Nick Firrincielli did his research before going into business as the co-owner of Southwest Florida’s first Bear Rock Cafe in south Fort Myers - but it still came down to love at first sight.
The former employee of Nino’s Italian Restaurants was looking at franchise possibilities while visiting with relatives in North Carolina and didn’t see anything he liked until he walked into a Bear Rock.
‘I liked what I saw,’ Firrincielli said. ‘There was an instant feeling, ‘This is what I’m looking for, this would work in Fort Myers.”
He and his partner, Lou Iamarino, opened the sandwich shop here in October and now they’re part of the franchising industry: one that has more than $500 billion in payroll nationwide, and represents 9.5% of the country’s private sector economy.
As the housing market crash causes tremors in the larger Southwest Florida economy, there’s a lot more interest in franchises from people looking to get into business for themselves, said Suzanne Specht, assistant director of the Small Business Development Center at Florida Gulf Coast University.
Photo: Stephen Hayford / news-press.com
The Power Of Franchises
February 19, 2008 by Cris | 0 Comments
In Franchises, Trends, Franchise Ideas / Opportunities, Restaurants
No comments yet.