How The Melting Pot is Blazing a Trail in the White-Hot Fondue Segment

The Melting Pot, the 97-unit fondue franchise known for creating immersive dining experiences, has spent nearly half a century as a favorite chain of families, friends and couples. Since its inception in 1975, the brand has made a name for itself as a premium choice for upscale meals and special occasions. It continues to catch America’s attention by constantly evolving and bringing fresh ideas to the table — in addition to its delicious fondue. 

Many members of the original team who launched the Melting Pot as a successful franchise are still running the brand today, including CEO Bob Johnston, who was just 14 years old when his two older brothers founded the company. Now, Johnston leverages his extensive experience to successfully steer the company towards the future. 

1851 Franchise spoke with Johnston to hear more about the brand’s recent success, why franchisees love the concept and the team’s vision for the future.

Big News from Last Year

Despite the challenges of the pandemic, the Melting Pot celebrated a tremendous year of growth in 2021, experiencing a system-wide sales increase for 2021 versus 2019, up 26%. In Q1 of 2022, 23 restaurants are up 38% over 2019. Looking at data over the end of March into early April, sales have been up between 44% to 50% over 2019. Guest traffic is also up 10% through early April in 2022 versus 2019, with the end of March into early April being up 14%–17% over 2019.

The brand is also in the process of remodeling over 20 of its locations. 

“It's very sexy, contemporary with still extremely comfortable and intimate surroundings. And the stores which have gone through this are up in performance by 22%,” Johnston said. “We have all new stores being built with a sleek updated design and are remodeling all the existing stores. They look fantastic, and the guests are really loving going.”

The Melting Pot team has also spent the last year rolling out new marketing campaigns to keep guests coming back. “Thursdate,” for example, is part of the company’s vision to convince customers that the fondue restaurant is not simply reserved for special events and days. It features a romantic dinner experience for a couple, reminiscent of a Valentine’s celebration but bringing it to a weeknight when their profits are typically lower. 

The “Best Fondue Friends Forever” is another marketing initiative encouraging friendship and meeting up with loved ones around some delicious food and fondue. The program has been especially popular as COVID-19 restrictions ease and people can gather in public again. 

Photo credit: OpenTable.com

Why the “Eatertainment” Industry?

While diners have many restaurant options, few eateries offer an entire entertainment experience. But according to a recent survey, 75% of consumers say that unique dining experiences are worth paying more for. Now, after the pandemic, diners are hungrier for the kind of experience they can’t get anywhere else, and as a result, the ‘eatertainment’ segment is on the rise. 

Fondue is a classic example of ‘eatertainment,’ and The Melting Pot is the only fondue franchise in the United States with a menu based on sharing and conversing around the middle of the table. “It is the mission of the brand to provide guests with their perfect night out, whatever that looks like — especially today with what's gone on in the world over the last few years,” Johnston said. “Guests choose us over other options because we carefully craft an environment that encourages gathering with people they care about and spending quality time with them. The Melting Pot provides the perfect environment for that. What happens in a Melting Pot is as much about what's going on around that fondue pot as what's in that pot.”

And while many choose the fondue experience for a special occasion, Johnston says the brand has been able to market itself beyond being a fancy one-off spot. They have been focusing on marketing the concept’s “eatertainment” value for weekdays when sales are typically lower and are in the process of refreshing the interiors of the restaurants. The initiatives have successfully shown customers why they should continue choosing The Melting Pot. 

Why Franchisees Are Getting On Board with Melting Pot

The Melting Pot isn’t only a hit among today's consumers — business-savvy entrepreneurs are also increasingly recognizing the benefits of the brand’s franchise opportunity. With consumers hungry for exceptional, in-person dining experiences, Melting Pot offers franchisees a prime opportunity to tap into consumer demand through a beloved product, streamlined operations and a flexible work-life balance. 

In the case of day-to-day operations, the Melting Pot doesn’t have a typical restaurant kitchen. “Recooks” — food sent back to the kitchen because it was either cooked incorrectly or sent out wrong — can throw a wrench into even the most efficient kitchen’s operation on a busy night, resulting in frustration for guests, servers and managers alike. It can also discourage repeat business. At The Melting Pot, steaks aren’t sent back to the kitchen because they were overcooked — because the guests cook the food at the table.

This non-traditional kitchen model eases the burden of staffing — from hiring to retaining and replacing team members — as managers are not limited to competing with other restaurants in a limited pool of experienced cooks. This is a tremendous advantage in an industry still affected by labor shortages.

The simplicity of The Melting Pot concept also affords franchisees certain real estate advantages. Because of its non-traditional restaurant model, there is a lot of flexibility with the physical plan and layout of a Melting Pot location. According to Johnston, the brand has opened locations in sizes from as little as 3,200 sq. ft. to the more standard 4,700 sq ft. This allows the brand to pursue real estate options that other restaurants cannot.

“We can consider some locations that other concepts would probably die if they took it,” said Johnston. “Everybody wants an A-plus location, right? But because of the unique nature of The Melting Pot concept and because we’re not a place you go just to stop and eat, we don’t have to be on the corner of Main Street. We can take locations that are less than an A and make them perform like an A-plus.”

This flexibility also makes The Melting Pot an attractive target for conversions. Suppose a restaurateur or business owner has a great piece of real estate, but their business is not performing. In that case, The Melting Pot is a great franchise for them to consider as a conversion because of the simplicity of the kitchen and overall layout. 

The Investment

The total investment range required to open a Melting Pot location is $1.1 million to $1.5 million. In exchange, franchisees can be confident they are joining a system that promotes strong ROI and reliable scalability. According to Johnston, over the last seven months, Melting Pot sales are consistently up north of 35%, with most weeks seeing 40–45% bumps and some as high as 55%. And with a sales lift of 26% since 2019 — with 2,372 days of zero sales due to COVID-related closures — The Melting Pot is enjoying exciting momentum to start 2022.

“We are blowing the doors off compared to casual dining and polished casual,” said Johnston. “We are very thankful that our customers support us the way they are. We're grateful.”

Because of its elevated dining experience, the brand boasts price-point averages higher than other restaurants in its class, averaging $52 to $55 per person. This, paired with the low food and labor costs per guest, has resulted in significant returns for franchisees. 

Why the Leadership Team is Excited About the Future

Looking ahead, Johnston says the Melting Pot shows no signs of slowing down for the rest of 2022 and beyond. The team hopes to hit the 125-unit mark in 2026, and target markets for the brand include cities across Texas, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas, Ohio and Kentucky.

“What gets me excited about the work we do here is that we help our franchisees realize their dream of business ownership,” Johnston said. “I enjoy helping them create a business for themselves and their families. We take the franchisees’ successes very seriously and personally. It’s important to us for them to achieve their personal objectives, their personal ambitions and their financial objectives.”

For more information, visit https://www.meltingpotfranchise.com/.