by Richard Prior
Staff Writer
Larry and Victor Mendez are putting in the long hours now, working harder than they dreamed they’d have to.
But they’re confident it will all be worthwhile when JaxFiesta becomes known as “the little company that could.”
“You don’t think about how much work it entails,” said Victor Mendez, chief operating officer of the 8-month-old business. “When you have a good idea, and you know it’s going to work, you don’t think about that.
“You just think, ‘We can do this. How hard can it be?’”
The germ of an idea, and the birth of their business, came from the impressive stack of menus Victor had acquired from his many travels.
“Employees talk about what to eat before they come into the office,” said Larry, CEO of JaxFiesta. “A lot of time is wasted deciding where to go.
“Being a marketing major, I thought we could do this on line. Some information, a phone number. My brother thought we should make it a nice directory.”
The brothers did some market research, asking corporate employees in the Baymeadows/Southside area about the restaurants they were interested in, how far they would drive for lunch, the areas they prefer and the hours they would go.
Then they visited restaurants in a three- to five-mile radius of the many business complexes and asked if they wanted to be featured in the directory.
“Restaurants see customers coming in and taking menus out,” said Larry. “They knew there had to be a better way.”
Most of the 24 restaurants who signed up for the first full-color edition took out two pages, plenty of room for their full menu, logo, photos and contact information.
The first run of 15,000 directories was completed five months ago.
During the two to three weeks it took to distribute them all, “People were running out of the buildings asking for more books,” said Larry. “It’s a lot easier when a lot of companies love the idea, and they say we have so many employees; just give us some boxes, and we’ll hand them out for you.
“We had to see if this would work. Baymeadows and Southside showed us it would.”
The next volume, which includes downtown eateries, is being distributed now. Volume Three will feature San Marco and Riverside.
“We offer a variety of restaurants, from fast food to a nice elegant restaurant for your business meetings,” Victor said.
The menus, artwork and information are to be updated every six months.
The directory idea was so popular, the brothers said, that they developed a website featuring the same restaurants.
“Sometimes, for instance, you might leave your territory,” said Larry. “Your office is in Baymeadows, but you’re going downtown. You can go online and go to the restaurant.
“It also helps the restaurants save time. You can call ahead and have your food prepared before you get there. People are also highlighting the menu and faxing it to the restaurant. There’s no miscommunication on what you want.”
The brothers have divided Jacksonville into six regions. They expect it will take about 18 months to complete the last four directories out of their office in the Beaver Street Enterprise Center.
But that doesn’t mean the end to this, “Why didn’t I think of that?” story. Today, Jacksonville. Tomorrow, Jackson Hole.
“Our strategic goal is to be a national corporation,” said Larry. “Jacksonville is our starting point. Once we know Jacksonville is out, we’re going to go national. We’re hitting every city.”
To reach that point, the Mendez brothers may have to work even longer than the 12- to 15-hour days they’re putting in now. While JaxFiesta is Larry’s only job, Victor still works as an anesthesia tech at Baptist Hospital.
“It’s fun; we love it,” Victor said. “The best thing is when the people at that restaurant shake my hand and say thank you. That’s worth all the hard work and cold calling. That’s what keeps you going.”
(Restaurants that want to be included and office complexes that want copies of the directories should contact JaxFiesta at 265-4730 or [email protected].)