When you think of mall restaurants, chains like the Cheesecake Factory and California Pizza Kitchen spring to mind.
But mall dining is about to go global at Westfield Annapolis. Nando's Peri-Peri Chicken Restaurant will serve up Afro-Portuguese cuisine June 21. Its menu includes flame-grilled chicken, spicy red pepper dip, salads and sandwiches.
The restaurant currently has 850 restaurants in 30 countries, but just two in the U.S., in Washington, D.C. Peri-Peri takes its name from the fiery chili pepper, which
Africans introduced to Portuguese explorers in the 15th century.
"We have a cult-like following around the world," says Burton Heiss, managing director of Nando's Restaurant Group Inc. The company, which has acquired the franchise rights to build Nando's in the U.S., is spending $2 million to build the Annapolis store. Constructing the 4,200-square-foot shop will require remodeling one of the mall walls, which has made the building costs higher than the typical store.
The 152-seat restaurant will be one of six to 10 restaurants Nando's expects to open in Maryland within the next five years, Heiss says. After Annapolis, the group plans to open a store in downtown Silver Spring. The company is also scouting locations in Prince Georges, Anne Arundel and Montgomery Counties.
After scouting six dozen locations, Heiss says Nando's selected Annapolis because it is densely populated with an affluent, well-educated crowd.
Though some restaurants are buckling under financial pressures, Heiss says he is confidant Nando's will appeal to thrifty consumers since the average check is $13. Sales at the Washington, D.C., stores have increased by 17 percent in the last year Heiss says.
Writer: Julekha Dash
Source: Burton Heiss, Nando's