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With 123 seats and quick counter service from a menu of brick-oven pizzas, salads and hot and cold sandwiches, the first San Francisco Oven opened last week in Pine Ridge Shopping Center in Willoughby after three years of development. Messrs. Cereno and Harper don't plan for it to be the only San Francisco Oven for long.
"The idea is to have a great atmosphere and food with the freshest ingredients served quickly so you can get out," said Mr. Harper, president of San Francisco Oven parent Maryanna Inc. The company is named after the Broadview Heights street where the two longtime friends grew up.
Mr. Cereno, the company's vice president, said the average cost per diner is $7, or $10 for an adult who has beer or wine. He said San Francisco Oven is designed for the growing fast-casual segment of the dining market, which aims for a higher cost than a fast-food restaurant but food quality and surroundings more in keeping with casual restaurants.
Messrs. Harper and Cereno spent $750,000 outfitting the first restaurant and another $100,000 developing the concept. It shows. A hardwood and ceramic tile floor creates warm tones, and bright, contemporary cable lights evoke the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco generally.
The two sent their own photographer to San Francisco to take pictures of trolleys and the city's famed Victorian homes, which now grace the restaurant's walls and workers' T-shirts. The theme is complemented by a series of California wines. Messrs. Cereno and Harper selected San Francisco as a theme because of its role as a food trendsetter.
Mark Rantala, a CB Richard Ellis vice president for retail services whose firm represents San Francisco Oven in its search for real estate, said, "This is as fully a developed concept as I've seen anyone open in 20 years. (Messrs. Harper and Cereno) understand you can't just open a restaurant to grow a concept."
The two cooked up San Francisco Oven using their own experiences in the restaurant business as co-owners of Eddie's Creekside Restaurant & Market in Brecksville.
Mr. Cereno, whose family owns the well-known Carrie Cereno's restaurant and party center in North Royalton, graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and worked in the family restaurant before launching his first restaurant in 1985. He and Mr. Harper, who has a business background, teamed up at Eddie's Creekside in 1993.
"In Breck 3f5 sville, we have a full-service operation serving steak and pizza, where we've seen people are eating out more. If food is too expensive, they won't eat out as much," Mr. Harper said. "Moms picking up food on the way home from a soccer game is now a part of life."
They will cater to that segment at San Francisco Oven by offering a section of "grab and go" salads, bake-yourself pizzas and a special register for carryout.
Mr. Harper said San Francisco Oven is close to completing negotiations for a location in Mentor and is negotiating for a site in Westlake. The two say the Cleveland area can accommodate 10 of their restaurants. They already have prepared their business plan with the SS&G Financial Services Inc. accounting firm of Solon with an eye to expanding beyond the Cleveland area if things go as they plan.
"We didn't do all this for one restaurant," Mr. Harper said.
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