Monday, July 27, 2015

Big or Small We Cater to All

By Bob Cox

Back in the stone ages of the 1980’s and just before I found the career I actually enjoyed, the highlight of my day was escaping the dry walled jail cell of retail management by grabbing a bite for lunch at one of the nearby restaurants. My favorite place to eat was a small locally owned deli that served delicious sandwiches, served on amazingly fresh and crunchy bread that seemed to melt in my mouth.
As the years rolled by, those memories were left in the dust until one day, after seeing the amusing Mr. Pickle’s sign for the 1,000th time, I decided to take a leap of faith and try something new: a sandwich from Mr. Pickle’s. The second I walked through the door, I knew I was in for a memorable experience as I inhaled the intoxicating aroma of the breads baking in the ovens.
When I ordered my sandwich, I was offered several choices of bread, including Dutch crunch. I normally select wheat, but the Dutch crunch option sounded vaguely familiar. Once I sunk my teeth into that mouthwatering sandwich, those pleasant old memories came flooding back. After all the years, I remembered how amazing a fresh and delicious sandwich could be! From that day on, no ordinary sandwich would ever be sufficient to satisfy my hunger.
I recently met with Gary Osgood, the owner of three local Mr. Pickle’s franchises to learn more about how Mr. Pickle’s seemed to rise from nothing to become one of the fastest growing restaurants in the area. Here’s how our conversation went.

Q: How long has Mr. Pickle’s been around?
A: Mr. Pickles started in 1995 in Daly City. The CEO of our company had a few sandwich shops and he decided he could do it better.

Q: What does Mr. Pickle’s do to make such amazingly tasty sandwiches?
A: Every franchise is required to freshly slice everything every day. We can’t have any carryover. We freshly bake our bread about every 15-20 minutes. We serve five ounces of meat on our sandwiches, compared to other places that do considerably less. That’s what makes Mr. Pickle’s different. We’re into freshness, quantity and quality for your dollar while also providing superior customer service.

Q: What was your plan when you purchased a Mr. Pickle’s franchise?
When we opened up the Zinfandel location (Rancho Cordova) six and a half years ago, our plan was to run it for a few months and then sell it to a franchisee. But after we got into it, those plans changed. My wife Terrie and I enjoyed doing it so much, we decided to keep it and branch out to other locations. We opened our second store on Sunrise and Cirby in Roseville in 2012 and that has been blossoming so well, it basically let us take the chance on the Coloma and Sunrise location, which we’ve been running since November, 2014.

Q: How did you get involved with Mr. Pickle’s?
A: A long story short, the president and CEO of Mr. Pickle’s used to be my neighbor eight years ago. One day we looked out our window and saw a big giant pickle on the guy’s garage door! That’s how we got introduced to him and that’s how we got involved. We liked the product; we ate at Mr. Pickle’s for about a year before we decided to get into it.

Q: Did you explore any other franchise opportunities before choosing to go with Mr. Pickle’s?
A: Yes, we did a lot of research before we decided to go with the Mr. Pickle’s brand. We checked all the other sandwich franchises and Mr. Pickle’s was a superior product, for the main reason that everything had to be sliced every day. Too many people complain about the other sandwich shops in town. They say their stuff tastes watered down or old. We never have that problem because we get to work by 7am to prep for our day and to make sure that everything is fresh.

Q: What were you and Terrie doing for a living before you decided to invest in Mr. Pickle’s?
A: I was a contractor for 30 years and Terrie was a bookkeeper and a photographer.

Q: What were your greatest fears and concerns going into business for yourself?
A: It was a gamble, but we believed in the product and Mr. Pickle’s.

Q: What strategy did you use to overcome those concerns and how has it worked out?
A: So far, so good. Our concerns came from working with a younger staff and being able to learn the marketing things associated with the business.

Q: Aside from the walk up customers, the other big part of your business is catering. What are you doing to really stand out and make your catering service superior and unique?
A: We are known as the 911 of catering. Most caterers require a minimum 24 hour notice. We only require two hours. In two hours, we have catered from 100 people to 600 people. I have a great staff between the two stores in Rancho Cordova, so no catering job is too small or too big. We emphasize customer service by giving the customer what they need.

Q: Do you charge a delivery fee on catering?
A: If it’s over $100 or a house account, we’ll deliver for free. If it’s under $100, we charge $10.

Q: Does your staff provide additional service after the delivery?
A: Yes, we also offer to help set up an event. We’ll set up tables and arrange everything for you.

Q: Can you tell us about the box lunches you offer on your catering menu?
A: Sure, a box lunch is a half sandwich, a bag of chips, potato salad, a cookie and a bottle of water or canned soda. This is a perfect solution for corporate seminars or a school field trip, saving them the time and trouble of a lengthy clean up.

Q: Are there any local companies that you cater to?
A: Yes, each year, we cater a special event by Hewitt Packard. We make 600 sandwiches and supply chips and drinks for their Greek Games once a year. We’ve been doing that for the past three and a half years. Hewitt Packard has about 1,000 employees and every year, we’re up a 2 o’clock in the morning, baking bread and making cookies for an event that starts at 10:30am. So, while you’re sleeping, we’re slicing!

Q: What were the factors that motivated you to acquire the Sunrise & Coloma store in Rancho Cordova?
A: We purchased that location to help with a lot of our catering overflow from the Zinfandel store. That store is our highest volume store and is number five in the franchise.

Q: How important is customer service to you?
A: It’s extremely important. Our number one emphasis at Mr. Pickle’s is friendly and immediate customer service. The second you walk through the door, we always want to greet you with a smile.

Editor’s notes: For more information about Mr. Pickle’s, be sure to stop by one of the three restaurants in the ad below. http://www.goforitmagazine.com 


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