| The Earls Restaurant Formula
for Success
Memory Walsh
Earls is one of the few restaurants that has successfully
penetrated every category of the dining public. Rich
or poor, grandparents, kids, teen-agers, boomers and
GenXers all nurtured at an Earls table. This casually
hip chain of restaurants regularly earns accolades for
its informal formula. The Fuller family, including father
and three sons, have built a mini-empire of 52 restaurants
– 22 in British Columbia, 21 in Alberta, 2 in
Saskatchewan, 3 in Manitoba and after recently taking
their hospitality strategy to the USA, Canadians can
get a familiar fix in Scottsdale, Denver and Dallas.
Admittedly it may not be the wine list that has solidified
its client base, but in a dining environment that routinely
gouges wine enthusiasts with outrageously priced, often
boring wine lists, Earls gives wine drinkers a break
with a flat mark-up policy. Director of Purchasing,
George Piper, says, "I wish the BCLDB would think
of a flat markup. I can put so much better wine on Alberta
lists than on BC's." In an imperfect world, Earls
manages to incorporate 27 good value choices on the
BC list priced modestly at $21.95. They are chosen in
blind tasting panels that look for maximum character
for the dollar and appellation (origin) is less important
than quality. Without bias to any particular grape or
country the global list reinforces how many good value
wines are produced worldwide. With many of the wines
priced only a few dollars above retail – rare
in the dining world. Why has Earls adopted such a philanthropic
attitude? Piper says simply to get rid of wine snobbery.
"Wine is a food product and should be treated as
such. An individual choosing a wine shouldn't feel that
the heat's on."
The list is set up to make it easy to drink wine, listing
selections by flavour, not grape, region or price. "We
don't want people to drink cheap wine." A flat
markup makes it easy to choose a glass, carafe or bottle
to suit both mood and budget. We offer a few well-known
brands plus the chance to discover a few lesser known
gems that introduce styles and labels that may not have
been tried." Too many restaurants force budget
conscious diners to choose wines they regularly drink
at home. "House wines should represent the restaurant's
image. The whole idea of a house wine is what you should
be proud to pour." A decade ago the concept of
wines served by the glass became trendy and it seems
that diners have found merit in the idea. Piper says
"Wine by the glass sales are increasing steadily
since not everybody wants the same colour or flavour
at a table. We offer 27 wines by the glass – a
generous 7 ounce pour for $5.95, $4.95 for the house
wine. The most interesting thing to me is that when
consumers are given such choice, they support such range
without bias. Chile and Australia may be popular, but
so are lesser known labels. Consumers will take a chance
on ordering something new or different when they trust
a list and when it doesn't break the bank to explore
a bit."
The Earls approach to treating its wine drinking diners
to value-based quality is simply too rare. Let's hope
that 10 years of successfully testing a wine list driven
by value proves that it's a model that other wine lists
would do well to emulate.
Not surprisingly, the Piper philosophy to pairing wine
and food is refreshing. "I think we've set up so
many rules about food and wine matching that make unnecessary
work out of decision making for most diners. Personal
choice is much more interesting."
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