CASE STUDY Location, Location, Location? Bruce Adams stood in the parking lot facing an empty restaurant building. The restaurant had closed 60 days earlier, after being in business for about 8 months. As he visually surveyed the area, he noticed several things of interest. The building itself was fairly new, having been built 10 years ago by a franchisee of a national budget steakhouse chain. In the current configuration, the building had three separate dining areas, with seating for 40, 50, and 30 in the respective areas. In addition, there was a lounge that had 12 seats at the bar and space for an additional 16 seats. The quality of the building was very good, and the equipment, although not new, was certainly better than what he'd seen in other locations.

Bruce, who owned three other restaurants in another city within the state, believed that the local area offered potential. A successful 130-room, four-story Days Inn was located next to the restaurant, and it was positioned at an interchange of an interstate highway. A small residential community north of the restaurant consisted of approximately 100 single-family homes priced slightly above the average for the city. To the east and south of the restaurant were over 1,500 apartments, occupied predominantly by students attending a local university. The city in which the building was located had a rapidly growing population of 50,000, and the effective trading area population for businesses in the city was over 200,000. Several universities and a community college were within a 10-mile radius of the restaurant.

The local industrial base consisted of a number of small manufacturing operations. The largest employers manufactured parts for the automotive industry, published books for national and international distribution, manufactured equipment for the agricultural industry, produced beer for one of the nation's largest brewers, and provided trucking and transportation services. In addition, there was a growing service economy, and the city was home to a regional medical center and a strong professional community. At the present time, overall economic conditions in the area were good. Unemployment was very low, less than 2 percent, well below both the state and national levels.

As he stood in the parking lot, Bruce discussed the restaurant site with a business associate and a commercial real estate agent. He asked what he felt was an obvious question: With what appear to be so many positive attributes for this location, why hasn't anyone been successful here? In the 10 years since the building was constructed, there had been five different restaurant concepts, none of them successful. The failed concepts included a budget steakhouse, a southern barbecue restaurant, two different midpriced casual dining concepts, and most recently a somewhat upscale fine-dining concept. All had proven to be unsuccessful. Most closed their doors within 9 to 12 months. The longest-running restaurant remained open for 22 months. The only individuals making any money from this location were the commercial real estate agents. As the discussion continued, Bruce wondered aloud, What type of productservice mix might be successful here? What type of concept might attract and retain customers? How might we approach the development of a successful restaurant?

Case Study Questions and Issues How can the marketing concept be applied to this situation? Should Bruce be considering the potential productservice mix for a restaurant at this location at this time? Or should he be focused on other issues? If so, what might they be? What information does Bruce need in order to make a decision about the possible purchase or lease of this site?