What Makes Tony Roma’s Franchise a Fun, Family-Oriented Brand?

Tony Roma’s Chief Marketing Officer opens up about why all generations love the legendary steaks and ribs brand

Tony Roma’s Chief Marketing Officer Jim Rogers has traveled the world throughout his career, enjoying our ribs in international locations such as the Middle East and Malaysia. He grew up in Miami in the early 1970s and recalls eating at the original Tony Roma’s in North Miami as a kid. Today Jim spearheads our global marketing initiatives and is as big a fan of our ribs as ever, an affinity shared by legions of fans worldwide.

The foundation of our tremendous brand equity is our menu and its craveability, particularly our legendary ribs, Jim says. Our food and beverage quality has kept generations of fans coming back for more, and now, paired with new leadership and a renewed focus on domestic expansion, it’s an ideal time to join our iconic brand.

“We’ve got some of the best people in the industry working here in leadership. We have a really strong team, an incredible brand with passionate fans, and we are growing. It’s an opportune time to get in on the ground floor as we put this brand where it deserves to be. We are moving fast and making positive changes,” Jim says.

Tony Roma’s is known worldwide as THE place for RIBS. After years of fast-paced international expansion, we are introducing a new generation of domestic customers to the Tony Roma’s experience with a goal of 250 new locations over the next 10 years. Our brand is stronger than ever, and there’s never been a better time to invest in a restaurant that does ribs better than anyone in the world. We have tremendous brand equity, visionary new leadership and ample domestic expansion opportunities. We offer a lower initial investment than many upscale casual dining, full-service restaurants. Through all our new developments, however, we’ve never strayed from the core DNA that has made us an iconic worldwide brand.

Competitors in the upscale casual dining space may have ribs, but our fans tell us they are just not the same. Only Tony Roma’s ribs can satisfy their cravings, and only Tony Roma’s can claim that they popularized ribs and made them a mainstream food around the world. Our focus on innovation and fun have helped us establish a stronghold in the market.

Tony Roma’s continues to innovate in the rib space

Tony Roma’s may be an iconic brand, but we are not content to rest on our laurels. We continue to innovate and offer an inspired menu, led by internationally renowned chef Bob Gallagher. A new generation of customers is attracted by our original signature baby back ribs recipe as well as new prep styles, such as Pork-strami Ribs™ and Blazin’ Buffalo Ribs™ now served at our flagship International Drive restaurant in Orlando.

“We offer a higher quality superior rib than our competitors. It’s our signature item so we have to have the best quality,” Jim says. “At Tony Roma’s it’s not only the quality of the rib that matters, but how you approach the cooking process. Ribs are a difficult thing to cook. They are a craveable item, and they are something that we do better than anyone else.”

Tony Roma’s is all about fun for both families and millennials

An element of fun permeates our brand and makes it a dining experience to be shared, especially on social media, Jim notes. Millennials are drawn to our dining experience and families love the celebratory nature of eating at Tony Roma’s, with parents recalling the brand from their childhood andwanting to share those memories with their kids. “It’s such a great family experience to come into Tony Roma’s. This brand is about families, and kids are a part of this. There’s nothing better than seeing a fan post a photo of the family decked out in their rib bibs, enjoying our world famous baby back ribs with smiles and sauce on their faces. We want the entire family to have fun when they dine with us,” Jim says.

Our creative “Show Us Your Rib Face” campaign has been internationally recognized, earning the Best Marketing Campaign at the Global Restaurant Awards in Dubai in spring of 2016. “Tony Roma’s is a fun brand and a fun experience that consumers love to share on social media,” Jim says. “Whenever we post something about our ribs we get amazing responses, tons of comments, likes and shares. A lot of those comments are ‘come to this city, come to this market, I miss Tony Roma’s ribs, I want Tony Roma’s ribs.’ There are a lot of opportunities in the U.S. for growth because of that pent-up demand.”

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