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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