Business & Tech

Why Are Most New Restaurants -- Chain Restaurants?

North Allegheny area restaurant consultant Ron Sofranko says he has the answer.

Of all the stories posted on North Allegheny Patch in the past week, this one: McCandless Crossing Update: Three More Restaurants Commit, is generating most of the comments.

Many readers complain that most of the new restaurants moving in, are chain restaurants. 

A few months back, North Allegheny Patch interviewed Ron Sofranko, a North Allegheny area restaurant consultant, and he talked about chain restaurants. He said it all comes down to economics.

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"With development costs these days, the little guy can't afford it," he said. "An acre in Cranberry is $800,000 to a million. A restaurant needs up to two acres, then you have to build the building and the equipment. Not too many independents can afford a $3 to $4-million-dollar investment. But the chains sure can." 

Sofranko says if one chain moves in, more are bound to follow.

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"The thing that chain restaurants want is to have multiple units around them. They don't want to build by themselves," he said. "The chains want restaurant parks, where there are four or five within walking distance of each other. Restaurants like other restaurants."

Sofranko said that doesn't mean locally owned restaurants can't flourish.

"Often times, an independent restaurant does better when it leases space, like at the end of a strip mall," he said. "That way, they can bring in their own concept without spending millions on new construction."

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