Red Robin, which had more than 360 company-owned and franchised restaurants operating in the US and Canada at the end of the first quarter, opened 18 new locations during the quarter, half of them company-owned and half franchised. For the full year in fiscal 2007, the company plans to open 24 to 27 new company-owned units, while franchisees are expected to open between 15 and 17 new locations.

For the fiscal second quarter of 2007, which is a 12-week quarter compared with the 16 weeks in the first quarter, Red Robin expects to open eight to nine new company-owned restaurants and one or two franchised locations. Four company-owned and one new franchised restaurant have already opened during the second quarter of 2007, with nine company-owned and five franchise restaurants now under construction.

Although it is slowing expansion, the company opened a new building prototype in Georgia in April. Also in April, Red Robin launched a national media campaign to improve brand awareness, saying that the campaign is designed to drive system-wide restaurant sales, particularly where it has not had a long operating history.