by Caroline Gabsewics
Staff Writer
Two years ago, Jeanne Sapp began exploring the possibilities of opening her own restaurant after having worked in the corporate world most of her life. Sapp said she looked into Firehouse Subs and Larry’s Giant Subs — two successful franchises with roots in Jacksonville — but when she found the New York NY Fresh Deli franchise, she knew it was what she was looking for. Sapp opened the restaurant off of Old St. Augustine Road, near I-95 and today she’s talking growth.
“I liked it (New York NY Fresh Deli) because it had other foods and not just your typical subs,” she said.
Including the subs, the restaurant offers paninis, wraps, salads and gourmet sandwiches.
“I wanted to see how it was to own a little business,” she said. “It’s a challenge. It’s not as easy as you think working with vendors, customers.”
Sapp said when she was looking to open a franchise restaurant, she wanted to make sure the restaurant catered to everyone.
“I looked at what I would look for if I went out to eat, because a lot of men will get the subs, but not all women like to eat subs. They’d rather have wraps or salads,” she said.
Sapp used to work near where she opened the deli and knew a few years ago that the area around I-95 and Old St. Augustine Road was going to grow — and grow rapidly. Luckily, she was right.
“I live and I used to work right down the road and I saw the growth in the area so I gave the landlords a call to see what spaces were available,” she said. “This area is still growing and there are a lot more restaurants going in. But with all of us here, we will be able to accommodate everyone for lunch.”
Sapp said she has heard many times that if your business doesn’t make it through the first two years, it most likely won’t succeed at all.
“Business goes up and down, but that is the nature of the business,” she said. “But I am doing great at this location.”
Sapp took that as a sign of success and is planning to expand in the Jacksonville area.
“I want to open more, but I want to find the perfect location. It is all about location,” she said. “I haven’t come across any area yet.”
Sapp said she is looking at Nocatee as well as Downtown as potential sites for future stores.
Even though these first two years have been successful for Sapp, she still feels like she learns something new every day.
“I am still learning. I knew nothing about the restaurant business until I did this,” she said.
The franchise — based in Mesa, Ariz. — shows you as much as they can, she said. Once she became interested in New York NY Fresh Deli, they sent Sapp a book full of information about the company including advertising information, location, making the food and vendors.
“When you decide you want to take on the franchise, you go to Arizona for two weeks. One week is spent in a classroom-type setting and the next week is hands-on training,” she said.
Once the new location is open, Sapp said the corporate office sends someone to the restaurant for about five days to make sure everything is being done correctly.
Right now there are 40 New York NY Fresh Delis in the United States, with four in Florida.
There are a lot of benefits of owning a business and one of the most important for Sapp is knowing that she has a job to go to every day.
“In the corporate world you never knew if you were going to be there the next day,” she said. “And when you have a family that you need to support, it isn’t a good situation to be in.”
Sapp has the luxury of working her own hours. She has children who are in sports and she and her husband are always at practices or games.
“There is a sense of security,” she said of being her own boss. “You don’t have to wonder if you are going to have a job or not.”
Still, the past two years haven’t been stress-free.
“You are always worried it is not going to go through after you had spent so much time, money and effort,” she said. “It is every restaurant’s nightmare.”
Sapp is happy about the decision she has made going from the corporate world to owning her own business and she hopes in the next few years she can expand to other locations in Jacksonville.
“I at least knew to try it and if I didn’t try it, I would have always wondered,” she said. “It is all about location, location, location and a lot of time and effort. You just have to wait patiently.”