With a new prototype to tout, Tampa-based parent of The Brass Tap sees room for aggressive growth in pandemic's wake
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Dec 1, 2020

The Brass Tap's new location on North Dale Mabry Highway — a sleek interior with barn wood walls, expansive patio seating and plenty of TV screens — is a new prototype for which parent company FSC Franchising Co. has aggressive growth plans.

FSC, which also owns Beef 'O' Brady's, plans to increase the number of Brass Tap locations by more than 40 percent in 2021. There are 42 locations (two of which are corporately owned), and FSC plans to open 15 to 18 in the year ahead, said Jamie Cecil, vice president of franchise development. Twelve of those are already well underway.

By the end of 2025, Cecil told the Tampa Bay Business Journal that FSC would like to have 100 locations nationwide.

"Everybody enjoys going to a good bar," he said. "We need to create that feel, that atmosphere. We’re in the business of atmosphere and we sell beer to pay the bills."

Like other chain restaurant operators, FSC is looking to take advantage of vacancies in the retail real estate market. The novel coronavirus pandemic has devastated the restaurant industry, causing both mom-and-pop shops and big chains to close down. But plenty of well-capitalized operators like FSC are waiting in the wings to absorb that second-generation space.

Franchise concepts typically see an uptick in interest from potential franchisees in down economies, as people look for new investments and business ventures. It's that dynamic, combined with the vacancies in retail real estate, that have FSC ramping up for major expansion, Cecil said.

"We're getting calls all the time from real estate agents that there's a property available, and our franchisees are willing to move," he said. "They see that the end is near. They know this [real estate opportunity] is not something that’s going to stay around forever."

It's much cheaper for a franchisee to take over a former restaurant space than build out a brand new one: A franchisee in Texas who took over a former Ruby Tuesday was able to get open for around $400,000, Cecil said. But a completely blank slate may run $750,000 to $900,000 for construction and startup costs.

The Brass Tap franchisee fee is $37,500, Cecil said, with half due upon signing the franchise deal and the other half when the franchisee signs a lease.

The new prototype on North Dale Mabry is the third iteration of The Brass Tap, Cecil said, which FSC acquired from its founders in 2012. This version, he said, blends the best elements of a craft beer bar and a casual dining restaurant in a real estate footprint that's manageable — and attractive to landlords. Typical locations range from 2,800 to 3,400 square feet, with strip center endcaps preferred. In a post-pandemic world, FSC plans to put a special emphasis on patio seating, increasing its typical patio size from 600 to 700 square feet to 800 to 1,000 square feet.

The menu, he says, is bar food with an upscale twist, like Brussels sprouts tossed in garlic butter and sirloin steak nachos.

And ideally, it won't feel like a chain restaurant.

"When you say craft beer bar, it needs to look not too corporate," Cecil said. "It needs to fit in and look like it’s the local place. Each of our Brass Taps has a unique feel to it."