Operations

Kelly's Roast Beef goes from casual beach fare to New England legacy franchise

Kelly's Roast Beef has four company-owned restaurants, two licensed airport units in Boston Logan International Airport and five franchised in New England and Florida. Company leaders expect six to eight units to open next year alone.

Photo: Kelly's Roast Beef

November 3, 2023 by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Networld Media Group

Legacy brands have the good fortune to have time, history and experience on their side. One such brand is Kelly's Roast Beef, founded in 1951 in Revere, Massachusetts by Frank "Mac" McCarthy and Raymond Carey. It's still operating today, and headed to a growth explosion.

Carey and McCarthy owned a hot dog stand at Revere Beach in Massachusetts. It was popular, and they also owned a venue people could rent out for events just down the street. It was there that a wedding was canceled, but the food — including roast beef — had already been purchased. Instead of tossing it out, Carey and McCarthy brought the roast beef down to the hot dog stand, sliced it thin, put it on hamburger buns and sold it to beach goers. Kelly's Roast Beef was born.

Neil Newcomb, CEO of Kelly's Roast Beef. Photo: Kelly's Roast Beef

"We still cook it the same way and serve it the same way," CEO Neil Newcomb said in a phone interview. The brand uses buns from Piantedosi Baking Co. out of Boston to serve the sandwiches.

Today, Kelly's Roast Beef has four company-owned restaurants, two licensed airport units in Boston Logan International Airport and five franchised in New England and Florida. The original four restaurants are still owned by the descendants of McCarthy and Carey.

All of the growth is coming out of a company that we formed called Kelly's Roast Beef Franchise LLC in which Newcomb owns 18%. The rest is divided up between the Careys and the McCarthys.

Newcomb expects another six to eight restaurants to open next year.

"We have a small number of very well-financed and talented franchisees," he said, adding franchising began in earnest two weeks before the country shut down with the pandemic in 2020. "That was very unfortunate because that just put us 18 to 24 months behind."

On the menu

As one would expect, roast beef is the top seller. It is seasoned simply with salt and pepper and is baked as needed throughout the day. It's most commonly served with James River BBQ sauce or with mayo or white American cheese. Want all three? That's called a three-way. Newcomb said 40% of the brand's sales is roast beef.

Forty percent of the brand's sales is seafood, a must-have in New England. Aside from roast beef, there's a fish plate with a white fish, shrimp and scallop plates, a lobster roll and belly-on clams, which is close to a fried oyster yet different from a clam strip.

"We make our own tartar sauce. There are lots of tartar sauces out there, but I've never seen tartar sauce made this way where we get the pickle relish and really strain it so we can get more relish into the mayonnaise, and it make it taste so much better," Newcomb said.

Some locations offer beer and wine, and the airport locations serve liquor as well. "I think going forward if the license is easy to get and not overly priced, (franchisees) will get it," Newcomb explained, "but it's not important to the brand."

He said the brand ensures continuity across the brand in three ways.

First, franchisees have a "deep desire" to live up to the Kelly's experience.

"Second, and we need more franchisees, but I've never had a more talented group of initial franchisees in my life," Newcomb said. "They are both well-financed and hire extremely talented operators."

Thirdly, the executive team visits the restaurants often. Newcomb said the vendors used have been good about getting product specs to all the restaurants no matter the location.

When asked what sets Kelly's Roast Beef apart from the competition, Newcomb admits it's a difficult market to compete in. "We have to execute and we have to have a superior product," he said. "That sounds simple to say, but it's really hard to do."

Photo: Kelly's Roast Beef

Operations

Having employees who have been with the brand for years is another goal toward differentiation. That kind of expertise only comes with experience. Two employees are retiring next year who will have been with the brand for 50 years. The head of operations has been with the company since the early 1980s.

In new markets, however, the brand is experiencing the labor crunch many other brands are experiencing. Newcomb said they're paying more, "and everybody should be doing the things it takes for good management, which is treating the employees with respect and dignity."

That includes greeting employees when they walk in the and giving employees honest feedback on their performance.

The brand's drive-thru business comprises 50% to 60% of business, while dine-in accounts for 30%. Delivery, which accounts for about 10% of sales, is available through third-party companies.

Newcomb said the prices of third-party delivery have come down, making it more affordable for restaurants to utilize the services.

For potential Kelly's Roast Beef franchisees, Newcomb has three-pronged advice.

"Don't think you can get in at a much cheaper price than anybody else has gotten in," Newcomb said. "Have a good piece of real estate, and invest in good managers."

Managers are trained for six weeks at the Saugus, Massachusetts, location, which has the highest volume in the company. "It does about $8 million," Newcomb said. "It is an incredible restaurant."

About Mandy Wolf Detwiler

Mandy Wolf Detwiler is the managing editor at Networld Media Group and the site editor for PizzaMarketplace.com and QSRweb.com. She has more than 20 years’ experience covering food, people and places.

An award-winning print journalist, Mandy brings more than 20 years’ experience to Networld Media Group. She has spent nearly two decades covering the pizza industry, from independent pizzerias to multi-unit chains and every size business in between. Mandy has been featured on the Food Network and has won numerous awards for her coverage of the restaurant industry. She has an insatiable appetite for learning, and can tell you where to find the best slices in the country after spending 15 years traveling and eating pizza for a living.

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