Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 11, 1991 TAG: 9104120079
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GENNY ELIAS/ STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Not long ago, the same storefront proclaimed "City Lunch."
The Jan. 28 closing of the City Lunch is due more to a setting of priorities in life than to a small-business failure, the former owner said. Sean and Donna Klos chose to spend less time running a business and more time with their family.
"It saddened us when we had to do it [close the restaurant]," said Donna Klos. "But in our hearts, we know we made the right decision.
"We had to draw a line - either run the business and cut our time with the kids or give up the restaurant."
The Kloses chose to return to regular jobs - where they are the employees and someone else is the boss - so that they could spend more time with sons Shannon, 6, and William, 5.
But, during their four years operating the City Lunch, the Kloses built up a regular clientele that felt at home in the restaurant. "Somebody once said it was like a home away from home for them," Donna Klos recalled. "They watched my children grow."
Building that homey atmosphere took time.
The Kloses moved to Roanoke from Rochester, N.Y., where both had worked in the restaurant business for a while. They decided to move shortly after Sean's parents retired to the area.
Donna Klos said she and her husband had been wanting to open their own business for a while and saw this as a perfect opportunity to do so. "My father-in-law worked with us. He hired a Realtor, scouted the area and checked out the market," she said. He would check out prospective buildings, then call the them in Rochester to tell them what he thought.
If a building sounded interesting, her husband would drive down to look at it, she said.
When they saw the City Lunch location, they liked it.
After deciding to lease the building, the couple hired a company to do a marketing study on the downtown area to find out about the other restaurants and to decide how to market their own business.
"We didn't do anything on a whim. We knew our competition," she said.
With the survey results, the Kloses knew they would have to pay their workers well in order to get and keep good help. Waitresses at the restaurant earned minimum wage plus tips, Donna said.
She added that one waitress stayed with them the entire four years, while others left only because of poor health.
Despite their knowledge of the area and its needs, Donna Klos said it took a while for the business to get a regular clientele. "It took us a year to gain their confidence," she said. "After that, it just started building."
Their menu was adjusted to cater to the tastes of the regulars and daily specials were added for variety.
Donna Klos helped by supplying recipes for dishes her husband was unfamiliar with cooking. She also helped any way she could around the restaurant. "I waitressed; I ran the floor; whatever he needed me to do, I did. I was his backup," she said.
Still, it wasn't until their second year that they broke even. In the third year, they started to see a profit, but insurance costs, at $400 a month, were cutting into their business.
To help ease the burden, she took a part-time job in emergency registration at Community Hospital. She found herself working weekends at her part-time job and weekdays at the restaurant, leaving precious little time to be with her family.
"The only time Sean and I saw each other was at the restaurant," she said.
"When you own a business, you don't really consider all the factors," she said. "We didn't think it would take away from our time with our children."
But it did.
"As your business grows, you don't realize that you have to put that much time into it if you want a business to do well," she said. Her husband was working Monday through Friday and going in on the weekends to prepare meals for the next week, she said.
"Right now our family is more important. We can do this again. There is nothing to say that one day down the road we won't open another business. But right now, it's family first. Sean and I both agreed on this.
"We asked ourselves: What's more important, the dollar or the family? The dollar you can get another time; your family you can't."
She said she thought the reason they were able to take the business to the level they did was due in large part to their honesty. For others considering going into small business ownership, she said, "honesty and honest hard work" are the two keys to success.
It also doesn't hurt to be prepared financially for the burden of a small business, she said.
She suggested that those considering entering the small-restaurant business have at least $25,000 to $30,000 to work with for the first two years, depending on the location.
Businesses need the capital to work with the first year to pay the workers, to buy food and to cover other costs.
In addition, she said, "you always encounter other people's tastes when you lease a building. And you'll want to go in and change it to suit your taste."
For Jayne Savage, the new owner, a change in tastes meant a big change.
Although the black-and-white checked floors, wooden booths and small wooden tables remain, there were some major changes.
Savage has painted the walls white, installed track lighting, closed off the kitchen area, re-upholstered the stools and removed the frying equipment. And, while the restaurant retains its charm, the new owner's tastes shine through - from the physical changes to the menu.
With a degree in dietary and food technology from Northern Michigan University, Savage has plied her trade in a variety of restaurants in Roanoke since 1981, the most recent being a four-year stint at Alexander's, where she was an assistant chef.
She has drawn on her restaurant experience to make up her menu, which she calls a "healthy, clean menu."
She offers a continental-style breakfast, serving fresh-baked muffins, bagels, juice, coffee and tea.
For the lunch crowd, there is a deli-style offering of sandwiches, fresh fruit and some salads, in addition to daily specials, soup and items from the grill. She said she has tried to keep all menu items under $5.
Savage, who was born in Boston but graduated from Cave Spring High School, said she had been wanting to open her own restaurant for a while.
"I've been waiting for a good location, and this happened to be a really good location," she said. "I've always wanted to own a restaurant, but I didn't think I was going to do it here in Roanoke. But, since the location is so good, I went ahead and said I'd do it."
Savage said that since there is so much foot traffic in the area, she is hoping to do a good take-out business.
The only problem she has encountered so far has been trying to find good help, she said.
"I think the worst part is getting the help to help you. That's what I'm finding is a little bit of a downfall. It's getting everybody else grouped and ready," she said. "I know what I'm doing in the back; it's just getting everybody ready in the front."
by CNB