Lite Bite

A new chain counts calories

Every day some 40 million Americans, stricken by such cravings as the Big Mac attack and the Whopper whim, happily surrender to the artery-clogging, waist-expanding pleasures of fast food. But for diet-conscious consumers in particular, a megaburger binge provokes guilt feelings. Reason: the grab-a-bite meal of a quarter-pound cheeseburger, French fries and 16-oz. cola typically contains 1,070 calories. Since an average 170-lb. officeworker must consume fewer than 2,900 calories a day in order to lose weight, a trip to the burger stand does not leave much room for breakfast and dinner.

Knoxville, Tenn., Businessman Doug Sheley, 36, saw opportunity in the gap between fitness and fast food in 1978, when he owned 18 Wendy's restaurants and a share in a health club. Recalls Sheley: "Every time I walked into the club, somebody would say, 'How many calories in your Frosty, Doug?' " Sheley, a former small-college football player who had begun to put on some extra padding, decided that America needed a kind of McHealth food. Three years later, he opened the first D'Lites restaurant, his prototype for a chain serving familiar road food with reduced calories. Now he has begun to franchise the idea, aiming to bring a less fattening burger to towns all over the U.S.

The first three D'Lites restaurants, all in Atlanta, are averaging annual sales of more than $1 million each, compared with about $850,000 for the standard U.S. chain eatery. Their initial success has prompted 2,000 applications to build D'Lites stores. Since April, Sheley has sold 500 of the franchises for from $15,000 and $25,000 each in such cities as Chicago, Kansas City and Miami; the first outlet opens this week in Charlotte, N.C. Because Sheley wants to keep a close watch on the chain's growth, the number of D'Lites allowed to start up in the next year will be held to about 50.

Sheley's menu displays some ingenious slimming down. A typical meal of a vegetarian pita-bread sandwich ($1.49), baked potato (990) and sugar-free soft drink (550) contains 431 calories. Even the cheeseburgers are lightweights, comprising a bun with 25% fewer calories, low-fat hamburger patties and diet cheese. Other offerings include salads (with low-cal dressing), soup, frozen yogurt, cheese-covered potato skins, and light beer. The company's slogan consciously echoes the advertising for Miller Lite: "More of a good thing. And less."

Other chains, including Burger King and Arby's, have already begun appealing to fitness buffs by supplementing their beefy menus with salad bars and chicken sandwiches. But Sheley thinks D'Lites will be different because he designed everything with lightness in mind. His shops give an impression of upscale airiness, with their blond-wood exteriors and glass skylights. The interiors suggest a greenhouse, complete with hanging plants, brass fixtures and etched-glass partitions. Says Sheley: "I wanted to be the first chain to offer a full-range menu in a place that doesn't look plastic."

Sheley chose Atlanta for his prototype restaurant because the city contains a heavy concentration of his prime customers: 30-to-40-year-old junior executives who play sports like racquet ball and who earn more than $25,000. Says Sheley: "If we had come out of California, the entire nation would have thought of us as a nuts-and-berries company."

Since Sheley wanted to avoid flaky-sounding food, he had to shape up the standard fast fare. For example, he gave $7,500 to the University of Tennessee to develop a lower-calorie, high-fiber bun. After spending $800,000 in research and other start-up costs, he flipped his first burger at D'Lites in December 1981.

Now chairman of the company, Sheley hopes to make D'Lites a big part of the $32 billion fast-food business, an industry that is growing by nearly 11 % annually. He picked up $2.3 million worth of financing in February by selling 32% of his company to a group of five venture-capital companies. He hopes to expand the chain to 1,000 restaurants in ten years. At that pace, D'Lites could become a formidable enough competitor to give even McDonald's a case of the shakes. This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.