2004 AGORA awards for business excellence: Cyrus O'Leary's Pies

Journal of Business, Jun 03, 2004

Cyrus O'Leary's Pies strives to operate by the motto: "We've got a passion for pie and we're obsessed with customer service."

It's those key ingredients, combined with the company's growth, which has prompted Agora judges to award the company the 2004 Business Excellence Award in the medium-sized business category.

The gourmet-pie manufacturer and wholesaler, which does business as Cyrus O'Leary's Pies but actually operates under the corporate name of Fresh Foods Corporation of America, began making pies in 1981 in the kitchen of a local restaurant. Back then they could produce 20 to 30 pies a day. Today, in its almost two-year-old, state-of-the-art facility it can produce between 30,000 and 50,000 pies a week, which are delivered fresh within a 150-mile radius of Spokane. Its pies are sold primarily to supermarkets, restaurants, and hospitals.

In 1996, the company introduced a line of frozen pies, as well. They're distributed through Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, northern California, northern Nevada, and Colorado.

While the company has stepped up its pie production, it still remains committed to preserve its products' quality reputation.

Cyrus O'Leary's Pies says in its Agora questionnaire that it enjoys "the advantage of doing business in a part of the country where the best fruit and wheat in the world are grown. Both are important ingredients in our award winning pies."

Among other awards, Cyrus O'Leary's Pies has walked away with first place awards from the National Pie Championships for the last two consecutive years.

Since moving into its 40,000-square-foot facility in Airway Heights in October of 2002, Cyrus O'Leary's Pies says in its questionnaire it's "very much poised for growth. As our corporate name (Fresh Foods Corporations of America) suggests, we have big aspirations for continued expansion and growth." It adds, "Growth has always been slow but steady, enabling us to manage expansion without ever disappointing new or existing customers."

Cyrus O'Leary's Pies says that its business has grown steadily every year. Last year the company was able to add 15 employees, giving it a total of 70 workers, due to relocation to the new facility and sales growth.

It's more than just an award-winning product and steady growth that has contributed to the company's success, however.

"This company has a 'customer obsession,"' Agora judges say. "In the words of the owners, 'Most companies think of customer service as simply responding to a problem. We think of it as a constant ... everyday, every action, a total mindset, adding up to a relentless obsession of always pleasing our customers.' Cyrus O'Leary's Pies) strives to maintain its reputation of honesty and integrity when interacting with customers, employees, and vendors," the judges say.