The Stand, a restaurant chain with a focus on American cuisine, has jumped on the trend of chef-driven menus and hopes to reap the rewards at its new San Fernando Valley location. The Encino-based chain chose Northridge as the home to its fourth outlet, which opened a few weeks ago featuring an updated interior design and expanded menu offerings. The fast-casual restaurant serves standard American dishes such as burgers, sandwiches and salads, but now has spiced up its menu with a wide selection of innovative dishes designed by chefs. Guests can choose from an assortment of chef-driven options such as the Cubano Sandwich, featuring roasted porchetta, smoked ham, pickled peppers and onions on ciabatta bread, or the Stand Lamb Burger. The menu offers more than 40 entrees, including health-conscious and vegetarian options, in addition to more than 20 different craft beers and wines. On a regular visit, patrons are likely to spend $10 to $13 a person for a meal that takes little more than10 minutes to prepare. “We’ve really tried to push the boundaries and open our customers up to learning new tastes and flavors, going outside of the box,” said Jason Wishengrad, the company’s culinary director. “If we were still doing (straight) American classics, we’d be stagnant today.” For its Northridge location, at 19600 Plummer St., the company wanted décor to reflect the transformation of its menu. The 3,500-square-foot space features six 80-inch flat-screen TVs, a shuffleboard table and digital menus all accented by polished concrete flooring, wooden tables and stone tiled walls, with accessories and décor of aluminum and stainless steel. “(We’re) taking a new direction for the brand physically that is consistent with the evolution of our food,” said Murray Wishengrad, co-founder and chief executive of the Stand. “The menu changed first and then we found ourselves with a food-forward menu but 1920s décor, so there was a little juxtaposition and inconsistency. We wanted a restaurant that physically represented this new approach.” The Stand was launched in 2003 in Encino and has since expanded to four Southern California locations in Woodland Hills, Century City and the new Northridge outpost that opened in March. Last year, the Stand had a 16 percent increase in year-over-year sales, according to Murray Wishengrad. The chain is also focusing on building up its nighttime crowd, and offers an extensive dinner menu. At present, the Northridge location’s dinner crowd is bringing in 150 percent more in sales than the lunch crowd, according to Murray Wishengrad. Expansion plans continue as the chain plans to add two to five units a year, scaling throughout the remainder of Southern California before going national. Financially, the company has the help of partner Andrew Jhawar – senior partner at Apollo Global Market in New York – who made a personal investment in the company in August and now holds 51 percent ownership. “We’re very happy with the look and feel of (the Northridge location). It is the future of the restaurant and we’re only building this newer interpretation going forward,” Murray Wishengrad said. Heads on Beds While e-commerce poses a threat to brick-and-mortar stores, for mattress shoppers, there’s no online substitute for feeling your head on the bed. It’s an insight Larry Miller is banking on. The co-founder and chief executive of Gardena-based mattress retailer Sit ’n Sleep last week opened his 34th location, setting up shop in Northridge, further expanding his reach in Southern California. Other greater Valley stores are in Agoura Hills, Burbank, Lancaster, Santa Clarita, Studio City and Tarzana. “Online business has gone through the roof, and about 80 percent of customers visit us online before coming in to get the expertise of our sales staff,” Miller said. “We’re really thrilled to be open in Northridge. We didn’t have anything in the Northwest Valley. We really felt that market was underserved.” The new store is 6,800 square feet, one of the chain’s medium-size locations, and carries top brands including Sealy, Simmons, Tempur-Pedic and Foster. In 1980, Miller opened the first Sit ’n Sleep outlet alongside his father with barely $10,000 in seed capital. Currently the chain is in expansion mode; with the Northridge location set, Miller plans to roll out stores in Orange, Carson and Moreno Valley before looking at markets outside of California. Staff Reporter Champaign Williams can be reached at (818) 316-3121 or [email protected].
