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All of 35 years old, Michael P. O'Donnell sounds like a new breed of corporate leader. Hell-bent on taking Ground Round Inc. to new heights, he is looking to add a hundred new locations throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest in the next five years.
Since stepping in as president and c.e.o. 18 months ago, O'Donnell has pruned 28 positions from the corporate staff and trimmed over a million dollars from operating expenses. Comparable unit sales for the chain's 200 restaurants (154 company-owned and 44 franchised) grew by approximately 4 percent in 1990 over the previous year and profitability increased.
Operation Desert Storm battered business in the first quarter of this year as potential customers stayed home to watch CNN, but volume bounced back by the end of March and the guest check average for the quarter was $7.25.
For the record, systemwide sales for the three month ending March 31 totalled $68.6 million, a 1 percent year-to-date decline. Per-unit sales averaged $348,000, another 1 percent decrease from last year Same-store sales at company-owned restaurants fell 2.4 percent for the period.
Ground Round sprang from a series of Howard Johnson's conversions in 1969. Formerly owned by a British conglomerate, the chain is now a major subsidiary of a New Jersey foodservice firm that recently changed its name to Ground Round Restaurants Inc. The company recently filed a Form S-2 with the Securities and Exchange Commission to make a public offering--4.5 million shares of common stock--in late summer or early fall.
In the '70s, Ground Round became popular with young people who enjoyed the pitchers of cold beer and half-pound burgers served in a decidedly casual atmosphere underscored...