DUFFY'S CHAIN GOES UPSCALE, AND NEW ONE SPORTS 48 TVS

BYLINE:    PAUL OWERS, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
DATE: August 17, 2002
PUBLICATION: Palm Beach Post, The (FL)
EDITION: FINAL
SECTION: BUSINESS
PAGE: 10B

Who says sports bars can't be classy? Not Steven Cournoyer and Paul Emmett, proprietors of the popular Duffy's Sports Grill chain.

The partners have closed their flagship restaurant near Lake Park and will open an upscale Duffy's Sunday in the former Roly's restaurant at the Shoppes of Oakbrook in Palm Beach Gardens. The 12,000-square-foot eatery - huge by industry standards - has oak floors, an upstairs board room and an eight-seat executive dining area that companies can rent for special occasions.

"It makes you feel like you're in the '21' Club in New York," Emmett said Friday.

Cournoyer, 45, opened the first Duffy's Draft House near Lake Park in 1985, and it grew into a reliable option for hamburger-starved customers.

But Emmett's arrival 18 months ago signaled the beginning of a new era for the seven-restaurant chain.

"The concept was a little old, a little tired," said Emmett, 50, formerly an executive with Restaurant Associates, the largest food-service operator in New York City.

So he and Cournoyer went to work.

They changed the name, dropping "draft house" so that prospective customers wouldn't think it's just a bar. And they expanded the menu, offering more fish and salads, while holding down prices.

The partners also decided the small, dark restaurant interiors needed improvement. They are renovating existing restaurants and looking for larger, brighter locations.

They hope to open 13 Duffy's in the next few years. The existing seven units average a vibrant $2.5 million a year in sales, and the average check price per person is $12 for dinner.

Duffy's isn't the only sports-bar chain trying to attract a more sophisticated clientele.

A number of regional and national restaurants, including Jack Miller's Jupiter-based Ale House chain, are giving customers a more relaxed and refreshing dining experience, said Christopher Muller, associate professor of hospitality at the University of Central Florida.

"A lot of them are trying to get away from the smoky, male-dominated bar image," Muller said. "From a business standpoint, they're trying to expand the market so they can increase sales."

Emmett and Cournoyer opened their first upscale Duffy's in June near Boca Raton, west of the Town Center mall.

Then they struck a deal for the Roly's space, spending $750,000 to turn it into Duffy's.

The 370-seat restaurant has 48 televisions and dozens of sports photos and signed jerseys.

Roly's, an Irish-American eatery, had trouble filling the space, and Emmett concedes it is bigger than he wanted.

But he and Cournoyer will close off a back room on slow days and use it for catering or regular seating, if the need arises.

"We've taken away the bar feel, and we're making the restaurant brighter, more appealing for families, singles, even seniors," Cournoyer said. "We want to make it a comfortable environment for people in all walks of life."

- paul_owers@pbpost.com