Q: Where are you from?
A: I was born and raised in Tampa. I went to Plant High School – Class of 1979.
Q: What was your career before franchising?
A: I worked for the local police
department for 25 years. My sister and
brother-in-law are also police officers.
Q: How did you learn about the brand?
A: My son was a Lenny’s employee, and
the location became for sale. It was in
our neighborhood, and my wife and I were already looking to open a
restaurant. When we learned more about
the corporate side of Lenny’s, we really liked the opportunity structure and
corporate philosophy. When my wife and I
had the chance to meet and talk with the CEO, George, Alvord, we were
sold.
Q: Why did you decide to open your own
business?
A: My wife and I wanted to restructure
some of our capital assets. She was a
schoolteacher at Lewis Elementary in Temple Terrace, FL (a suburb of Tampa) for
many years in our community, and I wanted to put my pension to work and have
our family involved in a business. We
have nine family members working in the store, including my wife, her mother,
three nieces and my son. We look at the store
as more than a financial opportunity; it’s a social skills opportunity for our
family. In addition, it helps the young ones learn and maintain business
skills. Specifically, my wife and I are
helping them understand bookkeeping, management skills and customer service
skills to them so they can survive later in life. We have a good work ethic and we want to show
them that success involves family work and service to people, which aligns with
my work as police officer and my wife’s work as a school teacher.
Q: When choosing a franchise, what were the
criteria you used to make your decision?
A: We had already been looking to start
our own restaurant and had a business broker. It was going to be a big
restaurant in Temple Terrace with a 1920’s theme that served fresh
sandwiches. However, I was quickly
convinced to become a Lenny’s franchisee after talking to Lenny’s CEO. He had good family values and was interested
in my wife and me. Plus, Lenny’s food is
not pre-made; it is very fresh, which aligned to the type of restaurant we
already wanted to run.
Q: With regard to
your previous experience, what skills do you feel helped you in your business?
A: At its
core, police work involves serving
others beyond oneself, as does teaching.
We bring this outlook to our business in serving our customers.
Q: How does your business connect with the
community?
A: We are both on the board of
directors of our local Italian Club, and my wife is on the Krewe of
Italia. We sponsor local community
organizations and believe in giving back.
Q: What are some of your achievements
(professionally or personally) that you think will help you along the way in
your business?
A: I have always felt that anybody from
any walk of life deserves our attention and care. No matter who you are, when
you walk into our store, you are our number one priority and guest. We love to entertain at home, and that’s what
we are doing at work as well!
