Coneys: The New Frontier

(Sunday, October 21, 2007) - David Rutkauskas is getting a
hot reception for his new
hot dog chain.
The Tulsa restaurateur, who's
built quite a reputation with his
wildly successful Camille's
Sidewalk Cafe franchise, opened
his first Coney Beach
establishment in Tulsa in July.
Coney Beach features gourmet
hot dogs, hamburgers and fries.
The restaurant's fast-casual setting
is similar to the strategy
Rutkauskas pioneered with
Camille's, which offers
sandwiches, pizza, soups, salads
and smoothies.
It took 10 years for Camille's to
grow into an international
franchise powerhouse, with 117
now in place. In contrast, it has
only taken 12 weeks for Coney
Beach to go global.
Overseas growth
In an exclusive interview,
Rutkauskas toldme his Beautiful
Brands firmhas signed a franchise
deal with Jawad Business Group to
bring Coney Beach locations to
regions in the
Middle East,
including
Bahrain,
Kuwait, Oman,
Qatar, Saudi
Arabia and the
United Arab
Emirates.
Rutkauskas
also has
completed a
separate pact
with a veteran
restaurant
operator that
will put Coney
Beach into Florida. Other
franchises are pending in
Oklahoma, Texas and California,
as well as South America.
"I think Coney Beach eventually
will havemore locations than
Camille's," Rutkauskas said by
telephone.
That would be impressive, since
a new Camille's is opening
somewhere in the world every
seven days.
As for the quickmove into the
Middle East, Rutkauskas said the
JBG franchise group already has
had success with Camille's there,
as well as other U.S. brands such
as Chili's, Burger King and Papa
John's.
A JBG representative visited
Tulsa this summer to check out
Coney Beach, at 11089 S.Memorial
Drive. Although it was the
gentleman's first hot dog, he fell in
love with the classic American
creation.
"When you go into a region with
an itemthat no one has ever tasted,
there is tremendous opportunity,"
Rutkauskas said.
Gourmet concept
The Tulsa entrepreneur admits
that selling hot dogs hardly is a
new idea. His twist is to do it in a
fast-casual setting—that, for now,
is unusual if not nonexistent for
that menu item.
It's something he knows a lot
about.

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