PDQ is opening a restaurant in North Las Vegas
The chicken tenders battles could be soon heating up in the Las Vegas market.
That’s because a fast-casual chicken tenders and sandwich chain created by Outback Steakhouse co-founder Bob Basham is opening its first restaurant west of Texas in North Las Vegas on Sunday.
PDQ, co-founded in 2011 by Basham, who co-founded the Outback chain with Chris Sullivan, is set to open at 3737 W. Craig Road. PDQ plans a second location this year at 3010 W. Sahara Ave.
Tampa, Fla.-based PDQ, which stands for “people dedicated to quality” and “pretty darn quick,” has 38 restaurants in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas. Of the 38, 30 are company-owned and the balance are owned by franchisees, Basham said.
PDQ aims to occupy a higher-end niche in the growing chicken tenders and sandwich category, which includes quick-serve heavyweights such as Chick-fil-A, which does not have a restaurant in the Las Vegas market. There is a Chick-fil-A in St. George, Utah.
But in this market, PDQ faces a formidable foe in Raising Cane’s. The quick-service chicken tenders concept has eight stores in the Las Vegas market, according to its website. Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen is another well-known chicken competitor with several locations in the valley.
Besides selling chicken sandwiches and tenders, PDQ also has fries, shakes, salads and fresh-basked cookies on the menu. The brand prides itself on the food’s freshness. For example, potatoes are measured for sugar content, then punched, cleaned, steamed, baked, cooled and eventually fried on site. There are no microwave ovens in the store, and all sauces are made on location with no preservatives.
Basham’s PDQ partner is Nick Reader, CEO of Tampa-based MVP Holdings and a co-founder of the chain. The pair opened the first PDQ in Tampa in October 2011.
A typical lunch bill is $7-$8, Basham said.
Basham said the Las Vegas market was picked to host the chain’s first location west of Texas because a trusted restaurant associate, former Outback area supervisor Tony Grappo, will oversee the PDQs in Nevada.
“He thought it would work well in Las Vegas,” Basham said. “This has more to do with having the people in place to run and manage (the restaurants) instead of going just anywhere. We know what we’re getting (in Grappo). He loves PDQ.”
Grappo, who also opened the first Outback restaurants in Nevada 21 years ago, said he is hoping to open PDQs in Henderson and even on the Strip. He said he envisions overseeng PDQ locations in Utah and Arizona, too.
A PDQ restaurant costs about $1 million to open, said Steve Erickson, PDQ president and another former Outback Steakhouse executive. But he noted that PDQ should be able to trim $100,000-$150,000 off the $1 million cost for future locations.
Each restaurant will have 60-70 employees and include drive-thru service, but the drive-thru will not have a squawk box and, instead, will have customers talking face-to-face with PDQ workers.
Other PDQ store features are a hand-washing station near a counter area and an open kitchen so that customers can see the food being prepared.
Contact reporter Alan Snel at asnel@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5273. Find him on Twitter: @BicycleManSnel
