Wild Willy’s Burgers

Burgers mean big business for this northeastern chain, which focuses on making this American favorite a standout.

By Lisa White, Contributing Editor -- Foodservice Equipment & Supplies, 5/1/2007

Wild Willy's charbroils its burgers, steak and chicken using radiant heat. Buns also are toasted on the broiler.

After 18 years as a McDonald's franchisee in Boston, Jim "Wild Willy" Williams, an Ogunquit, Maine, native and selfproclaimed lover of all things relating to the Old West, needed a break. It turned out to be a short one.

During his short retirement, burgers remained on Williams' brain. So, he set out to create a place where people could get a freshly-made burger that tasted like it was cooked in their own backyard. "The idea was simple. I was grilling at home with the kids using fresh burger ingredients and thought, 'Now why can't I buy a burger like this?'" he says.

Six years ago, this led to his creation of Wild Willy's Burgers, a concept that focuses on a product from which he sought to retire. "McDonald's was a wonderful training ground," Williams says.

The first Wild Willy's Burgers location opened in May of 2001. The chain will soon have six locations in the Northeast.

At the same time, Williams created Henry VIII Olde English Carvery, a sandwich shop in Portland, Maine, that featured meat roasted overnight in combi ovens. "It put six sandwich shops out of business in six years," he says.

While the carvery concept was originally created to be franchised, Williams decided to sell the business to focus on Wild Willy's. "I went with Wild Willy's because the biggest pie you can be a part of is burgers. Sandwiches do not represent as big a category and it is a tougher one to be in," he explains.

With total annual sales per unit in excess of $1 million, this decision has paid off in spades. Wild Willy's now has four locations, one each in York and South Portland, Maine; Rochester, N.H.; and Watertown, Mass. The chain plans to open two more Massachusetts locations this year.

One aspect that makes this operation unique is that Williams licenses the concept and handpicks his licensees. "The plan behind this is to attract good people. I pick people based on quality," he says. And Williams charges no fees to become a Wild Willy's licensee.

Before he developed this program, Williams says he looked at all the mistakes the industry has made in terms of franchising and designed his system to avoid them. "It is trademark licensing, which is similar to franchising. But I designed the system to allow licensees to make money and grow their businesses. I don't make money on product markups or charge extra for products and advertising. I let the licensees make a lot of their own decisions, like how many hours they want to be open. I want to work with businesspeople who can make the decisions themselves," he says.

Burgers, with names reminiscent of the Old West, include everything from the traditional cheese, tomatoes and onion to the more adventuresome green chiles, salsa and steak chili.

Although he says finding good real estate continues to be the biggest challenge, Williams makes sure locations are 25 miles apart or no less than a 25-mile radius from the other sites. "We want our stores to be a destination and not dominate. Yet, they are located close enough to one another so the brands and reputation overlap," he says.

Williams likens the restaurant business to craftsmanship, which requires many elements to make a concept work. "Good food is based on the ingredients and the care you take when you put them together. A lot of operators try to make a lot more out of it, but you have to over-deliver on customer expectations," he says. "That's what wins the battle for business in our industry."

In fact, these burger joints do most of their business in the dinner hours, which Williams sees as a testament to the high quality of the food. "These days, people want quality and they are willing to pay for it within reason. Most of our customers are either not fast-food eaters or are infrequent fast-food eaters," Williams says.

The one-third pound, certified Angus burgers, the menu's staple, are made by hand from fresh ground beef.

And Williams makes no excuses for not acquiescing to the latest food trends. "There are two schools of thought in the restaurant business. Some chains are continuously morphing, getting sucked into the trap that is basically shotgun marketing. They think if they add enchiladas or spaghetti on the menu, they'll get more customers. In most cases, this won't work. We would rather stay the same and not follow the trends. Customers respond to that," he says. "I believe menus should stay consistent."

Wild Willy's repeat customers become very familiar with its burger menu, since each variety has a brand name with an Old West connotation. For example, there's the "Annie Oakley," with bleu cheese, lettuce, tomato and red onion. The "Rio Grande" features roasted green chiles from New Mexico, which is the only food item aside from ice cream that is stored frozen, and a choice of medium or hot cheddar cheese. Prices tend to hover in the $6 range.

