Togo's becoming Dunkin' Deli

When I moved to Orlando, one of the little pleasures I found was that Togo's had restaurants out here. I missed their sub sandwiches while I lived in Las Vegas finding only Capriotti's to be on the same level of quality. (There is one Capriotti's out here, but I haven't been to it yet.)

But now Togo's is closing seven of its stores, including the one closest to me, and changing the name of the rest to Dunkin' Deli. Apparently they think the brand wasn't strong enough outside of California. It don't think that was it.

Instead of letting Togo's stand on its own they often combined it with a Baskin Robbins, Dunkin' Donuts, or both. To do this they had to reduce the menu. Many of the items removed were my favorite ones. Additionally, the split store led to a more hectic atmosphere behind the counter, and I feel, it lost of some of the personal care you felt you got when your sandwich was made for you as you waited. It other words it wasn't the brand that failed, it was the failure to fully implement the brand that doomed Togo's in the Orlando area.

Part of what makes Subway, McDonalds, and now Panda Express so successful is that every location you enter is nearly identical. If you like the Beef and Brocolli at one Panda Express you'll be able to find it at the other 300 and it will taste exactly the same. Young franchises or franchises looking to expand often think they can mess with this forumula and still expect success. As it turns out, that's not often the case. And it's too bad for Togo's because I was really hoping they'd figure it out and I could have my Hot Pastrami Sandwich I'd so been looking forward to.

[ Tags: togos, panda+express, orlando, restaurant, food, fast+food, franchise, business, subs, sub+sandwich ]