april_2018

118 119 TAZIKI’S MEDITERRANEAN CAFÉ company’s franchisees are already in the restaurant business and want to add to their portfolio of brands, and some have never run a bistro of any kind, before. But they’re all drawn to Taziki’s because of the food. “They taste the food,” Richards exults. “That’s where they get the thought: ‘Man, I would really love to have a Taziki’s in my backyard.’” Richards vets each aspiring franchisee, himself, making sure to find the right fit before award- ing a franchise or a territory. “We’re going to be friends or enemies for the rest of our lives,” he explains, “preferably friends and partners.” New owners then go through an eight-week training program in Birmingham learning the basics of the Taziki’s system, “from how we wash dishes, to how we run our POS system, to how we market,” he adds. “Then we do an assessment a few times a year to make sure that they’re staying on track. KEITH RICHARDS FOUNDER After our trip, I wanted to open up a little Greek café, similar to what we had experienced. Of course, we had no money, but that didn’t stop me. We ended up taking an equity line of credit on our house. We had $50,000 and we had to make it work - failure was not an option.” If we see challenges, let’s say sales are stagnant or declining, we reach out to our marketing de- partment and we look to see how we can develop the market by getting the name out there - food drops, guerilla marketing, knocking on doors - to let them know that we are here. But, we don’t mi- cro manage them; we allow them to do their job. As long as they adhere to the Taziki’s standards, we let ‘em keep on keeping on.” But the main focus is always on the food - an essential part of fostering Eudaimonia. To ensure consistency, the company regulates its staples, like lamb and chicken, “to make sure they stay in our Taziki’s profile,” Richards says. “We have spec items that you can’t stray from.We like to tweak it and change it up a bit, but we don’t go crazy.We want to make sure that we retain all of our guests and keep it as consistent as possible. 90 percent of our menu is still original.”And to make sure the food is always fresh, Richards sees to it that everyone in the system has a relationship with a local vendor. “We love local produce,” he states. “And we try to keep it as local as possible.”