Well I was heading out of the Kalamazoo location and going home when I came across this customer at the door....you just never know where your next customer is coming from. Her name is Sadie Hawkins....the owner of the dog said she always names her dogs for somebody famous on the day they were born. Sadie was born on Nov 13 ....and the owner said that made her name Sadie Hawkins...just to be sure I checked it out on the WIKI ....... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadie_Hawkins_Day and there it was...first reference was Nov 13th. We have a lot of customers that are dogs....I'm not sure why, but I think that dog owners that go to BIGGBY COFFEE are happier....so the dogs always want to go there....I'm sure it has nothing to do with the dog treats that some stores pass out :)
Well I jumped on I-94 and the trucks were everywhere....and I was getting the jitters dealing with them all...so I decided that I would take a pause at our Marshall location....owned by Joe and Jane, I mentioned them earlier (they are working on getting a location in Battle Creek.) Well Jane is a retail Queen and I love her displays....she moves more BIGGBY Bears than anybody.
Marshall MI is a great town....and is famous for it's historic downtown as well the famous restaurant SCHULERS.... http://www.schulersrestaurant.com/index.asp I know Larry Schuler from my board time at the Michigan Restaurant Association...it was his grandad that started the place.....an iconic place...they are also famous for something in your grocery store too...cheese http://www.winschulers.com/, I am sure everybody has had some at some point in time.
Larry stops in the store every once in a while and let's me know whats going on, but I have no worries...Jane and the whole O'Connor clan are quintessential operators. You can always feel their exuberance whether they are there or not. As I mentioned before, they are working on more locations (this is their third).....but even with this many locations, it never seems to affect the quality of the f-factor that you find in their stores. What's the f-factor?....It's the fun-factor, and many operators talk about fun and energy....but there are few that execute it at the level that this family team does. You can feel Jane's personality though her employees and this store was no exception....Shelby was driving the ship and Chelsea was riding shotgun. There was a gentleman just ahead of me, as I walked in, and as often happens at BIGGBY COFFEE, Shelby knew his name and what he wanted to drink...(boy do I love when that happens!) Well this time I was actually running deep cover, and I sunk down into some of the soft chairs they got there. I looked around and saw mostly older couples, and what looked to me like a business meeting, everybody was enjoying the environent. There are some cozy nooks in this store, and it seemed like each couple had laid claim to their own.
Chelsea and Shelby
I was sitting right in front of the cash register area...and got a good view of everybody coming in...Shelby knew them all, I guess that might be the way it is in a smaller town, but what's nice to know is how well Jane's store has been recieved there.....it's a great reflection of her. I have another freind there by the name of Bill Traver (owns a consulting company http://www.blufishconsulting.com/index.aspx )...he has been saying 'we need one in Marshall' for years...he has nothing but good things to say about this these guys.
Thanks guys...you are doing great!!!
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