Potatopia is pushing potatoes to the center of the plate

Alan Dikker is out to disrupt thinking about potatoes.

With his five-unit fast casual concept Potatopia, Dikker aims to move potatoes to the center of the plate.

Dikker believes his childhood love of the humble spud is shared by many in the New York/New Jersey/Pennsylvania region, where Potatopia is based, and beyond.

"Everyone loves potatoes," said Dikker. "Every age group, every culture, every race, it's probably the largest crop in the world, and it has mass appeal."

Dikker may just be on to something. His first Potatopia unit has seen a 40 percent increase in comparable same store sales, and sales in newer units are growing 15 percent year over year. His newest units are also showing month over month growth.

Perhaps most encouraging, data indicates that just two months after opening, 45 percent of customers at the brand's newest unit are returning guests, indicating that it's already building a loyal fan base.

Disruptive thinking

Disruption is a theme throughout Potatopia's inception and evolution.

The idea for Potatopia was born in Dikker's kitchen. Dikker, who then worked in advertising, loved to unwind and relax in his kitchen after a long day at work. While perfecting a series of sauces, he began considering potential fast casual concepts. He wanted to steer clear of the crowded pizza and Mexican inspired segments.

"I thought I would love to create a quick-serve, fast casual concept that is truly unique from all the offerings out there," said Dikker. "I wanted to be disruptive, bring something unique to the industry."

Dikker also wanted to get beyond the typical potato bar offerings, which are usually limited to baked potatoes or fries.

Two years later, Dikker was ready to roll out his concept, which features a full complement of house-made sauces, several protein options and ten different styles and varieties of potato, from Idaho backed potatoes to sweet potato crinkle cut fries to tater tots. Guests can chose from a menu of signature creations – the Smashed Hit is a favorite – or build their own creation featuring their own protein and sauce choice.

Since the first restaurant opened in 2011, Dikker has continued to be disruptive. Most recently, Dikker and his team have restructured pricing, flipping from an la carte structure to a flatter, protein-first model. Feedback has been 90 percent positive, said Dikker, an indication that he's moving in the right direction.

Another tweak: the brand's Jersey City unit changed the guest experience from pay first, then order to order first, then pay. The change streamlined service and yielded a significant improvement in throughput. Previously, the highest hourly throughput was 50 transactions in an hour; using the new model, the unit set a new record of 72 transactions in an hour.

Potatopia is continually evaluating and tweaking its whole system, said Dikker.

"Luckily for us, these strategic changes we've done have all been improvements," he said.

More disruption is in the works. Dikker is developing a new store model built in a shipping container. He hopes to get approval to place the new unit in a park in New York City.

"For me, the vision of the brand it to consistently be disruptive; to be disruptive in our brand, to be disruptive in our food, be very, very different from anybody else," said Dikker. "A shipping container is a unique, interesting concept. It's something out of the ordinary, and that's what we like to do."

Educating consumers

In a post-Atkins Diet world, the very idea for centering a meal around a potato is disruptive, as is the idea of pushing a traditional side dish to the center of the plate.

"Our challenge is really educating the consumer that this is not a side dish," said Dikker.

With a wide array of customization options available, Potatopia guests can create a very healthy, nutritious meal, or indulge, said Dikker. The experience is really up to the customer.

Dikker is also trying to educate guests about the health benefits of potatoes by curating content from credible sources that showcase healthy ways to enjoy potatoes. That content is pushed through the brand's social media channels.

An "under 500 calories" menu is also in the works. The new menu will feature five signature meals, all of which are under 500 calories.

Expansion plans

Potatopia currently has four corporate locations and one franchise location open. Several additional locations are in development, including franchise units in Philadelphia; New Brunswick, New Jersey; and Long Island, New York; and corporate locations in Cherry Hill, New Jersey; Princeton, New Jersey and New York City. Two of the franchise agreements are multi-unit deals.

Dikker's goal is to see a total of 15 new locations up and running by the end of the year. He's targeting markets in Texas, Chicago, the West Coast, Florida and Canada. He's also eyeing real estate near corporate office parks, where performance is strong during the lunch daypart, and looking to expand store footprints so each unit can add more in sales. With the tweaks, he believes units will hit $1.2 to 1.3 million in sales per year.

"We can go anywhere with potatoes, we just might have to localize for the market," said Dikker.

The challenge is finding the right franchise partners and operators.

"For me, that's very important. We're not just taking anybody with a pulse and a checkbook. We're looking for people that have multi-unit experience, have experience in the business and can completely understand our vision and what we're trying to create and be strict about our branding initiatives, be strict about our quality control, and those are the kind of people we're looking for," he said.

He's already turned away one multi-unit operator who was interested in franchising with Potatopia. Things were going well, until Dikker decided to visit the operator's existing restaurants. He was not impressed when he saw dirty stores and inconsistent uniforms on team members. Despite the operator's strong financials, Dikker turned him away. It was a tough choice for a young brand looking to grow, but Dikker is trying to keep the long game in mind.

"We have to stick with our brand because that's going to develop strong growth and stronger valuation in the future," he said.