Page 80 - BusinessWest May 12, 2021

for a development, blueprinted by Pride Stations owner Bob Bolduc, to reshape the land inside the jug handle off turnpike exit 3 in Westfield with Hot Table and Starbucks.
Overall, this chain, which started with one small restaurant in the Breckwood Shoppes across Wilbraham Road from Western New Eng- land University and now has seven locations, has aggressive plans to add four more restaurants by
“For the most part, we’re keeping our efforts focused on New England. And over the next 10 years, we want to become a well- known, regional brand.”
the end of this year and reach perhaps 50 by the end of this decade.
“For the most part, we’re keeping our efforts focused on New England,” said John, who launched the chain with his brother, Chris, and another partner in 2007. “And over the next 10 years, we want to become a well-known, regional brand.”
This brand is striving for a mix of free-standing facilities like the one in Chicopee and more loca- tions leased in retail centers, and, overall, a “bal- anced portfolio,” said Chris, adding that the goal is measured growth.
“We’re very excited to grow, but we want to grow the right way,” he told BusinessWest. “We
don’t want to add overhead and layers of man- agement just to support a few more stores; we want to be very strategic about how and where we expand.”
Overall, with four new stores on the drawing board, 2021 is certainly shaping up as a mile- stone year in the company’s history, one that will take it to new markets and in new directions. This growth and territorial expansion come at
a time when many restaurants have been fight- ing to merely survive the COVID-19 — and some haven’t. Hot Table itself was hit hard initially.
“In March and April, when the pandemic hit, we weren’t sure we had a company — we had an
An architect’s rendering of Hot Table’s first free-standing location, slated for a parcel on Memorial Drive in Chicopee.
80% plunge in revenue,” John recalled. “We had the same ‘what the heck just hit us?’ experience that just about everyone in the restaurant busi- ness did.”
But within the fast-casual category within this sector, many chains bounced back quickly and have enjoyed success
since, said John, add-
ing that many have
Hot Table
Continued on page 82
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