5 & Diner Franchise Corporation | The Original 5 & Diner is Built in 1987
The Original 5 & Diner is Built in 1987
Higginbotham continued to nurture a dream of running a vintage diner. In 1988 he had drawings done of a prototype diner with a 1950s retro look, which he called the Silver Streak, inspired by the 1976 Gene Wilder film of the same name. Higginbotham was not a particular fan of 1950s music or culture so much as he was of the 1950s diner architecture, but music and memorabilia of the era were a natural extension of the look. One day while visiting a restaurant supply house he learned that an area diner, called the 5 & Diner, was being put up for sale. Higginbotham tracked down the listing agent before a prospectus had even been drawn up and made a preemptive bid on the business, which he bought in January 1989. 5 & Diner had opened in June 1987, established by Mr. and Mrs. Pat McGroder and their managing partner Lenny Rosenberg. The partners soon had a falling out, Rosenberg left, and Mrs. McGroder attempted to run the diner on her own but was unsuccessful.
Higginbotham took over a restaurant that had a good location in central Phoenix but a poor reputation in the community. It was an operation with a confused identity. The original plan was to make it a quick service diner, but the owners changed their minds along the way. As a result, 5 & Diner was not properly set up for full service. It was supposed to affect a 1950s image, but the décor was, at best, uninspired and the wait staff uniforms were out of keeping with the concept. Upon taking over, Higginbotham closed down 5 & Diner temporarily to renovate and re-decorate the place. He installed a lunch counter and outfitted the waitresses in poodle skirts from the 1950s. He also upgraded the diner's sparse menu of hamburgers and other sandwiches, essentially transferring the menu from K's to the new operation. In addition, 5 & Diner began serving breakfast for the first time, correcting an obvious misstep of previous ownership, which tried to succeed by serving just lunch and dinner. Higginbotham also inherited a lackadaisical staff with no leadership and as he had done at K's; he began the process of winnowing the chaff from the wheat to build a motivated workforce.
Overcoming a bad reputation with customers took about two years, according to Higginbotham. To bring in business he was not above buttonholing potential customers on the street. Each weekday after the breakfast business began to tail off around 10 o'clock and before the lunch crowd drifted in, he hit the streets, handing out flyers and coupons to drum up business. Better food and better service led to repeat customers, and word of mouth brought in new customers, as 5 & Diner turned around in the early 1990s.
Early on, Higginbotham began to think about franchising 5 & Diner, encouraged in large part by the positive remarks from tourists who visited Phoenix during the winter and asked if a 5 & Diner might be opening in their home towns. Higginbotham hired a franchise attorney and developed a plan, but did not aggressively seek out franchisees. In the early 1990s a local man who had recently sold his Taco Bell restaurants became the first 5 & Diner franchisee, opening a unit in Reno, Nevada. It proved to be a frustrating experience for Higginbotham. The owner failed to take a hands-on approach to the business, showing up late or not at all, spending most of his time, according to Higginbotham, sitting at the lunch counter looking somewhat bored. No matter how much Higginbotham and his staff tried to support the operation, it failed to take root in Reno, and was eventually sold.