italian gardens togo

sorry to say

2011-06-21T17:21:00.002-05:00

i'm sorry to say i've been advised to stop the magic i've been sharing here. we are going into a growth period and we need to keep our cards close to our vests.
i would love to let everyone know where were going but when we get there we'll all know.
ciao for now.
john david dicapo

down in mexico

2011-05-25T08:23:00.002-05:00

i'm down in playa del carmen recharging the batteries. just read the glen bell story, the man who started taco bell and funny i seem to be right on track. i see many parallels.
enjoying my time down here.
ciao,
john david

they're coming from all over

2011-05-16T12:10:00.002-05:00

friday night we had customers come from overland park and raytown to get a bucket of past, pizza and italian cookies. if that's not a testament to the quality of our food, the value you receive and our great service, i don't know what is.
ciao,
john dicapo

so much happening

2011-05-11T06:33:00.001-05:00

we have so much happeneing it's just great.
this is what i've been waiting for.
the team is coming into place.
ciao,
john dicapo

the time has come

2011-04-30T10:57:00.001-05:00

the time has come for us to move forward and move forward we will!
john david dicapo

very busy

2011-04-24T16:48:00.002-05:00

it's amazing how busy i am. i have so much going on and so many exciting things happening. it's a great time in my life.
i am truly blessed by god on this holy day to have such a wonderful family. a business that's getting ready to expand and my health.
the next few months are going to be great and could define the direction of the company.
stay tuned.
happy easter.
ciao,
john david

we have alot happening

2011-04-20T11:41:00.002-05:00

i think were about ready to grow. we have several people who want to be involved. we are checking our options wisely.
we need to get to overland park and we need to make some kind of deal here on barry road.
the world is open and welcoming to the igtogo concept.
were about to take a wild ride.
ciao,
john david dicapo

we are consistant

2011-04-16T06:30:00.002-05:00

business is good and consistent. we have our spikes like we did yesterday when we opened at 11am and had 20 cars in a row come through but in general we are remaining very steady in sales.
we are pleased with the progress we've made in the year and a half we've been open and now were ready to grow.
we have many deals in the works including franchising.
we have a great biz model that we know will be successful all over the country.
ciao

the owners came out

2011-04-10T13:11:00.002-05:00

i met the owners of the property on barry rd. where the igtogo is located and we discussed the QT problem. they saw firsthand what the problem is and hopefully we can get something done this week. it has definitely hindered business. we need relief.
other than that our customers are very dedicated and love our food. we get compliments daily. it's a good feeling knowing your providing great food at a great price in a clean and fast setting.
we have the recipe for success.its just around the corner.
looking forward to the future. it looks bright.
ciao,
john david dicapo
"ava's dad"

we need some relief

2011-04-08T07:25:00.002-05:00

its a shame when a neighboring property owner and a landlord have no regard for an on-time rent paying tenant.
that's our situation on barry road.
QT is our neighbor and they really don't care if we stay in business or not.
they almost closed us down last summer with their construction and now with their 300% increase in gas pumps and building size the amount of traffic that come from their business is staggering.
our properties are adjacent to each other and we share a driveway onto barry road. when their customers exit QT they pass onto our property to exit onto barry road which totally blocks our customers ability to enter or exit our drive thru.
its a bad situation that needs to get fixed.
i am working on several options.
will keep you informed.
ciao,
john dicapo

this may be the way to go

2011-04-03T07:23:00.002-05:00

i was recently contacted by an attorney who represents a group who has an interest in licensing the igtogo concept in the kc area. i am excited about the possibilities but also have heard many horror stories about others running your business not necessarily the way you do. this is something we would need to discuss and put on paper. franchising or licencing is a way to expand the concept rapidly and make a huge impact. we are defiantly going to discuss our options and if it's a direction we necessarily want to go.
ciao,
john david dicapo

something normal seemed strange

2011-03-30T07:31:00.002-05:00

yesterday while working the pick up window after a customer had picked up his food i stuck out my hand and said thanks. he shook my hand and said that was the first time he had ever been through a drive thru restaurant and had a person shake his hand and say thank you. we'll that's the way we do it at the italian gardens. personal service, restaurant quality food in a clean fast moving environment. we think we have found the magic alchemy for restaurant success. now we need to spread it throughout the country. ciao, john dicapo

