Stories about seizing opportunities in life to achieve success
The writer Ziad Reyes, author of My Experience for a Better Life, talks about real stories that happened to him during his long working life filled with pleasant experiences. In part of his book, he is exposed to exploiting and investing opportunities and turning those opportunities into success on the ground. We will become acquainted with the details through the following:
There's always an opportunity for "My Story with Hot & Crispy"
At the end of the 1990s of the last century, there was a significant decline in work volume and our cash liquidity. We were specialists in the service of subsistence for the labor segment of large companies, where we reached a very critical stage with large debts to others without collection. It was necessary to look for other solutions in the retail sector, where a diverse source of cash income is secured for the company.
During my periodic trip, I visited the food exhibition in Germany and then visited my grandmother's house in Germany, a city adjacent to Manheim. While I was downtown, a shop that sells only spiced potatoes in various forms drew my attention. The shop's idea revolves around a single item with good taste and distinctiveness. Before the shop, there was a line waiting for a turn. The shop's name was "Big Bommes."
From there, the idea emerged, and it happened that after two months, I had the summer vacation with my family, and my young children were with me. I went with them to the same store to try this product, and as soon as they finished, they asked me for another serving, which was an important indicator for me.
I started looking for the source of the potatoes by getting the name and address from the bag they use in the same store; It was Lamb Weston. I returned home and started emailing their headquarters in America without any response. In parallel, I began to study the idea and the requirements: "Brand name and logo, interior design, packaging design, costs for one site, moving vehicles, their design and cost, the required equipment and cost, etc".
I landed on "Hot & Crispy" with its current blue, yellow, and orange color scheme. The colors of the German clothing brand "Loft Henza" so attracted me that I went shopping for an outfit in similar colors and bought a shirt in the same hues. I brought the garment to the meeting and asked the designer to make the logo match the color of the shirt. I eagerly got involved in these things, and soon I found myself in the Netherlands at an exposition, with the desired company in front of me. Here, I got to know them, fully described the concept, struck a deal, and gave my approval for the first container to be shipped.
The Offshore company was registered in England, where the project was launched in the Gulf, as Hot & Crispy UK Agents.
The first site was a small kiosk on the corner of a large store, and the turnout was remarkable. Within a short period, a type of trolley was adopted, which was supplied by a company with a high level of debt working in the kitchen equipment industry. We opened and distributed 80 sites during the first year, and in the second year, we became the fastest franchise in the Gulf in terms of deployment for two consecutive years. "Every five working days, a new site opens".
During this period, we contracted with an internationally accredited company in the world of franchises and its full requirements to launch the idea as a franchise and sell it in several countries until Hot & Crispy was evaluated by the most important international accounting companies for an amount between 30-40 million Riyals. We established a factory in Egypt to manufacture spiced potatoes. We became the first factory to export spiced sweet potatoes to Europe from the Middle East and export to more than 16 countries. We worked to double its production capacity, and it became the most crucial source of sweet potatoes for Europe, specifically in the Middle East.
Yes! This is the story of Hot & Crispy, which was born out of adversity and challenges until it became a success story.
Portal and Giovanni, "My Story with Cabo Grillo"
Old memories go back to 1972 and the rainy winter days in the city of Latakia, at the northern entrance to the port. There was a small shop with a roof made of the old tin bars of its owner, Abu Naim. Rainwater fell from each end, and the burning wood stove gave some warmth to customers who took a little shelter until the end of their order.
When I was ten, my grandmother asked me to go there for a delightful breakfast of fresh sheep's liver roasted on an old charcoal conveyor, from which the spark of fireflies flew left and right. I was overjoyed to accept her invitation.
It is said that at that time, in Naples, Italy, there was a man named Giovanni who was famous for grilling meat and chicken for members of his family, his owners, and the workers at the port. After a while, he became famous in the city, and people began to rush to him, and they called him Gapo Grillo, the barbecue leader.
Giovanni then emigrated with his family to Germany and met a young German named Gabi, who works as a waiter in one of the city's restaurants.
This is how the two started Cabo Grillo, which dates back to 1972.
This tale combines elements of fact and fiction to tell the tale of the 2002 Gulf Coast launch of the Cabo Grillo chain, which was depicted on the restaurant's menu under the heading "Once upon a time."
In fact, the beginning was sparked by my presence at the franchise exhibition in Washington, DC, in 2001. An idea under the name "Flimmer" to prepare the sandwich, evolving from “subway,” caught my attention. It was to allow the customer to choose the additives he wanted, put the cheese slice on it, and then put it in the mobile oven, where it comes out from the other end with melting cheese on the crispy bread.
I went back to my own country and tried out the same concept there. However, instead of cold meat, there are several cuts of spiced meat and chicken. The customer chooses the additives after the meat has been cooked on the grill in front of them, topped with cheese, and placed in a moving oven. Therefore, the chain was established under the name "Cabo Grillo," and its fans enjoyed it for a very long time.
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