 After more than 15 years in operation, mom-and-pop mainstay Mel’s Diner
of southwest Florida has accepted corporate culture as a means to help
build a more stable future.
Bonita Springs, FL -- For years, Mel’s Diner has been southwest
Florida’s best place for comfort food. Founded in 1989 by Chris
Karakosta, the restaurant chain currently owns and operates 10
locations in the region, all of them rooted in the company’s trademark
mom-and-pop sensibilities -- family friendly service, comfort foods
prepared from scratch and great value.
But as the company has grown, it has needed to shed some of that
wholesomeness and adopt a stricter corporate structure, mostly as a
means to ensure a more financially secure future for the company and
offer customers more satisfying and consistent dining experiences.
“We had no structure as a company,” says Karakosta. “It took a couple
of years to get control of it. And I didn’t think the quality was
where what we once were. We needed to bring the ‘wow’ back to
Mel’s in taste and presentation. We need people to start talking
about us again.”
To help achieve these goals, Karakosta brought aboard a talented team
of restaurant professionals from around the country, including Ralph
Desiano of T.G.I. Fridays and Pizzeria Uno (now chief operating
officer). Desiano, in turn, brought in Walt Disney World veteran,
Brad Cohen, Applebee’s stalwart, James Rodriguez (both district
managers) and Fred Scherger of the Compass Group (director of culinary
operations).
Under Desiano’s leadership, the crew rebuilt the corporate structure of
Mel’s Diner in order to emphasize training, menu consistency and
singularity. Additional steps included outsourcing the marketing
department, focusing more on franchisee possibilities and expanding
beyond the southwest Florida demographic, among others.
As expected, these transformations took some time to implement, and
they were naturally met with some resistance, both internally and
externally. In some cases, some long-standing employees left the
company. But those who endured the transition realized that many
of the steps taken were for the best of the company and were not
personal attacks.
“We’ve done a crash course in a year,” says Desiano. “It’s been ugly
and it’s been good, but we needed to do it. Mel’s is a mom and pop
operation. When someone with corporate experience comes in with
management experience, it’s difficult for some to accept. When you rock
their world and tell them that everything they’ve done for ten years
isn’t the way we’re going, it’s difficult. To some extent, I’ve
had to help these guys understand why we’re doing what we’re
doing. The good news is that I think we’ve conquered and overcome
most of the obstacles.”
Karakosta, himself ambivalent on the idea at first, has faith in the
process and where it’s taking the company. At the same time, he
understands that no matter what changes occur, Mel’s Diner will stay
true to its core mom-and-pop values.
“Our biggest concern is to not lose the culture,” says Karakosta. “The
thing for us is to write the right script. That’s the key.
We’ve got a $25 million-a-year company here. We’ve got a great base.
We’ve got tremendous opportunities to explore.”
For more information, please visit http://www.melsdiners.com.
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Media Contact:
Quantified Marketing Group
407.936.1010
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