New Loyalty Card

2011-03-29T06:06:00.002-05:00

we are introducing anew loyalty card today. it will enable any customer to get a free pasta meal or sandwich with the purchase of 10. i have heard and read that loyalty cards are a great promotional item for businesses and we hope this is true. we are always trying to keep our good customers happy and attract new customers. i have several meeting this week that could change the direction of igtogo. we hope we can make a deal and start to move forward. we're sitting on top of a gold mine and we need to keep digging and grinding it out. it's a beautiful thing!. ciao, john david dicapo

i can't believe

2011-03-25T06:08:00.002-05:00

i can't believe its been two weeks since i updated the blog. i have been so busy with so much going on. we are real close to getting something done and there is so much excitement in the air.
business is just ok bust the possibilities are endless. with a great location we can make history. i will be back soon.
ciao,
john david dicapo

another good week

2011-03-12T06:41:00.003-06:00

we're starting to have good weeks back to back. that's a very encouraging sign.
we know we have a good product and a good name.
we have to make sure we keep our employees motivated to do the very best job they can do.
it's important that we grow and stay green.
we need to keep improving and continue to add more customers to our base.
we're doing the right thing we just need to keep getting better.
ciao,
john david

another good weekend

2011-03-07T06:35:00.002-06:00

we are becoming consistently busy friday-sunday and that's great.
we have steady customers who now have igtogo etched in their weekly food schedule and that was one of our goals.
serve high quality italian food in a quick serve setting, providing value to the consumer with a smile and a thank you ciao baby.
it's working and now we need to expand.
john david dicapo

it's getting close

2011-03-05T10:09:00.003-06:00

we're getting real close to making a deal. we really need to grow. we have the best new food concept to come along in years and we need to expand it. it still boggles my mind on what business we could do in jo/co with the right location.
our barry road location is doing good. we have great managers and our staff is top shelf. i'm a lucky guy and i thank god for it.
maybe this will be the week we make a deal and break out. if not this week than next.
we will not quit until we have accomplished our goals.
ciao,
john david dicapo

best saturday day shift ever

2011-02-27T07:24:00.002-06:00

we are on a roll. the day shift yesterday was non-stop. in speaking with customers i found that borders books had our book on sale yesterday prominently displayed in the front of the store. that started a buzz and people came from the book store straight to igtogo. what a great marketing idea. the book has really brought attention to the restaurant and guess where we've sold most of our books in the k.c. area?
overland park. i can't wait to get there.
all we need is a few more investors and we're ready to get started.
i'm going to church right now to pray that we get those investors soon so we can realize the dream.
ciao and god bless.
john d. dicapo

never felt so good

2011-02-26T11:57:00.003-06:00

i've really never felt as good as i do now about the direction of the igtogo.
we have several interested investors who want to take us to the next level. when you see the happy and satisfied look on our customers faces when we give them their order you would surely understand how that makes me feel.
i can't wait to make the move and show the world.
ciao,
john dicapo

steady as she goes

2011-02-24T06:18:00.003-06:00

we have been very lucky to have been able to stay open in these tough turbulent times with a new concept in a location that's very hard to access. we have seen many established businesses go under. i guess it's a testament that good italian food in a drive thru scenario that provides value to the consumer works.
our business has been real steady and we hope to increase sales as the weather gets better and folks go out more.
we will continue to market and advertise and sell a quality product in a fast, convenient,clean, friendly atmosphere.
ciao,
john david dicapo

posting on facebook

2011-02-19T06:21:00.002-06:00

i've been posting the op opportunity to my friends on facebook looking for a few folks to participate in our overland park expansion. if all goes well we should be funded by the end of feb so we can get started and be open in the fall. business is really steady on barry road. i had a meeting with an experienced fellow who complimented us on the success we've had on barry rd. saying "with the lack of accessibility you have on barry to do the sales and business you've done is almost impossible".
it's good to hear from a stranger how hard work pays off.
we need to keep the ball rolling and make our operation better, faster, cleaner.
QSR quality, service, cleanliness.
have a great weekend.
ciao,
john david dicapo
head meatball

we are awarded

2011-02-16T13:36:00.002-06:00

We are pleased to announce the Italian Gardens Togo has been awarded the 2010 Grade A Food Excellence Award form the Kansas City Health Department.
Congratulations to our managers and staff.
Salute
John D. DiCapo

