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Independent of the Year achieves low turnover and operating
costs through family values.
Editor's Note: Pizza Today has chosen Farrelli's
Wood Fire Pizza, a four-store company based in DuPont,
Washington, as its 2006 Independent of the Year. The company
expects to tally sales of nearly $11 million this year,
making it among the most prolific of the nation's independent
pizza operations.
Low food and labor costs, effective operational
training and a focus on quality are hallmarks of the Farrelli's
brand.Farrelli's Wood Fire Pizza is a family business
in the truest sense, and its owners and employees revel
in that fact. The sources of pride within the company
are many, from the way ownership treats team members to
the way a grateful public views the brand. But founders
Jackie, Margaret and John Farrell can quickly point out
their biggest source of pride. In fact, they're eager
to do so: family.
As the patriarch of the Farrell family, John began his
career in foodservice after completing his formal education
in the 1960s, and he's owned nearly 10 independent restaurant
concepts since then. The latest is Farrelli's Wood Fire
Pizza, which he and daughter Jackie dreamt up together
with plenty of encouragement and support from Margaret.
The three are partners in the business, but the Farrell
family involvement doesn't stop there. Jackie's sister,
Lizz, is heavily involved as a store general manager.
Meanwhile, niece Madison is beginning her initiation into
the business and Jackie's cousin, Teresa Suprak,serves
as a partner and President of Operations. It's worth noting,
as well, that John and Margaret have two other daughters
engrossed in careers outside the family business (Ann,
who is an executive coach, and Katie, a dietician), but
that hasn't stopped them from contributing their own expertise
to help Farrelli's grow and succeed.
Often, family owned businesses hamper themselves by instilling
a hierarchy that, despite the intent of ownership, inadvertently
leads to power struggles, a stagnant work environment
and discontent among employees. That's far from the case
at Farrelli's, where the Farrells have opened their arms
to embrace associates and - however trite it sounds -
forge an extended working family.
Explains Jackie: "They (employees) know we truly
care about them and want them to succeed. We give them
the tools they need to be successful and we empower them
to make decisions. We want to give them opportunities,
and that's part of the reason we grow. We aren't driven
by finances. We would have had enough money after the
first store. But there are so many good people that work
here that we want to see grow and succeed, and there are
only so many opportunities and so many management positions
in each store. So we add more stores to create more opportunity.
It's very important that we don't take people for granted."
Sounds just a little too good to be true, a tad bit Pollyanna,
doesn't it? Spend some time with the Farrells - and, more
importantly, their employees - and you'll soon see otherwise.
You'll hear stories about today's young store managers
who have been with the company since they were 15 years
old and have never had a desire to work anywhere else
because they've been treated so well. You'll hear the
company referred to jokingly (and affectionately) as the
University of Farrelli's because Jackie has been known
to check up with guidance counselors to make sure her
school-aged employees aren't letting work interfere with
academics. In fact, she's even had some kids spend parts
of their work shifts doing homework.
Then there's the story about a kitchen employee who, after
a hot day of work around the wood-burning ovens in one
of the new locations, looked at John and said "Thanks
for building this place for us."
Those actions speak volumes, but the good vibes do not
end there. Scheduling flexibility, proper training and
advancement opportunities are great perks, but there's
still no better way to illustrate your dedication to employees
than through the payroll. After all, that's the real reason
anyone works.
And Farrelli's puts its money where its mouth is. Many
hourly employees make $1-$2 an hour more than their peers
in other local restaurants, and managers make about $10,000
more per year than the average restaurant manager in Washington
state, according to Jackie.
Why?
"We expect when we hire you that you're going to
stay here forever," she quips. And she's not kidding,
either. A restaurant cannot function at peak efficiency
without a dedicated, knowledgeable staff, and the goal
at Farrelli's is to turn any new hire into a loyal team
member that will benefit the organization for years to
come. With turnover at around 6.5 percent (compared to
more than 100 percent for typical restaurants), the company
clearly is accomplishing its goals.
"Out of 300 employees, maybe 20 will leave a year,"
says Jackie. "But the ones that leave usually do
it because they're going back to school or they're starting
a family - we usually know they're going to leave and
we support it because they're doing it for the right reasons."
As for lackluster employees who just aren't going to make
it in the Farrelli's system, Jackie says they're usually
"found out" within the first two weeks and their
presence doesn't become a distraction. And, often, it's
their fellow employees who convince them to either shape
up or ship out.
"There's a 30-day probationary period for new hires,
but the crew really holds each other accountable,"
Jackie says.
Explains Lizz: "We have quarterly bonuses based on
profit margins and our books are opened so that everyone,
and not just the managers, know what the food costs and
other costs are and what they need to be."
The result, according to Jackie, is a group that polices
itself quite well. "You'll hear somebody in the kitchen
say, 'Be careful. We've got to get our food costs down.
They're a little high this week,' " she says. "Our
managers do a very good job of developing their people,
and that's why it's very important to us to make sure
we don't ever have a strict hierarchy in even one single
store."
The method is paying dividends. The four Farrelli's units
run around a 23.5 percent food cost. Labor is kept even
lower - 21.5 percent
Weekly cost analyses are performed to ensure things stay
in line, and every 13 weeks more detailed reports are
submitted and pored over. The system allows ownership
and staff to know at all times that the company is headed
in the right direction - and that's the only direction
Farrelli's has moved since day one.
Jeremy White is editor-in-chief at PIZZA TODAY.
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