DALLAS, July 27, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- The first Tony Roma's "Fast & Casual" restaurant opened in Wellington, Florida in Palm Beach County on June 29th.
The new concept features new and unique menu items in the appetizer, sandwich, soup and salad categories as well as several famous Tony Roma's menu items.
"We are very excited about the launch of our first 'fast-casual' restaurant," said Marc Buehler, Chief Operating Officer of Romacorp. "The Tony Roma's brand is well known around the world and we have an extremely loyal guest base in south Florida so we wanted to introduce it here first. The menu, atmosphere, and service system are all new and completely different from our traditional full service Tony Roma's," added Buehler. "We have focused on developing new and innovative items including paninis, signature salads, soups and appetizers that taste great and are very unique."
The restaurant features a center "Sauce Bar" where all the famous Tony Roma's sauces such as Original, Carolina Honeys, Red Hots and Blue Ridge Smokies as well as other specialty condiments are available to complement the menu items.
The Wellington Tony Roma's Fast & Casual restaurant is located in a new shopping center which features a number of other retail and dining concepts. The restaurant is 2,800 square feet and seats 85 for lunch and dinner.
"Take out is also a huge target for us in this concept," said Buehler. "We have designed the restaurant to provide an opportunity for our guests to be served great, quality food very quickly and efficiently and also to allow a separate area for call-ahead or pick-up service. Dining habits are changing and many of our guests are looking for great-tasting food, but want a more convenient and casual atmosphere or maybe the ability to pick up a quick meal to take home."
Romacorp, Inc. is the operator of Tony Roma's restaurants, the world's largest casual dining concept specializing in ribs. Romacorp, Inc. currently operates 22 restaurants and through its subsidiary companies, franchises 189 restaurants in 23 states and 32 foreign countries and territories. The first Tony Roma's restaurant opened 34 years ago in North Miami, Florida, and today the concept includes restaurant operations that span 6 continents.