Page 40 - BusinessWest May 16, 2022
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Friendly’s The goal is
Overall, the company is not looking to replace its traditional restaurants with the new model but rather use the café model as a vehicle for growth, bringing Friendly’s to different communities, including some where a Friendly’s location has closed.
“I’m looking at some locations on Long Island and across the Northeast — Connecticut, Massachusetts, and other states,” said Erlich. “We’re looking for the right locations; we don’t want to expand too quickly and dilute the quality of the location. I think that happens often — some of the brands will get excited
“
and channel it in the right direction. Everyone is rooting for us, from customers to the team members to the franchisees.
 Continued from page 21
to create an
Erlich noted that off-premise dining now accounts for roughly half of all sales volume within the indus- try, a pattern that has held up even as the pandemic has eased in recent months, an indication that this is more than a passing fancy.
The new café model enables the chain to take advantage of this phenomenon while also catering to those who prefer the traditional sit-down restaurant — albeit with some new technology for ordering and delivery.
“You can focus on two different experiences for
appealing mix of new options and old favorites, he told Busi- nessWest, adding “the menu feels much more bal-
anced than it did before.”
Flashing back to late 2020, as he and his part-
ners were doing their due diligence on Friendly’s as they explored acquisition, Erlich said this research revealed a chain facing many challenges and restau- rants in need of repair and revitalization, a situation exacerbated by the pandemic in many respects. But ultimately, what they saw was opportunity.
“The pandemic forced a lot of companies to focus on just keeping the lights on,” he told BusinessWest. “We knew there was going to be a significant amount of repairs and maintenance needed for these build- ings; just the equipment in the kitchens alone was in the millions of dollars.
“But we saw a big opportunity,” he went on. “And 2021 was really focused on building the infrastruc- ture and putting some technologies and new ideas in place that would build a foundation for what we’re about to do this year.”
Which brings us back to the Friendly’s Café, which opened at the end of February to solid feedback from customers, said Erlich, who acknowledged that while it’s early in the game, the new location is thus far exceeding expectations.
“Customers have been very complimentary, and it has performed very well; we’ve seen a lot of repeat customers, and that’s the true test,” he said, adding that the company is scouting locations for similar facilities.
The location in Westfield is a free-standing build- ing in a shopping plaza, and that is the preferred model, said Erlich, adding that the company is also looking at expanding its drive-through presence at existing restaurants.
“We think there’s a big opportunity there,” he said. “We have about a half-dozen drive-throughs con- nected to our traditional restaurants; it’s all about
the convenience, and we feel that this model is really convenient for the customer.”
Westfield
Continued from page 14 than 30 years ago. McCabe
has plans to turn that lot into a public green space. “I’d like to see it used for farmers markets or tag
sales, or just to have a nice place to eat lunch out- side,” he said. “We could do a lot of different things with that space.”
He hopes the green space will be completed by the end of the summer.
“I want to bring the idea forward,” he said. “If it
There’s a lot of excitement, and it’s my job to keep that excitement going
   about one success story and then they’ll launch oth- ers and they think it will be the same in any location. We’re being very careful to be sure that the locations that we pick have similar demographics and traffic counts, and that we feel good about the potential.”
He said there are many communities in the North- east that had a Friendly’s location and would like to see that brand back, with many long-time customers lobbying through social media and other platforms for a return
“We’re using that as some of our intelligence to start focusing on some areas,” he said, adding that finding suitable sites is an art and a science, with many factors coming into play, from demographics to the prevalence of other restaurants.
Indeed, competition, in the form of a critical mass of dining options is often desirable, he said, noting the Friendly’s Café in Westfield sits between a new KFC and a McDonald’s in the same shopping plaza. Those are fast-food chains in a different category than Friendly’s, he explained, but they still constitute choices, which in turn generate traffic to a given area.
Looking at what’s happening within the industry,
works — great, if it doesn’t, a green space is still better than what’s there now.”
Another goal for McCabe involves creating a sus- tained partnership with Westfield State University. Linda Thompson joined WSU as its new president just a few months before McCabe became mayor. Because they both began their respective jobs around the same time, McCabe is hopeful they can work together for their mutual benefit.
“President Thompson is a great person to work
”
the guest,” Erlich explained. “Whether it’s making sure that the person bringing the food home is get- ting a good, quality meal and also that they’re getting a good experience when they’re in the restaurant. It just adds a new dimension that a lot of brands are focusing on, and I know that we are.”
Looking ahead, and projecting where he wants Friendly’s to be in five years, Erlich said the broad goal since the acquisition has been to stabilize the brand and then commence building that founda- tion for the future that he spoke of. And this has been accomplished, through the introduction of the café concept, the new menu items, and some more aggressive marketing that was launched this month.
“I would like to see the brand grow, and I think the café model will give us the ability to do that,” he said in conclusion. “There’s a lot of excitement, and it’s my job to keep that excitement going and channel it in the right direction. Everyone is rooting for us, from customers to the team members to the franchisees. Everyone has great memories of Friendly’s, and we want to provide great new memories.” u
with and I’m looking forward to what we can do,” McCabe said. “My goal is to have Westfield State grad- uates consider staying here when they finish college.”
As Westfield pursues all its potential, there may be many new traffic issues in the future. That’s one chal- lenge McCabe would gladly invite.
“I’m all about transportation,”said the man wear- ing a classic car pattern on his tie. u
Pacheco agreed.
“You always learn something from each participant,” she told Business- West. “Everyone has a story; everyone’s background is different. In the process of me helping others, they are also helping me; it’s a learning experience on both sides.”
Such sentiments explain why men- toring is so rewarding — and why it’s so important, for all those involved. u
George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]
   Mentors
Continued from page 9
develop that you have helped.”
Rivera agreed. “I’m glad to see busi-
ness owners doing their ribbon cut- tings and grand openings — that’s what I enjoy the most,” he said. “And many of my clients are still in business — they’re doing well, and I take pride in that.”
Said Cole, “I love it when someone is successful and I had something to do with it — it’s a wonderful feeling. But I don’t mind being there when someone is struggling, either; I’ve been there, so
I know.”
Pacheco has been there as well, and
so she knows first-hand how daunting entrepreneurship is. And that’s why she mentors others.
“When I was starting my business, it was very difficult, because I didn’t have the support, the guidance, or a blue- print — anything,” she recalled. “So, I was literally thrown into it and had to figure it out for myself. And that’s one of the reasons why I help others. I know how difficult and stressful it can be when you’re trying to grow a business.”
The Bottom Line
Beyond that, though, mentors say that they inevitably learn from those they are mentoring, and this helps them become both better business owners — and better mentors.
“I’ve learned a tremendous num- ber of things that I never would have learned otherwise,” said Cole. “The reality is I’m smarter for it and I have a lot more experience from it than I ever would have had if I just done my own little thing.
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