Multi-Unit Franchisee Opens Johnny Rockets’ First Dual-Branded Restaurant

In 2012, Lou Chicatelli was looking for a change. The successful real estate attorney was not ready to leave his practice, but he was compelled to explore other business opportunities that he could pursue on the side. After researching a number of concepts, Chicatelli decided to purchase a Johnny Rockets restaurant in Albany, New York, not far from his office.

Five years and three units later, Chicatelli’s side project has not only become an enviable career in its own right, it has expanded the scope of the 70-year-old brand’s concept with the opening of Johnny Rockets’ first dual-branded restaurant, Johnny Rockets/Handcrafted Drafthouse.

Johnny Rockets was not Chicatelli’s introduction into the restaurant industry. Before law school, he’d worked in a number of food-service jobs, including managing a restaurant for his cousin.

“I learned a lot from my cousin,” Chicatelli said. “He went to culinary school, and he owned the restaurant I managed. So, I had some insight into the business side of restaurants when I was pretty young.”

But Chicatelli did not set out for a career in the restaurant business until long after he’d graduated from law school and established another career in real estate law.

“In 2012, my partner was looking to retire, and I was getting a little burned out,” said Chicatelli. “I wasn’t ready to retire, but I was looking for a new opportunity, something I could invest myself in and still keep my practice.”

When Chicatelli’s partner discovered an opportunity to own a Johnny Rockets restaurant in town, it didn’t take long for Chicatelli to decide that it was the perfect opportunity.

“I know real estate, and I know a bit about the restaurant industry, and everything just looked right,” said Chicatelli. “Most importantly, I wasn’t going to have to re-invent the wheel. The concept, the management system, the food—everything was already established, which meant that I could keep my practice and run both businesses at the same time.”

After a year of successfully running his Johnny Rockets location and his law practice, Chicatelli decided to purchase a second Johnny Rockets location. That second location quickly proved as successful as the first, and as profit and revenue for both locations climbed, Chicatelli began to think about focusing on his restaurants full-time.

“The work with Johnny Rockets just came so naturally, and I began investing more of my time into growing that business. Now I like to call myself a recovering attorney. I still do it on the side, but mostly only for my existing clients. It’s just about five percent of my time now.”

Last year, Chicatelli decided to open a third Johnny Rockets, but for this location, he had bigger plans. Chicatelli had been workshopping his own restaurant concept, a sports bar that he envisioned sharing space with a Johnny Rockets restaurant. Chicatelli pitched the concept to Johnny Rockets’ corporate team, who loved the idea, and agreed to help build Johnny Rockets’ first-ever dual-branded restaurant, Johnny Rockets/Handcrafted Drafthouse.

“The brands really complement each other,” Chicatelli said. “Both have a classic American feel, but Handcrafted attracts a slightly different crowd, including a lot of young professionals, which are not traditionally Johnny Rockets’ primary demographic.”

With the opening of his third restaurant, Chicatelli is more involved with the day-to-day work of restaurant operations than ever before, and he no longer considers Johnny Rockets his side job.

“I used to take a very high-level approach to my first two stores,” said Chicatelli. “I’d have a manager and a general manager, and I’d stay on top of the numbers and tell them what to work on. With the new store, we’re building a brand-new concept from the ground up, so I’m involved with all the nitty-gritty details.”

Where the established models of the Johnny Rockets brand came pre-packaged with best practices, the sports bar concept has a clean slate, so Chicatelli is working hard to make sure that the management principles of Johnny Rocket extend to both sides of the dual-branded location.

“It’s important that I’m here every day to set the tone for the new operation,” said Chicatelli. “I want to get a sense of when we’re slow and when we’re busy, and I want to establish a vibe for employees in terms of how they should be responding to those busy or slow times. Plus, I’m excited about the restaurant, and I want to be able to help out with whatever is needed.”

As much work as Chicatelli is putting into the new restaurant, he attributes its success, like that of his first two restaurants, to the support he gets from Johnny Rockets’ corporate team.

“I’ve always been so impressed with corporate’s open lines of communication,” Chicatelli said. “If I need to talk to the Senior Vice President at 9 p.m. tonight, I can get him. They are always available for their franchisees. I can email, call or text, and I always get a quick response.”

Now that Chicatelli has worked with Johnny Rockets for a few years, he doesn’t rely on the corporate team for day-to-day operations like he used to, but he still calls them for help with anomalous issues that pop up.

“In the beginning, corporate gave us a ton of training, and I had weekly, often daily conversations with their team,” said Chicatelli. “Now I talk to them maybe once a month if an issue pops up. It might be a point-of-service question or a construction issue for the new store. I don’t need them for much, but they’ve got a solution for any and everything I do need them for.”

Chicatelli sees that support from the corporate team as the single most valuable benefit that the brand offers, and he advises all franchisees to make the most of it.

“In the beginning, every franchisee should soak in the training,” Chicatelli said. “You want to learn everything they have to tell you. Once you understand the brand, you have a rock-solid base, and you can roll with any operational changes or hiccups you might face. After that, keep using corporate whenever you need them. They’ll tell you, ‘call us anytime,’ and they meant it.”

Now that Chicatelli’s third Johnny Rockets is open, he has no plans to slow down.

“I put in, and am still putting in a lot of work to the new restaurant, but I see more locations in the pipeline in the long run,” said Chicatelli. “I’d like to get to around 10, and then I’ll see where I am.”