Utah native, joined the team last summer as Rumbi Island Grill's executive chef.

Before doors swing open to the public, a traditional Hawaiian blessing is performed by Maurice and Kahea Ohumukini, owners of Salt Lake City's Touch of Hawaii store and certified in the native ceremony. A 20-minute ceremony is performed for VIPs on the day before the grand opening.