fish taco. All items are made-to-order, and
side items such as chips, rice, and beans are
made fresh daily. Rubio’s restaurants offer a
self-serve salsa bar where customers can
choose from three freshly made salsas. Prices
for menu items range from $1.89 for the sig-
nature fish taco to $6.29 for a Lobster
Combo. Most of the individual establish-
ments also offer a selection of imported
Mexican and domestic beers, along with a
variety of soft drinks.
Most restaurants also offer a HealthMex
menu and Kid Pesky meals for children. The
HealthMex items are designed for the nutri-
tionally conscious consumer; less than 20
percent of their calories are from fat. The Kid
Pesky meals offer a choice of a fish taco,
chicken taquitos, quesadillas, or a bean burri-
to served with a side dish, drink, churro, and
toy surprise.
To add variety, Rubio’s occasionally offers
limited-time promotional menu items, such
as the tequila shrimp burrito. However, most
of these items are not permanently added to
the menu due to the seasonality and limited
availability of the product.
Facilities
Rubio’s targets high-profile, major met-
ropolitan areas that offer appealing demo-
graphic characteristics such as high traffic
patterns; high density of white-collar fami-
lies; medium-to-high family incomes; high
education levels; a large concentration of
daytime employment; residential, retail, and
entertainment developments; and limited
competition. The senior management team is
actively involved in selecting new markets,
and each new site must be approved by the
Rubio’s Real Estate Acquisition Committee.
Once the site is approved, Rubio’s leases
rather than purchases the appropriate facility
space in order to minimize the cash invest-
ment associated with each unit.
Historically, the typical restaurant size has
been 1,800 to 3,600 square feet, but future
sites are expected to range from 2,000 to
2,400 square feet. On average, the total cash
investment required to open an individual
restaurant is $380,000 to $450,000, not
including preopening expenses of $19,000 to
$25,000.
Once the space is leased, construction
begins to design the interior and exterior ac-
cording to Rubio’s usual specifications. Some
of the design elements include colorful
Mexican tiles, saltwater aquariums with trop-
ical fish, beach photos, surfboards, and
authentic palm-thatched patio umbrellas.
The intent of the decor is to create a relaxed
and casual environment in which customers
can enjoy an authentic Baja Mexican meal.
Unit Operations
The typical restaurant employs one general
manager, one to two assistant managers, and
18 to 22 hourly employees, 60 percent of
whom work full time. All employees work-
ing over 30 hours per week are eligible for
health-care benefits, and employees over 18
years of age that work more than 20 hours
per week are eligible to participate in Rubio’s
401(k) plan. In addition, managers are
offered performance-based cash incentives
that are tied directly to sales and profitability,
and they have the option to buy shares of
common stock when hired or promoted.
Besides unit management and employees,
Rubio’s also employs district managers, each
of whom reports to a regional manager and
is responsible for all phases of restaurant
operations as well as opening new units.Marketing Strategy
As Rubio’s has grown to 128 stores in 5
states over 18 years, it has built upon its orig-
inal “fish taco” concept to expand its menu
and position itself between the quick-service
and casual-dining segments of the restaurant
industry. The key elements of Rubio’s market
positioning are:- Distinctive, fresh, high-quality food
- Casual, fun dining experience
- Excellent dining value
To achieve its positioning goals during its
first 18 years of operation, Rubio’s adver-
tising had been handled in-house. However,
as of January 2001, Team One Advertising
was hired to help build the Rubio’s brand,
Rubio’s: Home of the Fish Taco (B) 461