best day ever

2011-02-15T07:04:00.003-06:00

we had our single best day ever on sunday feb 13th and our best weekend. what a great time for great sales. our customers love it and our employees are doing a great job. we intending a little employee shake-up creating a day shift and a night shift bring one of our stronger people in to help develop the 11-4 business. we are initiating the new changes with a free drink offer with pasta or sandwich
still seeking investors for the op store. it will be a winner!
ciao,
john dicapo

cold, cold week

2011-02-11T06:31:00.001-06:00

we had a very cold week in k.c. and it was reflected in our sales. we just started to come out of it yesterday and hope that the mild temps will get biz back on track.
i have several meeting in jo/co today and tomorrow and hopefully we will be able to make a deal and see what we can really do in a more upscale neighborhood.
ciao,
john david

just an average weekend

2011-02-07T06:34:00.002-06:00

we thought with the relatively mild weather and the valuemail advertising we would have a great weekend. it was just ok. average at best. must have had to do with the blizzard on monday. people went out and spent and didn't have money for the weekend. i'm curious to see the sales from the pizza companies.
we have a promotion starting today. buy a sandwich or pasta from 11-4 and get a free drink. we'll see if we can spark some day biz.
you have to keep marketing. that's the tool for success.
enjoy your week.
ciao,
john david

crazy week so far

2011-02-03T06:08:00.002-06:00

what a crazy week so far. the blizzard started tuesday morn and kept us closed for the past 2 days. no revenues yet no expenses. we're back at it today and are excited to open back up and get the pasta flowing. we received several calls last night wanting to know if we were open and i had to tell them reluctantly no. they were calling!
we have an ad in the valumail magazine going out today so this weekend along with superbowl should be great.
i will keep you informed.
ciao,
john dicapo

we exceeded our numbers

2011-01-30T10:15:00.002-06:00

can you imagine hitting your projected numbers at a location that customers have to literally drive thru quik trips parking lot to get to.
that's what we did on barry road for 2010. its amazing we can do much business in a location that is land locked and almost impossible to get into and then out of.
i have been spending time speaking to our customers and almost all agree that if the igtogo was in an accessible location we could do 50% more business and maybe more.
that alone is driving me to get to jo/co and get a location that is easily accessible.
we'll do great. people love our food, value and service.
it will be the beginning of a restaurant powerhouse.
come along for the ride.
contact me on my cell 816-590-9950
ciao,
john david dicapo

out looking for a few good men or women

2011-01-29T08:04:00.002-06:00

we have our subscription agreement completed and i'm out looking for those few men and women we need to get the igtogo op financed and started. it's amazing how broke alot of the people i thought had money are and how much money i thought people who were broke have.
the people participating are working class folk who see in me and the igtogo an opportunity to get a residual income for the remainder of their lives if were successful and their money back before i take a dime of profits. sometimes the unsophisticated investor is the smartest and i defiantly think the people who have signed up with me will get way more in return than they have put in and it will be a privilege for me to pay them back.
unlike swindlers and wall street stock brokers I'm here to make money for me and my investors and grow the italian gardens togo into a major restaurant chain.
i will dance with the ones that are bringing me to where i want to go.
i feel great!
ciao,
john david

i'm really excited

2011-01-26T06:07:00.002-06:00

i worked at the igtogo last night and i'm so pumped up about the new place it's hard to keep it in. the customers that came by were so happy to get the wonderful food we sell and told me so. several said they enjoyed the gardens more than any restaurant in town drive thru, sit down or otherwise. they can't believe the customer service we give. one guy said he was talked to more at the gardens than he was at an applebbes where he sat as a customer.
that's great for me to hear and i know it will help make the gardens successful.
i am going to call each and every potential investor today and see what happens.
i feel its going to be a good day.
ciao,
john david dicapo

were on our way

2011-01-24T11:12:00.002-06:00

we finalized the subscription agreement over the weekend and sent it out this morning. we are really excited to get our investors together and get started. hopefully we can be done by the end of the week.
we can then go to the sba and get approval. sign purchase agreement for the land and were off to the races.
an igtogo in op is going to be a game-changer not only for us but for the whole quick serve industry.
i feel so good about it it's hard to keep it in. i just had a plate of penne with tomato sauce and the folks in op will just go wild.
life is good!
john david dicapo

