Reimagining the Family Business

The Next Generation

When Avery Ward’s grandparents started their corner grocery store in Groveport, OH, his grandmother’s ravioli were a big seller. So when a bigger, cheaper supermarket chain opened nearby in the 1970s, converting to a cozy ristorante made sense. Eventually, Avery’s parents took over the local favorite. After college, Avery pursued a career in high tech. But when illness sidelined his dad in 2015, Avery agreed to lead the business if he could run it his own way.

Building on his parents’ foundation of superior food, Avery set goals for aggressive growth. He modernized the restaurant’s finance, payroll, scheduling, and inventory tracking systems. This gave him greater transparency into weekly profitability and efficiency. To further boost customer satisfaction with family favorites, Avery maximized kitchen consistency. He created “recipe cards” to standardize each recipe and installed scales to weigh every ingredient.

To streamline inventory tracking, his team uses an app to scan each distributor invoice directly into their inventory system. This automatically uploads the exact quantities and current per-ounce replacement cost of each premium ingredient purchased. Armed with real time sales and costs by menu item, Avery began weekly menu engineering to verify each offering continues to “earn its keep” profitwise. Slower moving items were either improved or retired, making room for popular new items.

As sales grew, the modest dining room filled sooner. So Avery weighed modernizing their existing location and instead invested in building in a larger, state-of-the-art space nearby. Besides a bigger, airier dining room, increased kitchen capacity also supported a new wedding catering business, a separate coffee shop and ice cream counter to capture additional morning and evening sales, and a mobile food truck to increase community involvement.

Along the way, Avery has consciously recruited and trained enthusiastic folks to help maximize customer satisfaction while aggressively pursuing innovative opportunities. By pairing ultra-premium food quality, performance evaluation, and enthusiastic employees, Avery has profitably expanded the family business eightfold in less than a decade!

Avery Ward, Owner
Little Italy Restaurant
Groveport, OH

Keep It Real

Within his cozy pizzeria, this pizzaiolo proudly insists on premium ingredients. So when newcomers occasionally question his equally premium prices, he points to a small sign next to his register. Under the headline, “We Value Quality,” the sign explains “Our premium dough is only made with flour, water, yeast, salt, and extra virgin olive oil.” It then says “Their (delivery chain name) dough is made with…” followed by a wordfor- word list of “sciency sounding” ingredients, stabilizers, conditioners, and preservatives copied directly from the chain’s official website. The bottom of the sign pledges: “Keep it Real.”

Prefers to Remain Anonymous

Prioritizing Dine-In

During Covid, Matt Klaus built a hearty takeout pizza business. But the heart and soul of his success remains his dine-in regulars. So whenever the dining room fills, Matt begins extending his quoted online “Expected Wait Times.” By intentionally pacing incoming digital orders, Matt gives his kitchen breathing room to promptly satisfy internal guests and keep tables turning!

Matt Klaus, Owner
Crust 54
Holland, MI