NATHAN'S FAMOUS HAS HOT RECIPE FOR EXPANSION -- BUY MIAMI SUBS

ROSEANNE HARPER

WESTBURY, N.Y. -- Nathan's Famous here, with its proposed acquisition of Miami Subs, has taken the next step in widening its food-service operations to new venues that could include supermarkets, officials said.

The company has acquired, in a private transaction, 30% of the outstanding common stock of Miami Subs Corp., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. It has also entered into a letter of intent to acquire the remainder of Miami Subs' common stock and go into a final merger agreement.

"It's very likely we will acquire 100% of the stock, at which time Miami Subs would become a subsidiary of Nathan's," Wayne Norbitz, Nathan's president, told SN.

In addition to broadening its menu, a merger with Miami Subs would expand the company's brand equity into new regions of the United States, and give the company more leverage with retailers and food-service operators because of the addition of another well-known brand.

Nathan's has pushed itself aggressively in the past year with limited-menu versions of its operations that dovetail with other food-service offerings in such settings as convenience stores, airports and college campuses. "We've been very successful with our hot-dog-only concept in convenience stores. We're in about 20 chains on the East Coast," said Norbitz.

Based on that success, the Nathan's hot-dog-only concept or a combo of it and a Miami Subs operation inside a supermarket should work well, he said.