Greenwood, S.C., independents enjoy the fruits of their labor

Nation's Restaurant News, Dec 10, 1990 by Jack Hayes

Greenwood, S.C., independents enjoy the fruits of their labor GREENWOOD, S.C. -- Threaded by an old U.S. highway and nestled on a lakeside in the west-central hills of South Carolina, this ordinary Southern city is becoming a stronghold of hope for independent restaurateurs everywhere.

The reason is that tiny Greenwood allows bulldozer operators, high-school teachers, retired waitresses and workaholic immigrants to stand out among the success stories in foodservice.

Numbering more than 100 strong in a market of 50,000, Greenwood's powerful independents are packing their dining rooms with a seven-day menu of what successful restauranteurs have always been known for: broad smiles, hard-boiled gumption -- and 80-hour work weeks.

And yet, according to published studies claiming independent operators still control 80 percent (vs. 20 percent for the chains) of the $80 billion full-service segment nationwide, Greenwood acts more like a stereotype than an oddity.

"We're your average American town," said Jimmy Britt, sho is 1990 research committee chairman of the National Restaurant Association and self-proclaimed ambassador for Greenwood's ideal independents.

A former construction laborer and then a developer, Britt turned operator 18 years ago -- when he bought Blazers here and discovered that a "restaurant" investments, even when it's made for the real estate, requires hands-on work.

Blazers today is known for regional novelties like grits sticks, which are batter-fried fingers of corn mush with Cheddar and jalapenos. Britt also gets tongues wagging with a one-of-a-kind appetizer give-away called Possem, which is simply beef brisket, shaved and then flashed on the grill.

Britt recalled a time he got on his knees in Blazer's dining room to ask a patron, who hadn't answered him the first two times, whether his fodd was OK.

"This is not an easy business," said downtown operator Elaine Lewis, whose only experience before opening 85-sent Elaine's two years ago was waitressing.

The breakfast and lunch operation, averaging 175 noonday covers at $4, survives because she never leaves the dining room or the kitchen.

"If I didn't work hard, I'd fail," said Lewis, who rises weekdays at 4 a.m. and keeps seven on her payrolll. "In a restaurant it's always something."

Gary Ficklin, with a high-school diploma and four and one-half years of 12-hour days, paid off a $600,000 loan and now owns a chicken and burger store here, called Gary's Fine Foods.

"I came in here on a shoestring," said ficklin, whose only experience was managing a pizza unit -- and who is one of Greenwood's model independents.

Ficklin learned to fix kitchen equipment by watching the technicians. He has 25 employees and is also watching sales grow by 20 percent a year.

"If you're worth your salt, you can make it in this business," said the operator, who savors "versatility" -- calling it one blessing every independent shares. For example, if he wants to turn fried chicken into chicken salad, he can. "KFC operators couldn't do that," he added.

Linda Hayness is a 10-unit Shoney's franchisee but dirties her hands as if she were running a mom-and-pop store in the thick of competition.

"We're like independents," Haynes siad. She proved it by pushing a $4.99 Shoney's Breakfast for Dinner special to jack up sales at one Greenwood store.

"I get dirty and greasy, but I'm tremendously satisfied," added Hayness, who traded a teaching career for foodservice. ""Watching that line form at lunch is one of the best highs in the world," she said.

Greenwood has its share of immigrant restaurants, who are working proof of Jimmy Britt's theory of foodservice success.

"People pay you back for good food and good service," said George Andrews who, with Greek partner Ted Kerhoulas, bought The Ranch here in 1963. "And if you work all the time -- then you can't spend your money," he added.

Andrew's proudest accomplishments over that time: that he hasn't missed a day of work and that he doesn't owe a penny. an operator, he believes, has to have "will power," because in foodservice there are no free meals.

The Ranch does 400 covers six days averaging $4 at lunch and $10 at dinner.

Thomas Migdalad and his brother, Konstantinos, are another pair of independents who work according to Britti's rules. The brothers -- who reached Greenwood two and one-half years ago after cashing in an Amesbury, Mass., pizza shop -- have already sold the first franchise to a new concept: Mig's Pizza Castle.

"There are better opportunities here than in any other industry," claimed Tom Migdalas who, like Britt, has only a grammar-school education. "But it's a different way of life. You're working when everyone else is partying."

Britt claims the Migdalas brothers are Greenwood's next Andrews-Kerhoulas success story. Mig's is now popular enough in Greenwood that Domino's drivers reportedly pick up submarine sandwiches there to deliver with pizza orders.

"In the restaurant business you go to school and get paid and promoted at the same time," Migdalas said. "I keep Jimmy's philosophy," he added. "There are restaurant people, and then there are 'other' people."