Richardson, Texas, U.S.A.-based Rockfish Seafood Grill, which operates 11 restaurants, expects its lobster and “comfort food” dishes to boost sales through the holiday season.
The chain has added several lobster entrees and appetizers to its menu for the holidays, citing attractive prices for Canadian lobster as a main driver of the decision.
“Since lobster meat is still at such an attractive price, we’re running our Fried Green Tomatoes and Lobster Stacks app and a steak/lobster combo entrée,” Virginia Pivonka, director of procurement and marketing for Rockfish, told SeafoodSource. In addition, Rockfish’s surf-and-turf combo features filet mignon with lobster thermidor topping, Pivonka said.
The company has also added a Seafood Pot Pie to its menu that is stuffed with shrimp, Alaska cod and Atlantic salmon.
“We already portion Atlantic salmon for our salmon burger so the pot pie gives us an extra outlet for the trimmings,” Pivonka said.
While the chain would like to use wild Gulf of Mexico shrimp in its dishes, the “price variance is too wide for us to make the switch” from farmed shrimp, Pivonka said. It sources shrimp from Aqua Star and its farmed salmon through Ocean Beauty’s Dallas, Texas division, as well as Seattle Fish of New Mexico.
Rockfish will look into the price and availability of sea bass as a potential addition to its menu closer to Christmas, Rockfish CEO Seth Wilkinson CEO of Rockfish told SeafoodSource.
Meanwhile, the 21-year-old chain is franchising to increase its revenue stream and meet demand from its guests, according to Wilkinson.
“I receive requests from guests weekly asking us to build a restaurant in their particular town, where they currently live. Some of these folks moved from Texas to other states and some of these guests came to know us by traveling to Texas and patronizing one of our restaurants,” Wilkinson said.
Wilkinson believes the brand is uniquely positioned for the current transition in casual dining.
“While most casual dining chains are changing their menus and service style to compete for the fast-casual consumer, we have a different approach. Our belief in scratch-made kitchens with skilled cooks in a relaxed, hospitable environment will set us apart moving forward,” he said.
Wilkinson plans to have two or three franchisees in place by the end of 2019, and will focus on Texas and Oklahoma.
“We will take it slow. As with any new business, there will be some bumps to work through to make it a smoother process,” he said.
