Isle-based Teddy’s expands to mainland

Hawaii-based Teddy’s Bigger Burgers opened a new store on Kapiolani Boulevard yesterday and said it will soon open in several other Hawaii locations plus in Seattle, Southern California and Iowa. It might also expand beyond the one restaurant it currently has in Japan.

Rich Stula, who co-founded the chain with Ted Tsa­ki­ris, said the company has been able to keep expanding in part because of a profit-sharing program wherein general managers "actually own a piece of the store they’re running." General managers become operating partners.

"In the 12 years we’ve been doing it, every one of the operating partners is still a part of our team, still doing robust numbers. They’ve really helped us turn the corner," Stula said.

Stula and Tsakiris opened the first Teddy’s location on Monsarrat Avenue in 1998. That store closed in 2004 when the partners opted to move from the 1,100-square-foot space to the cavernous-by-comparison 3,100-square-foot store Jack in the Box was vacating in the Waikiki Grand Hotel on Kapa­hulu Avenue.

"The company was born and raised here, along with our children," Stula said. After succeeding with their own stores, Stula and Tsa­ki­ris began franchising the concept.

Now, like Hawaii’s L&L Drive-Inn chain, Teddy’s is broadening its franchising to the mainland and other shores.

The Iowa store, under construction, will be near the University of Iowa in Iowa City.

Teddy’s also has signed its first Southern California franchisee, who will establish a restaurant in the Manhattan Beach area.

"They’re in real estate mode right now," scouting locations that Stula and Tsa­ki­ris will check out for compatibility with the chain’s needs prior to lease signing and construction.

The Woodinville, Wash., franchisee wants to open another Seattle-area location, and with yet another franchise sale, "We’ll have three in Seattle," Stula said.

The franchisee in Lahaina, Maui, "wants to do another location," and the partners are looking at doing more franchising on Hawaii island and Kauai.

Teddy’s also has a location in Japan via a licensing agreement that might eventually grow into more restaurants, Stula said.

As for closer to home, Stula said, "We weren’t really going to do any franchising on Oahu."

"We planned only corporate locations on Oahu, but the guys that run Papa John’s wanted to run Wahiawa," Stula said. The partners decided to allow it, as it was a location beyond what they had planned, and the area demo­graph­ics made sense.

The Oahu franchisees opened their second store Monday at 1646 Kapiolani Blvd., part of the former Blockbuster space.

"That will be the last franchise on Oahu," Stula said.

Also, the partners are opening two new company-owned stores next month: one in Kaneohe, the other in Ewa Beach.

The Kaneohe store will open on or about May 10 in the Walgreens Kaneohe Center by Petco, while the Ewa Beach location, in Lau­lani Village shopping center, is to open May 31.

"We’re in hiring mode right now," he said of both the Kaneohe and Ewa Beach stores.