Beef O’Brady’s opens four family friendly  sports pubs in the Carolinas.

Family Sports Pub Beefs Up Mid-Atlantic

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – The stereotypical sports pub is a place where men, garbed in their favorite teams’ gear, sit hunched over a pitcher of beer, cursing as the home team loses another game or cheering and high-five-ing the winner. It’s a place where one goes to shoot a game of pool or throw some darts in a smoky room at the back of the bar. Beef ‘O’ Brady’s®, however, puts a new contender in the sports pub arena. “Beef’s,” as regulars have nicknamed it, is a family-friendly pub. It’s a place you can take the kids after the little league game to celebrate a big win with some tasty wings or a juicy burger. It’s a place where kids and grandparents can gather on a Wednesday or a Saturday night, and not worry about boisterous party go-ers.

Founded in 1985, Beef ‘O’ Brady’s® is the brain-child of Jim Mellody. The owner of a small Italian restaurant in Tampa, Florida, Mellody decided to purchase a sandwich shop and create an appetizing yet affordable menu. He knew the importance of customer satisfaction and so he designed his menu based on patrons’ suggestions. Almost overnight, locals took to the neighborhood shop, enticed by the food, service and attitude. Mellody added a sports theme to the already comfortable atmosphere and the first Beef ‘O’ Brady’s® hit the ground sizzling. Today, there are over 81 franchised locations throughout Florida, Georgia, Kentucky and the Carolinas.

Bob Fetterolf, sales and leasing broker in Divaris Real Estate’s Charlotte office, is the tenant representative for Beef ‘O’ Brady’s® throughout the Carolinas. He recently signed three leases and completed a sale for the family-style franchise. The first lease was with Mark Westerhorstmann, who is opening a 2,400-square-foot restaurant in Maynard Crossing, located at Maynard Road and High House Road in Cary, North Carolina. Michael Poen signed the second lease for 3,100 square feet of retail space in Quail Corners shopping center located at Park Road and Sharon Road West in Charlotte. The third lease, for 3,200 square feet, is located in Cherry Park Plaza on Cherry Road in Rock Hill, South Carolina.  Paul Schwartzott purchased a .54-acre outparcel in Brawley Commons Shopping Center in Mooresville, North Carolina, on which a 3,500-square-foot Beef O’Brady’s was built. These transactions mark the first North Carolina locations. Others are planned for Charlotte and Hickory, North Carolina and Rock Hill, South Carolina. “We’re hoping to sign about 15 more in the next five to eight years,” said Fetterolf.

Nick Vojnovic, senior vice president of corporate development for Beef’s is excited about the Carolina locations.  “They’re ideal,” he says. “They’re in very high-growth, family- and sports-oriented areas -- the perfect ingredients for a Beef ‘O’ Brady’s® location.” 

Vojnovic says he prefers to be in areas that aren’t over-saturated with chain restaurants and favors the smaller markets. ”We don’t want to be on ‘restaurant row,’ ” he says. “Look for us in neighborhoods with elementary schools and little league fields.” 

Other demographics used in Beef’s site selection process include 30,000 people within a three-mile radius and shopping centers anchored by grocery stores. Every Beef ‘O’ Brady’s® owner is actively involved with his neighborhood schools and little league teams, which plays a major factor in setting Beef’s apart from its competition.

When entering a Beef ‘O’ Brady’s®, it’s a given that you’ll find sports memorabilia decorating the walls, but don’t expect each pub to display the same stuff. While each restaurant is in the 2,500- to 3,500-square-foot range, it’s really up to the owners to decide on the décor. Since the pub is a franchise, one might find a local high school wrestling team photo prominently displayed next to a photo of the regional hockey team. That certainly doesn’t rule out the exhibition of a national sports team, however, and you are sure to find major sports stars lining the restaurant walls.  Each restaurant seats up to 125 sports-hungry fans.

And of course, what would a sports pub be without the ability to watch the big game? Two or three giant television screens, along with strategically placed smaller televisions, carry a wide range of sporting events provided by satellite dishes. Once the game is over, or on off-seasons, interactive video games provide a recreational option and enhance the family appeal of the restaurant.  Beef ‘O’ Brady’s® closes at 11p.m., seven days a week and is designed to discourage the late night crowd. 

“We don’t have pool tables or dart boards, we don’t serve hard liquor and we absolutely don’t allow swearing,” Vojnovic states. “We are not a sports bar. We are a family-oriented sports pub.” 

So, where’s the Beef going to be in the future? Vojnovic restates the company’s motto: “Every neighborhood should have one!”  He said he’d like to open 200 restaurants by 2005. “But since Beef ‘O’ Brady’s® is franchise-driven,” he says, “That number could be even a lot higher.”