I have discussed using ArcGIS Explorer to map local and regional businesses. Let’s now compare the spatial pattern of two different businesses as they expand from their core region to become national operations.

Near our ESRI office in Colorado is a Jason’s Deli. After querying each location of Jason’s Deli from the Jason’s website, I created a 2-column spreadsheet, exported it as a tab-delimited text file, and used Import File in ArcGIS Explorer to geocode the locations. I could see that the Jason’s near our office lies on the northern fringe of their current territory.

I read in ArcWatch how Culver’s, a quick-service restaurant chain, uses ESRI’s ArcGIS, ArcGIS Business Analyst, and Business Analyst Online to monitor existing operations and to determine the best potential locations for new sites. The GIS analyst at Culver’s, who has a background in and passion for geography and GIS, sent me a spreadsheet of Culver’s locations, graciously allowing me to map them. ArcGIS Explorer made easy work of geocoding these locations.

Based on the resulting patterns in ArcGIS Explorer, what is your hypothesis about the location of the headquarters of Jason’s versus the headquarters of Culvers? Even though Jason’s and Culver’s are two different types of restaurants, what do you think they have in common in terms of the cities and neighborhoods that they look for when they are ready to expand? Rank the following factors in importance: Cost of land, soil and drainage of land, cost of labor, demographics, adjacent businesses, location of competition, location of existing restaurants in the same chain, traffic, access to the property, and proximity of universities, high schools, stadiums, airports, and other landmarks. Why did you rank these factors the way you did? What other factors might be important to the executives at Jason’s and Culver’s?

Use ArcGIS Explorer to analyze these spatial patterns with the Jason’s and Culver’s data and lesson online in ArcLessons.

All this analysis is making me hungry, so if you’ll excuse me…

- Joseph J. Kerski, Education Manager.