Johnny Rockets Expanding

http://www.slashfood.com/2010/01/14/johnny-rockets-expanding-to-appeal-to-more-consumers/

Johnny Rockets Expanding to Appeal to More Consumers
Jan 14th 2010
by Nicki Gostin

If you have a spare $300,000 lying around and you've always wanted to open up a franchised sports bar then you're in luck.

Johnny Rockets, the restaurant chain best known for its Happy Days style diners, is launching sports bars and mobile kitchens. (According to NRN.com that tidy little sum is what you'll need to open a franchise, far less than the $750,000 for a regular Johnny Rockets).

A Johnny Rockets Sports Lounge opened last year in a Six Flags amusement park in Queensbury, N.Y. and tonight there is a media bash for another one that opened last month on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

The bars are smaller in space than the usual Johnny Rockets joints and have televisions for cheering on the Jets (if you're in New York). They offer a brand-new line of appetizers that are served at bars across the country like empanadas, mac and cheese, nachos and yes, you guessed it, those ubiquitous buffalo wings.

The NYC outlet is also serving up seven different types of alcohol-spiked milkshakes that sound sinfully delicious like the Cosmonaut -- a vanilla shake spiced up with some vodka and Kahlua.

"It's a twist from the 50's diner feel of Johnny Rockets. We cater to the sports fan. We have 12 large screen plasma TV's, but there's also a lounge area for people who don't want to watch sports," says Quang Nguyen, the general manager of the newly opened Manhattan digs.