We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Bob Pappanduros a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Bob, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright, let’s take a stroll on memory lane, back to when you were an apprentice or intern. What’s a memorable story from that time that you can share with us?
I grew up working in my Dad’s hot dog joint on Chicago’s southside. I learned from the start to treat employees with care and respect. They’re folks working hard alongside you, often doing the same jobs. Making customers happy, getting along with fellow employees, caring about the job they do. That starts at the top, by example. But it wasn’t a calculated strategy,It was how he treated and related to people. It’s how I’ve approached my staff and my customers. All but 1 of my staff have been with me for 24-33 years. And the 1 is at 14 years. I’ve had customers for all my 33 years in business. Establishing caring relationships has been the key to all that, and making sure we put out great food all of the time. And that was seeded by working for my Pop 50 years ago
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I’ve owned a Chicago style sandwich restaurant in Phoenix, Az. since 1989. I grew up working alongside my Dad and my sisters at my Dad’s restaurant in Chicago. I ended up in the restaurant business by default, as I did everything I could to leave the industry. Got degrees in psychology and sociology, and promised myself I was dome with food service. But when I couldn’t find any work upon moving out west, well when you’re a cook you can always find a job.m It’s not that I didn’t lke the work, It’s I hated the time committment. I knew my Dad well because I worked with him, but he wasn’t home much. I didn’t want that for my life. I continued into restaurant management until I reached a point where it was get my own place or get out of the industry for good. My goal was to have a life outside of work. It took 5-10 years to get to a point where I had most and now all of my nights off. I closed Sundays after 5 years, when I paid off my note. It was a good day sales-wise, but life got so much better with a solid day off. And that helped me start assembling the crew I’ve had for 20-30 years. They too had a solid weekend day off. When they were younger it gave them a day after playing. As they had families it gave them a weekend family day. I’m most proud of the people I’ve had working with me all these years, and the longtime customers I’ve had for that long too. I’m happiest that eventually I got to enjoy a homelife many in this industry do not.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
As a 31 year old with 17 years of restaurant experience but no capital, I approached a friend’s Dad with a business proposal. I had projected sales and profits at different levels of business, and asked him for 30,000. This was the downpayment on the 65000.00 note. I borrowd 5000.00 from my sister, whic covered my opening expenses and left me with about 400.00 in the bank. I bought an existing usines, so i had some sales to begin with. My partner has realized a 30% annual return on investment for the past 30 years.
Where do you think you get most of your clients from?
Word of mouth from existing customers, and Google reviews. I don’t do any advertising, and I don’t market my existing base. New customers daily come in on recommendations from friends and colleagues. Google searches bring in folks as we have a 4.7 average. We do a great, consistent job in both our product and our service, and it’s communicated mainly thru those two avenues.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.chicagohamburger.com
- Facebook: Chicago Hamburger Co.