Staff make the one-third pound, certified Angus burgers by hand. Staff butter the buns and toast them on the charbroiler. Sides include Country Fair Fries made from hand-cut fresh Maine potatoes fried in vegetable oil and fresh-cut onion rings.

The restaurants' Country Fair Fries are made from hand-cut fresh Maine potatoes fried in vegetable oil.

Wild Willy's menu also includes chicken sandwiches, steak sandwiches and steak chili.

Along with its burgers, Williams says other best sellers include frappes or hand-dipped shakes, and authentic draft root beer that is available on tap straight from a keg.

Customers can purchase beer and wine, but the restaurant limits these to three drinks per person, and patrons must buy food with their alcoholic beverages. This supports the operation's reputation as a family, as opposed to a drinking, gathering spot.

Customers wait in line to order and then sit on stools at counters nearby to wait for a staff member to call their number.

Although each location sports a different exterior, the inside looks like a traditional country saloon, with cowboy décor and tavern doors. This motif showcases Williams' upbringing and love of the Old West. "Everything we do is old-fashioned, because people like consistency. There are counters and tables made from pine. No laminates are allowed," Williams says.

Each location offers something unique in terms of a conversation piece. For example, the Watertown site showcases a restored chuck wagon from the 1880s. Wild Willy's newest location in South Portland, which was formerly a log cabin, features an old player piano playing honky-tonk tunes. The Rochester restaurant sports Gabby, a talking mannequin dressed in cowboy attire.

Along with these novelties, wall decorations include murals, branding irons, hats, horseshoes, spurs, old-fashioned frying pans and cooking grates. The average site seats 100.

Decor centers around the chain's Old West theme and includes murals in addition to pine tables and booths.

Williams abhors contemporary décor, such as chrome, glass and the aforementioned laminates. "My ultimate décor is two to three picnic tables. That's the feeling I want without too much kitsch," he says.

The open kitchens, which allow customers to see their meals prepared, also set apart Wild Willy's from other burger chains. Depending on the site, kitchens are either in a straight line or "T-shaped" format.

Williams works with new licensees when it comes to equipment purchases. "We give them options, but I push the equipment I like best. We don't buy bottom line, we buy function and top-of-the-line stuff where it matters," he says. "This is because, with our volume, we need equipment with serious staying power." Equipment packages tend to total more than $100,000.

Simple production allows the focus to remain on the food. Burgers, steak and chicken are charbroiled using radiant heat. Because most of Wild Willy's menu items use fresh ingredients, sites typically use the walk-in cooler more than the small freezer. The latter contains only ice cream and the green chiles from New Mexico. Although equipment can vary at each location, a typical setup includes two six-foot broilers, two prep tables, two fryers and a threecompartment sink.

Wild Willy's features no slicers as staff hand-slice all vegetables and other ingredients. Staff use mixers and multi blenders to create the popular frappes.

From the get-go, staff inform customers that their order will take between 12 and 14 minutes to prepare. "From a marketing standpoint, it is important to let customers know what you are and what you aren't. There is a lot of labor and prep involved with our burgers. It is a very different experience than going through the drive-thru at a fast-food place. We have no drive-thru here," Williams says.

When it comes to running a restaurant, Williams says finding a good equipment dealer is key. "Operators need equipment to stand up to what we do to it. It also boils down to who is representing the manufacturer and whether we can get someone to fix the equipment when there's a problem," he says.

Customers are informed their order will take between 12 and 14 minutes to prepare. The counter above features a top that dispenses authentic draft root beer straight from a keg.

Due to the positive reception of his newest restaurants, Williams would like to start expanding his horizons to other areas. "We want to grow in concentric circles and within our reputation. Now, when we open new stores, they get crushed with business. This shows us that people will see our sign and know who we are. We want to grow with good people in a sensible way," he says.

The most important thing, says Williams, is to stay true to Wild Willy's identity. "The biggest thing for a restaurant is you have to know who you are, and have the courage to stand for something. I look at chains that continually morph and change and then their customers don't know why they go there. They have lots of competition and a shelf life of 20 years because, after that, people don't relate to them anymore. I don't want that to happen to us, so we will remain mainstream," he says.