THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, August 12, 1996 TAG: 9608100475
SECTION: BUSINESS WEEKLY PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover story
SOURCE: BY STEPHANIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 125 lines
At 6:45 a.m., employees light up the Bagelworks sign, ready to peddle their steam-baked breads to local bagel lovers. At 5 p.m., the Bagelworks neon sign dims, workers switch hats, and a new sign lights up: Chiliworks.
Chili?
Bill Hanwit, the retailer who brought Hampton Roads bagels when bagels weren't in style here, is going out on a limb again. This time, he's curious to see if locals will warm to a unique combination of two restaurants in one - bagels by day and chili by night.
For Hanwit, the experiment at his Bagelworks franchise in Virginia Beach's Great Neck Village Shopping Center is about using retail space more efficiently. Over the years, he noticed that locals were flocking to the five Bagelworks stores for breakfast and lunch. Then, he watched customer traffic slow to a trickle.
Hanwit knew most of his customers would never entirely accept bagels for dinner. No matter how much time he and his colleagues spent dressing up the bagel menu, they simply would not bite.
Sales have been flat lately partly due to increasing competition. So, to rein customers in and bolster sales, Hanwit would have to do something more risky. It would involve a bagel-less menu, or an entirely different business for the evening hours.
``When he first came to me, he said something like, `My God, this is crazy. No one is doing anything like this,' '' said Barry Hodges, a Richmond business consultant.
But Hodges knew of several retailers in similar situations. In Richmond, for example, The Bus Stop restaurant operates by day. At night, the restaurant splits into the The Bus Stop for casual eats and Gatsby's for fine dining. Also in Richmond, a High's restaurant serves ice cream and sandwiches for lunch, adding Thai food for dinner.
``It was my wife's idea,'' said Mac Hong, restaurant manager at High's. ``Ice cream wasn't selling in winter, and business was slow for dinner. We wanted to get the night business.''
Bagelworks' Hanwit desired the same thing.
After approaching Hodges, the two men brainstormed. One of Hanwit's first ideas - a vegetarian dinner menu - got the thumbs down. Other suggestions, like baked potatoes and specialty pizzas, were quickly nixed.
But Hanwit warmed up to chili. It would be easy to make, cook and serve. It wouldn't require drastic changes to his operation. And, he would have a niche in the local restaurant industry.
His new dinner menu offers three mild chilies: Vegetarian, West Coast Chicken and Texas Red Chili with a hint of cinnamon. Customers can eat their chili with black beans, white beans and spaghetti. Non-chili lovers can chew on a host of other sandwiches, including grilled chicken breast and burgers.
``This is ours,'' Hanwit said proudly.
Getting customers warmed up to chili will be another matter, however. When Hanwit first told family, friends and co-workers about ChiliWorks, some of them asked incredulously, ``Chili in the summer?''
``It has been slow,'' Hanwit admits.
But Hanwit's not one to give up, even during frustrating times.
In the late '70s, Hanwit left his job as a manager for a medical supplies manufacturer in New Jersey and moved to Hampton Roads. He liked the region's slower pace and saw it as a perfect place to build a bagel business - even though local residents hadn't yet accepted the holey breads.
``I think Bill has a definite pioneer spirit,'' consultant Hodges said. ``He moved from another area and started the bagel business even though bagels were largely unknown in the Tidewater area. And he has stuck with it.''
In 1978, Hanwit opened his first Bagelworks store in the Hilltop commercial district. Since then, he has expanded the chain to five stores.
The Hilltop store, which also serves as the headquarters, has since moved to its current location off Holland Road. That's where the dough is mixed and sent to Bagelworks stores, which cook fresh bagels every day. The company also bakes bagels and sells them wholesale to several local retailers.
Bagelworks also owns stores in Chesapeake's Greenbrier section, in Norfolk off Virginia Beach Boulevard and in Virginia Beach's Great Neck area. A store in Norfolk's Ghent community operates under a licensee arrangement.
About a decade ago, Hanwit considered selling Bagelworks. Business was not going well, and he was frustrated. He was burned out on retailing after too many six-day workweeks.
But as talks with a potential buyer began to gel, Hanwit began having second thoughts. He started to think, ``I can make this work.''
``As I started to commit to it, I wanted it to fall through,'' he said.
It did.
These days, Hanwit is busy trying to strengthen his business as the big guys move into town. There are Bruegger's Bagels Bakeries, Chesapeake Bagel Bakeries and Manhattan Bagel shops. Dunkin Donuts, he hears, is another retailer that many soon sell bagels.
``It's not just bagels,'' he said. ``I'm competing with everyone who sells food.''
Over the years, he has spent time trying to improve his operations. He has worked with retail consultants to find ways to improve customer service.
His Chiliworks concept is one way he hopes to get back on top. If it works, he will expand it to other stores.
So far, the evening business has been slow, but it has picked up as loyal bagel customers like Nancy Albinder have accepted the idea.
Albinder, who's a self-described bagel addict, isn't crazy about chili, but her family adores it.
``I think someday I might like it,'' the Virginia Beach resident said last week as she carried out a bag of Chiliworks food.
That's all Hanwit needs to hear. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos by Bill Tiernan/ The Virginian-Pilot
ABOVE: Yolanda Williams fills bagel orders from baskets at
Bagelworks in Great Neck Village in Virginia Beach. Business is
brisk during the day, but it falls off in the evening.
FAR LEFT: Paige Hooker of Portsmouth waits for an order of bagel
sandwiches Friday morning. Owner Bill Hanwit has developed a loyal
clientele of morning bagel lovers, but he knew that no matter what
he tried, few would warm to bagels for dinner.
LEFT: So Hanwit change the menu - and the name - at 5 p.m.
Bagelworks becomes Chiliworks. The menu boasts a variety of chilies
as well as sandwiches, including grilled chicken breast and burgers. by CNB