No rest for the weary in the pizza business
March 19th, 2008, 7:03 pm Hobby Shops
It’s not unusual for Dave Binkowski to catch his few winks of sleep between midnight and 4 a.m. on most weeknights.That’s what happens when you consider running two pizza joints a “hobby.”
Besides being sales manager for bulk-granola wholesaler Golden Temple, Binkowski is at the helm of Figaro’s Pizza, a Salem, Ore.-based cheese-meat-and- crust franchise. He owns one shop in Eastvale and just embarked on his second in Chino Hills.
That’s his new hobby - and he knows he’s got to pay to play. Binkowski is using his history in sales to outmaneuver everything he’s up against: a nationwide recession, and a quota from corporate to put a few more Figaro’s Pizza shops on the regional map every few years.
“There are certain requirements you have to live up to,” said the master franchisee about his responsibilities.
Consider it done, the entrepreneur says. He spouts off his short-term goal of jump-starting dozens of new pizza shops over the next five years.
But in the same breath, he knows he’d be arrogant to ignore the rising cost of ingredients. The price of cheese is up notably from last year, and flour has skyrocketed.
“We’re marketing more than we ever have to counteract those rise in costs,” he said.
The Inland Empire’s housing market might be bleeding - and it could become the poster child for our nation’s recession - but Binkowski still sees opportunity.
go to a steakhouse,” he said. “But they’ll pay a few bucks for some pizza.”In fact, he’s staking his reputation on it. Binkowski is in charge of getting fellow entrepreneurs interested in opening up Figaro’s in most of San Bernardino County and all of Riverside County.
So far, so good. Businessmen and women in Upland, Wildomar, Hesperia, and San Jacinto have joined the ranks as franchisees.
Mark Larson, who worked with Binkowski for eight years, isn’t surprised. The two men worked in sales in Chicago for publicly traded Dean Foods Co., which is based out of Dallas.
“Even though we’re in an economic slowdown, he’s a savvy businessman,” Larson said. “I think he’ll be one step ahead of his competition.”
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