tesg's guide to big chain road food consumption

CHAIN -- Kenny Rogers Roasters
Owner -- Nathan's Famous, Inc
Primary Operating Region -- They used to be scattered about the US
Number of Locations -- They're basically gone in the US, but they're apparently still popular abroad

Here was a great idea gone horribly wrong.

Roasters began in 1991 with an original developer of Kentucky Fried Chicken and Kenny Rogers.  The signature menu item was to be a wood-fired rotisserie chicken.  The eventual concept was basically a Boston Market-like setup.

Wife #1 dragged me into the Cheyenne location reluctantly.  I didn't care for chicken (at the time), and I don't care for Kenny Rogers.  Cheyenne was not the first Roasters I had seen. They were seemingly popping up everywhere.  There were 350 locations nationwide at one point.

So we walk into the place and look at the menu.  I find a "Chicken and Ribs" combo and go for it.  I choose baked beans and Macaroni and Cheese as the sides.  The help is very friendly and the decor is warm in wood trim with dark green accents.  A video music system played a popular mix of hits ranging from country to Van Halen (not one Kenny Rogers song the whole time.)  Aside from a few pictures, the only real Kenny Rogers association inside was the names of his hits in glowing neon along the ceiling border.  "Lucille". "Gambler".  Over the rotisserie, there was a neon sign that said "Rotisserie."  I wonder how many Kenny Rogers fans stood there looking at that, trying to remember Kenny's hit song "Rotisserie".

Long story short...I left still not a fan of Kenny Rogers, but I LOVED his Roasters.  Not only had I eaten the best chicken I had ever tasted, I had experienced the best barbecue sauce and one of the best macaroni and cheeses as well.  I wasn't alone.  Roasters consistently won many "best in segment" awards for their excellent chicken and overall menu.  As far as the restaurant and the menu goes, Roasters seemingly did everything right.

The help was unusually friendly and helpful.  Everybody was smiling.  Managers/owners walked the dining room, asking how the food was, and taking trays.  Service was overall better than some casual dining places with full table service.  I have never, before or since, experienced better service at a restaurant of any kind.  This was just an amazing experience.

Then, just as fast as they arrived, the restaurants closed.

There were a number of reasons Roasters failed, the biggest being marketing.  How many of you never set foot in the place because you weren't a fan of Kenny Rogers?  I thought so.  Aside from Rogers himself hawking the chicken on the talk show circuit (and one hilarious Seinfeld episode), I never saw any marketing for the chain of any kind (I suspect it was limited to TNN and CMT) and the operators didn't appear to have a lot of experience with restaurants.  I don't know if the company basically suckered in a bunch of country music fans looking for an investment and got them into the restaurant business or not, but that's the logical suspicion.  In any case, they tried, they failed, and the company ended up in bankruptcy.

Another reason they didn't succeed is because the SEGMENT didn't succeed.  The other major player in the "take home a real meal" segment is Boston Market, who also ended up in bankruptcy with most locations shuttered. (Boston Market was purchased out of bankruptcy by McDonald's.)

Roasters was purchased out of bankruptcy by Nathan's Famous, the hot dog chain in New York.  As of 2007, one actual Roasters still existed in the US.  I've seen the brand name at co-branded Nathan's outlets, but the actual menu items had no association with the original restaurant menu.  There are still Roasters in operation internationally.

If you blinked and you missed Roasters, you missed out on something good.  Rest in Peace, Roasters.  We hardly knew you.

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