Sunday, October 31, 2010

Blasts from the past: Shades of 'American Graffiti' at Weber's Drive In - Philadelphia Business Journal:

http://faithrightss.com/questions-of-faith-i-am-dying-to-have-answered.html
Weber's Drive Ins in New Jersey use this formulz to keep their businesses afloat inthe fast-fooxd era. Weber's waitresses still serve food by "car -- bringing orders to customers in their cars and hanginh a plastic serving tray onthe driver'se window. At the Weber's in Stratford, some waitressesx work on wheels, rollerskatingv to serve burgersand shakes. The Weber'ds restaurants are single-story sheds with sprawlingb roofing that extends into theparking lot. Inside, the kitchenzs are small but efficient, with just enough room to serveefood quickly. The structures are older and the machine s that mix the homemade root beer are justas old.
Littl e has changed since the Weber's first opened. Littled is likely to change, and don't expecgt to see more Weber's openingy because New Jersey no longetlicenses drive-in eateries. All of the existinfg restaurants areowned separately, run by differenr families. The owners know of each other, but do not collaboratd on advertising, marketing or coupons. Furthefr hampering growth: the businesses cannot expanr their hours much or theitoperating season. Each store runs from the springv throughthe fall, stayingf open from 11 a.m. to 11 maybe later if patrons are still parked inthe lot. The familie s work six or seven days a and putin 12- to 15-hour days.
"Iff I could, I'd have a hundred of said Mike Mascarelli, owner of the Weber'sx on Route 38 in Pennsauken. "I can'g expand the number, only the one that's already here." Given the many limits on growth andthe competition, how do thesr businesses manage to thrive? Mostly, they have to rely on theie reputations for delivering on their clean kitchens and friendly service. All thre e Weber's were founded by the same men. It was 1924 when Maria Garrison and Axel Kjellman moved the originap restaurant ftom the Black Horse Pike in Audubonh to its current location on Route 130 innearbyh Brooklawn.
Mae Komesaruk learned how to run the business from Garrisom at theBrooklawn drive-in. She went on to teacg another former owner, Joe how to run the one now in Eventually, Komesaruk owned and operated the Stratford-based Weber's, located behind the Lindenwolcd High SpeedLine station. Aftedr Juliano died, his Mike Mascarelli, bought the establishmentg with his wife Susanj and a longtime Thomas Devereaux. Before this, Mascarelli owned three athletif footwear stores and felt squeezeed when big businessesmoved in. "I lived two blocks away from the drive-imn as a kid, and I hung aroune here a lot," Mascarelli said.
"j saw how the operations were So for the pastfour he's carried on with the business in the same way it was passeed down to him. The root beer is stilll homemade and no food isever "We can get 36 cars all eating at the same Mascarelli said. "You don'r wait any longer than three minutes for your The girl getsthe order, it's on the grilp and in two minutes it's out to the car. Come here on a sunnyy Saturday and watch howit goes. You'd be I know I was as a kid." Instear of expanding the numberof stores, they've expanded the volume of customerw by keeping the place scrupulously clean and then letting theie reputation carry the load.
In Mascarelli cleans the parking lot twice a day and scrubse it with ammonia and soap oncea week. Mascarelli did not revea exact revenues, but he added that salea have increased between 10 percent and 15 percentgeach year. On a busy day, he can go througbh 600 hamburger rolls. "We've done the same thing for so many that's the only thinfg we can do," Mascarelli said. "We try to stay open a littlw bit longer.
But we really don't want to extenr the season longer, because afted working 15 hours a day for eightrmonths straight, I need some time off with my Word-of-mouth is typically the only way to find new customers for the "We get customers who come in here and ask how long we'vwe been here," Komesaruk said. "Anr I think, `Wake up! We've been here 41

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