i can't believe its been a week

2011-01-21T18:44:00.002-06:00

with my daughter ava's 8th birthday and the snow storm this week i haven't had time to blog. business has been down because of the snow but that was to be expected. we had our crew placing door hangers in the neighborhood. i think its helping. it sure can't hurt. business is really tough right now but we are doing a good job connecting with our customers. service with a smile.
i have spent the last couple of weeks working on our subscription agreement for igtogo op. it's going to be a great restaurant and will take our company to a higher level. we expect to do over $1m in sales but to be on the safe side were projecting $900k for business purposes.
i get so excited sometimes i can see the new building and the customers driving around it picking up their food enjoying themselves listening to great italian music.
life is good.
john david dicapo

advertising doesn't cost it pays

2011-01-14T06:03:00.002-06:00

i'm a believer. we have great food and great prices now we just need to let people know. we sent out a team of people to put door hangers on the apartment complexes around the igtogo and we saw business double. we had a before the blizzard sales day yesterday just 1 day after the team went out. alot of new customers. wow!
now i know why mcdonalds and BK are always on tv advertising their restaurants. it works. we hope to see the spike in sales continue thru the weekend and become a trend and you can bet me that team of door to door advertisers will be back out next week.
salute,
john d. dicapo
p.s. my dad and i are going to be on the radio today celebrating our new book and the igtogo. another boost.

it's been a week

2011-01-11T06:14:00.002-06:00

wow i haven't blogged in over a week. flu bug and the terrible weather we've had are the culprits of that. i'm back now and in the process of getting the subscription letter done for igtogo overland park. we should be able to start getting investors to write checks in a week or so and get this ball rolling. before we know it spring will be here and we need to be ready.
with the snow and cold temps business has slowed but we are prepared by limiting our labor and keeping costs down. we need to advertise a little more and think about new ways to attract customers. if they don't come to you you must go to them.
overall i'm very happy and can't wait to get things moving forward at a rapid pace.
ciao,
john david dicapo

the holidays are over

2011-01-04T06:42:00.002-06:00

we had a good holiday season. business was up from last year and the staff at the igtogo was just great. we received several compliments on how courteous and fun our staff is and how it is a welcomed pleasure to drive thru igtogo.
i really think that's great and that's exactly what we've tried to accomplish in our business. even though we are a drive thru only we are still in the food service business and we need to always treat our customers like their coming into our home.
now that the holidays are over we need to establish our lunch business and market our family dinners.we need to promote off-site catering. we need to look at new menu items folks asked for during the holidays like chicken spedini and continue to make our service better.
we always need to strive to improve.
ciao,
john dicapo

meetings are a chance to excel

2010-12-31T06:37:00.003-06:00

when you meet people for the first time and you talk about igtogo it reinvigorates you. it makes you go back to the beginning as to why we did this in the first place. it's a good thing. we had 2 good meetings yesterday and all were waiting for is the executive summary and were on our way.
happy new year.
john david dicapo

business blahs

2010-12-30T06:39:00.002-06:00

we have the business blahs at the igtogo. one average day and then a slow day. this is normal for the holdiay season but we seem to always expect better days. what we have been doing is cutting back on inventory and labor. we have a cleaning regiment in place and were deep cleaning. we need to keep our people busy and ready when the waves come back.
meeting with two potential investment groups today.
should be interesting.
ciao,
j.d.

our best day ever

2010-12-26T07:24:00.002-06:00

we had our best single day ever on thursday the 23rd.
it's amazing how much food we can sell out of that little 550 sq. ft. building.
we are truly blessed and we hope that it continues. today's is a big chiefs game and we hope that the families are still in town and hungry.
i'm excited as i have ever been about igtogo and can't wait to do more marketing and advertising. it's a beautiful thing.
john david dicapo "head meatball"

its been a awesome week

2010-12-23T05:57:00.002-06:00

we've had a great week so far. maybe our best week ever. ticket numbers are up in the daytime and our sandwich numbers are growing. we've sold a tremendous amount of lasagna and have several large order going out today and tomorrow. i couldn't be happier and can't want to put the igtogo on the stage in kc for all to see.
it's going to be big.
ciao,
john david

