Restaurants: Success at 4

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Besides assuring uniform food quality, Morrison's emphasis on standardization helps to keep costs under rigid control. To further hold down expenses, it relies heavily on the services of its wholly-owned subsidiaries. The Morrison Merchandising Corporations handle the food buying, storage and processing for all Morrison's cafeterias. The company's properties are insured by Morrison Assurance Co., which also sells fire and casualty policies to the public. In addition, Morrison's has its own restaurant equipment, detergent-making and coffee-processing companies. And the fastest-growing subsidiary of all is Morrison Food Services, which operates snack bars, vending machines and cafeterias in factories as well as in schools and hospitals.

To the Suburbs. One challenge that Morrison's faces is the proliferation of other quick-service eating places. "Every hamburger stand, hot-dog stand and fried-chicken place is competition for us," says President Gibbons. To keep pace, the company is turning away from downtown areas by locating its new cafeterias in the suburbs, and it is also moving for the first time into take-out food services. In broadening its operations, it has particularly high hopes for its newly acquired Admiral Benbow chain. Calculating that some 60% of its cafeteria customers are traveling people, Morrison's is confident that a good share of them will soon be checking into Admiral Benbow motels.