In the culinary world, the term “franchise” invariably connotes fast, unhealthy food. The idea of opening one is suspect and implies the owner lacks originality. Or that they’re reaping the benefits of an established brand not by earning credibility but by purchasing it with cold, hard cash. After two decades as a fixture on Cedar Street in Berkeley, chef Jacquet’s Grégoire has now officially entered its very own franchise phase. A small restaurant group recently opened a Grégoire in San Francisco’s Inner Sunset neighborhood. Before Jacquet embraced the idea, the chef also had his own doubts about the business model.
“By learning more about franchising, I discovered that it was more than a name,” Jacquet told me. He spent a year “creating systems” that would work within the limitations of one. Those systems included a frequently changing menu, proprietary recipes and the quality of the food. Once those systems were in place, two years ago, Jacquet opened the application process. He received around 150 franchise applicants and honed in on one.
“We talked a lot, and I fell in love with them and the way they operate and the way they think,” Jacquet said. “The group already had some experience in the restaurant business so it was just a perfect fit.” Last May, he awarded the group a franchise. Jacquet said he made the decision because of a gut feeling, mostly.
In general, he wants to partner with business-savvy franchisees. For him that means, “They care about other people, their customers, their employees and for the community.” And they’ve got to have street smarts.
Grégoire changes the menu quarterly, except for the crispy potato puffs. They’re like mashed potatoes only with a deep-fried coating. To ensure the quality of the food at a franchise is consistent with the brand, Jacquet runs a central kitchen in Emeryville where all of the ingredients are prepared. “Whatever we need to portion, we portion. Whatever we need to cook and slice, we cook and slice,” he said. At the end of the night, the San Francisco franchise orders what it needs for the next day and the products are delivered overnight.
This shared commissary provides the mother ship with specific information about how much product the satellite location is using. “We always have someone going over there,” Jacquet said. “We go on location to look at how they build their sandwiches.” The chef himself goes once a week or asks the employee delivering the food to see what products are in the refrigerator. “It’s not like we are separated from our franchisees at all,” he said. “We’re really in constant communication.”
Jacquet has ambitious plans for the business. “You create a hub here in the Bay Area that can provide for—we calculated up to 40 restaurants all the way up to Sacramento,” he said. “I’m ready for the growth here in the Bay Area.” Should this model work for the company, expanding to Los Angeles is part of the long-term plan.
Along with an actively roaming food truck, Jacquet had previously expanded the business. The chef reminded me that back in 2006 Grégoire operated a second location on Piedmont Avenue for just over a decade. When the Cedar Street location opened in 2002, he and his wife had a 3-month old. He decided to close the Oakland storefront to spend more time with his family. He recalled, “I was working too much and not cleverly enough, I guess.”
Both of his children are now college-aged, making this an ideal time to grow the business again. “All these years, I always thought that sharing this concept with other business owners would be a great thing because it’s such a personalized business,” Jacquet said. “We take care of the customers so heavily, and we care so much about the food.”
Jacquet is French, but his menu is filled with California cuisine. Dishes that are meant for lunchtime and light dinners: salmon and chicken salads, sandwiches and wraps with lamb, salami or vegetables. The chef’s standard reply about his cuisine is: “I cook food I like to eat, and I cook food I think people would like.”
Grégoire, 2109 Cedar St., Berkeley. Open Mon-Thu, 11:30am to 7pm; Fri-Sun, 11:30am to 8pm. gregoirerestaurant.com