good weekend

2010-12-20T06:21:00.002-06:00

we had a good weekend. great thursday night, average friday night, great saturday night, average sunday night. go figure. the weather is going to hold out this week so we won't be having any large weather patterns coming through which is good. we hope to have a good week and hope to enjoy our holidays.
happy holiday to you.
john david dicapo

lasagna is king

2010-12-16T07:38:00.002-06:00

i could not have asked for a better holiday season so far. we are doing great with catering, large parties and our daily sales have increased. i can only imagine what we can do in a prime location with easy access. can you?
ciao,
john david dicapo
head meatball

better than average

2010-12-13T06:14:00.002-06:00

we had a better than average weekend and the weather was ice cold. that tells me we are in demand. i saw people coming thru on saturday night in their p.j.'s.
can you imagine on a cold windy night leaving your garage and coming to IGTOGO to get a warm bucket of spaghetti and meatballs and then heading back home to your warm garage without having to get out of your car. its a beautiful thing.
i can't say it enough. when we get a top shelf location we will do $1m in sales.
NO DOUBT.
watch out overland park.
enjoy the week.
john david

business is flat

2010-12-08T06:49:00.002-06:00

after a tremendous sunday, monday -tueday have been flat. i don't know if its the weather, the lack of accessibility or if people just don't have the disposable income but business seems to be just all right.
i know we are not in the best location but we do have dedicate customers who just love our product. we had one customer who works at the airport at american airlines come thru twice yesterday and get the same thing, lasagna.
when i saw him the second time i asked him, "didn't i see you today" and he replied that his wife had cooked chicken for dinner and he loved the lasagna he had for lunch so much he decided to come back and get it again for dinner. now that's a dedicated customer and proves to me that our lasagna is top shelf.
ciao,
john david

go chiefs

2010-12-06T07:04:00.002-06:00

we had a mediocre saturday but we had almost our best sunday on record. go chiefs. i don't know if it had anything to do with it but it can't hurt. i hope they get to the playoffs and our sales continue. go chiefs.
meeting with several groups this week relating to overland park hemlock. it will be a winner.
getting excited.
ciao and have a great week.
john david dicapo

business is good

2010-12-04T05:55:00.002-06:00

we have been relatively busy this week. i feel it has something to do with the ad in the valumail advertisement and also the great food we sell. we tend to see alot of the same customers coming back time and time again. this is a good sign that we hope will continue and grow.
we are trying to find more investors to fund the overland park hemlock store. we have about 30% of what we need but haven't found that one person or group who can take us to the next level.
we'll keep looking.
ciao,
john david

catering is up

2010-12-01T06:27:00.002-06:00

we are doing catering and people are real happy about it. we catered a pizza lunch for 50 and a pasta dinner for 130 yesterday. it's a great extra source of income.
business has been flat the last 2 days. i guess it's the change in the weather. we have a valumail add coming out today so we hope to see a spike.
we have several investors ready to participate in the igtogo hemlock. we hope to have it completed by years end.
ciao,
john dicapo

italian is #1

2010-11-29T06:53:00.002-06:00

i read a Nation's Restaurant News article over the weekend that quoted a Zagat survey that found that Italian food is still the most popular food in New York by a wide margin. 30% to French which came in second at 14%. i know that this is not totally reflective of the K.C. area but it does give you the sense that Italian food is widely popular and the Italian Gardens ToGo is the right concept. all we need now is to find the right location and were on our way to 1000.
happy holiday.
john david dicapo

black and blue

2010-11-27T08:14:00.001-06:00

black friday has never been good for us. i guess people don't have eating on their mind. i don't see any of the other restaurant chains doing any advertising so i guess they just try and stay out of the way. one of these days i'll have to study it more to see how we can increase sales on that day. tues-wed were great. hope to have a good sat-sun.
ciao,
j.d.

