James Beard award winning chef Michael Solomonov (right) and partner Steve Cook (left) have opened ... [+]
In Philadelphia, foodies know Israeli-born chef Michael Solomonov for his James Beard Award winning restaurant Zahav and he’s also a fixture in Brooklyn where he co-runs with Steve Cook, a former investment banker turned restaurateur, Laser Wolf and Jaffa Cocktail & Raw Bar. But Solomonov and Cook combined to open a different kind of restaurant, the fast-casual, Federal Donuts & Chicken in 2011, that has expanded to 10 locations around Philadelphia including two arena stands.
And now with capitalization in 2022 from NewSpring Franchise, a private equity firm, Federal Donuts & Chicken is opening three new franchised Pennsylvania locations. In March it debuted its first franchised outlet in Las Vegas at the Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa.
Solomonov and Cook said the idea for the chicken and donut menu sprang from late night discussions between them after work at the Korean fried chicken joint Café Soho in North Philly. The duo viewed “donuts and fried chicken as iconic foods, and they’re not going anywhere.”
Indeed when they opened 13 years ago, they were running two full-service restaurants, and opened Federal Donuts & Chicken on a shoestring budget of about $35,000. “We wanted to put our own twist and personal passion with our food, and we were just coming out of the 2008 recession,” explains Steve Cook, who is 51-years-old and resides in Philadelphia.
But when they sold out of all of their prepared foods on day one, the duo thought that perhaps they were on to something.
A fast-casual restaurant chain, Federal Donuts & Chicken, is showing signs of success with franchising.
Some might say that Solomonov was going downscale, but restaurateur Danny Meyer moved from upscale Union Square Café and Gramercy Tavern to turn fast-casual Shake Shack into a nationwide success and a public company.
The name Federal Donuts & Chicken, arose from opening their first outlet in the Pennsport neighborhood of South Philly, on Federal Street.
Why combine donuts with fried chicken, which seems like an unusual pairing? Cook admits that it’s not a natural combination but that people remember it because “they’re surprised by the pairing.”
It’s known mostly for its classic fried chicken sandwich, consisting of fried chicken, ranch seasoning, American cheese, pickles and a spicy rooster sauce. It’s fried twice to ensure crispiness. Combo meals go for $14.50 to $21 and donuts from $2 to $4.
After 10 years of doing well and expanding to 10 company-owned outlets, the partners knew if they were to grow, they’d need to relinquish the day-to-day running of it. Going from 10 to 100 wasn’t how they wanted to spend the bulk of their time, Cook suggests, so they brought in NewSpring Franchise’s CEO Jeff Benjamin to expedite the franchising.
Franchising made sense to them because most locations are small-store footprints, keeping rents down, and offering strong breakfast business with the donuts, and then lunch and dinner traffic with the fried chicken.
Solmonov said that “We bring together top-notch culinary skills with the ease of a fast-casual set-up. Our business model is straightforward, and we’ve proven ourselves in diverse neighborhoods.”
But donuts are ubiquitous with Dunkin’ on many corners and Krispy Kreme’s on the other, so what gives their donuts a competitive edge? Cook says that each donut is made with Baharat, a Middle Eastern spice that gives them a pumpkin pie flavoring. And they offer classic donuts such as glazed spiced cake.
Consumer reaction on Yelp to one of its Philadelphia locations was mostly upbeat. Cass from Harrisburg, Pa. wrote that the donuts were “yummy.” She got a donut for the next day and it stayed fresh. She wished however there were more coffee options.
Matt from Willingboro, N.J. however, didn’t think Federal’s Donuts, which he had heard a lot about, was any better than Dunkin’s. He said there were many flavors available but most tasted the same. But Payal from Philadelphia thought its cookies ‘n cream and strawberry lavender donuts were “warm and soft” and she liked the hot apple cider as well.
Many Americans are gravitating toward healthier food so why launch a franchise that offers mostly fried food? Cook agrees that many Americans are choosing healthier pathways but “most don’t eat donuts every day.”
Cook says the concept will work in large metropolises like Philadelphia, smaller cities and suburban towns. A year from today Cook expects them to have opened more franchises and signed more agreements.
Asked the keys to its future success, he says: 1) Our ability to choose franchisees who believe in what we’re doing and maintain our quality, 2) Consistently produce “great food” every day, which is what he looks for when he goes out to dine.
