THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, August 5, 1996 TAG: 9608030232
SECTION: BUSINESS WEEKLY PAGE: 05 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY GREGORY J. GILLIGAN, RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: 80 lines
James S. Riekel got his start in the pizza business as a deliveryman.
Thirteen years later, he runs the Papa John's franchise in Richmond and Hampton Roads, the pizza company's largest operation.
``The first time I went out on the road and delivered pizzas, I was thinking, `What am I doing?,''' said Riekel, the vice president and chief operating officer of Papa John's of Virginia Inc.
What he has done is turn that $5.50-per-hour delivery job with the Domino's chain in 1983 into a high-powered position at Papa John's that he said has made him a millionaire.
His ingredients for success? Hard work and perseverance.
``You have to keep striving to do better,'' he said. ``Sure, there are the long hours, and there are the times when you have to work weekends or on Christmas or New Year's Eve. But it is worth it.''
He also had to put up with moving to 11 cities in the nine years he worked for Domino's before switching to Papa John's.
Jack A. Laughery, a former chairman and chief executive officer of Hardee's Food Systems Inc., who also is an investor in Papa John's of Virginia, said that Riekel's achievements are a result of his enthusiasm and deep desire to improve himself.
``He is a good example of starting at the bottom and being able to achieve some great business success by working very hard at it,'' said Laughery, who also is board member of Papa John's International Inc.
His friends and business associates describe Riekel, 36, as extremely competitive and very goal-oriented.
``He has a common quality of a lot of people who are successful - he has the blue flame,'' said Richard Sherman, the president of Papa John's of Virginia, comparing Riekel's to the hottest type of flame.
Sherman has the title of president because he is a major investor, but Riekel runs the day-to-day operations of the company.
Growing up in New Jersey as the youngest of five children, Riekel always talked about being a millionaire one day.
``I kept telling my dad I was going to be a millionaire by the time I was 30. I missed it by six years, but the important thing is, I achieved it,'' Riekel said. ``It's not the biggest thing in the world if you miss a date.''
When he moved to Richmond in 1991, he had another goal - to buy his first house. With all the moves he had made, it had never made sense financially to buy a house. He achieved that goal two years ago.
His current list of goals is taped on the refrigerator door at his Brandermill home. On the list: having children (he got married 18 months ago) and owning a sit-down restaurant (he hopes to do that in the next couple of years).
Riekel got his start in the pizza business after a friend suggested the field offered lots of opportunity. He started working for Domino's in Miami in a management training program that included delivering pizzas.
He went on to hold a variety of positions with the chain, from store manager to regional director.
He moved to Richmond in 1991 to be a district manager for Domino's. He had requested the move to be closer to a brother and his twin sister who live here.
But he was tired of the long hours and the constant moving from city to city. He wanted to try something new.
``I'm not a quitter, but the day-to-day pressure was too incredible for me and I wanted to start to enjoy my life a little bit,'' Riekel said.
So he left Domino's and went looking for a job as a pharmaceutical salesman.
Three weeks later, however, he got a call from the Papa John's franchise group looking for someone to run its Richmond operation. At the time, the franchise had just opened its first area store and had sales of about $350,000.
In less than four years, Papa John's of Virginia has grown to 25 stores (13 in the Richmond area and 12 in Hampton Roads). It is expected to post sales of more than $16 million this year and upwards of $20 million next year.
By 2000, it expects to have about 50 stores from Richmond to the Outer Banks.
Since starting in the business, Riekel figures he has made nearly 750,000 pizzas. And he still makes pizzas today, and is always willing to help out during a crunch.
``He's a pizza guru,'' Laughery said. ``Jim talks about pizza all of the time. He lives and breaths it.''
KEYWORDS: PROFILE by CNB