i'm so busy i forget to blog

2010-11-24T06:45:00.002-06:00

we are so busy right now that i forget to blog in the morning. i get to the factory at 5am and work until 7 am when my crew comes in and we start production. some days i have so much going on in those 2 hours i don't have time to blog.
we had a great day yesterday at igtogo barry rd. we did 30% more than we did last year and we expect today to be just as good. we sold more trays of family lasagna than we ever have and we are well stocked up for today.
we are on our way to getting funded for igtogo hemlock and can't wait until next year in op. can you imagine the number of trays of lasagna and buckets of pasta we'll sell out there. it will be a mind boggling thing.
happy thanksgiving
john david dicapo

the lawyers are working

2010-11-21T07:21:00.002-06:00

met and spoke to my lawyers yesterday and they are preparing the documents necessary for me to start signing up members. this is when i know were getting close. i'm really getting excited. i know we are going to be wildly successful and things are going to start moving at a faster pace.
the barry road location is doing fine but the obstacles we have in entering and leaving are always going to persist. i wonder how much we could do on barry if customers had easy access?
life is good. work hard.
god bless you. have a great sunday.
john david dicapo

another has joined

2010-11-20T08:15:00.002-06:00

we received another commitment on friday which brings our total to 4. that leaves just 11 more to go and we can get started. i'm really excited about heading to overland park with this concept. when chipolte first expanded out of denver the went straight to op. i think it's a good move for us and i can't wait to get started. c'mon you other 11. let's make it happen.
sincerely,
john david dicapo

closer to reaching our goal

2010-11-19T06:33:00.002-06:00

we received a commitment from another yesterday to participate in the new overland park igtogo. that leaves only 12 out of the 15 left. we have some very serious inquiries being made and we hope to have all the money raised and the sba loan in place by the end of the year.
there's going to be some very disappointed investors when we open and they realize thay had a shot but couldn't pull the trigger. something they can tell their grandkids. i think it will be that big.
salute,
john d. dicapo

just average

2010-11-17T06:20:00.001-06:00

we've had just a few average days lately. nothing spectacular. we have our crew in place and were just waiting for the rush.
we have some coupons going out this week.
ciao,
j.d.

good weekend

2010-11-14T06:47:00.002-06:00

were have a very good weekend. were starting to do some late business which really helps and let's me know that people are getting used to the time and the weather.
i'm happy to announce that our second investor came on board yesterday and he was real happy to be a part of the new igtogo in overland park. for some reason i feel that investment is going to be worth alot of money one of these days.
i have to look back at the people that still talk about the opportunities they had to buy shares in marion labs or get in early with wal-mart. i have spoke to many about the igtogo and there are going to be many people who will one day say "man i had a chance to get in on the ground floor of the italian gardens and didn't".
well all i can say is i gave them a opportunity. they can't and won't hold me back.
full steam ahead.
god bless you
john david dicapo

we got our groove back

2010-11-13T06:20:00.002-06:00

we had a wonderful day and night of business yesterday even doing a considerable business from 8-9pm. this tells me that our free drink promotion from 11-4pm is working and that our customers are adjusting to daylight savings time.
it's amazing that we can have a great sales day and still not be really busy. it tells me of the potential the igtogo has in the future. when we get an easily accessable location and a new building the world will take notice. great italian food, good value, great service and fast. that's us, igtogo.
salute,
john david dicapo

one day

2010-11-12T06:14:00.002-06:00

one day does not success make but it does improve the bottom line. we increased our lunch business 50% yesterday by offering free drinks with the purchase of a sandwich or pasta. people were genuinely happy about getting that free drink and saving that $1.29. we might continue it the rest of the year. it was an awesome move and we hope that the business continues to increase in the daytime. like i said one day is not the tell all but we'll see how things go from here.
we had a few ex-wendy's guys in yesterday and they really like the operation and the place. they had a few suggestions that we'll take into consideration but they were generally really impressed with the igtogo and thought that it has a tremendous future. i agree.
ciao and have a great weekend.
john david dicapo

free drinks for all

2010-11-11T06:16:00.002-06:00

we really need to boost the lunch business so we've decided to offer free drinks with the purchase of any sandwich or pasta from 11a-4p. today is the first day so we hope that it will drive people into the gardens that have never been there are haven't been here in a while.
we have a potential investor coming up today. an old wendy's franchisee. i hope he sees what i see and decides to participate in the expansion. it going to be big. we also have a meeting on monday with another fellow who called and has interest. things are heating up.
have a great day.
ciao,
john david

where does time go?

2010-11-10T06:06:00.002-06:00

i can't believe that its been almost a week since i blogged. where does time go. i know i've been real busy meeting with my lawyers and potential investors in regard to new igtogo's in overland park.
i have a really good feeling that someone is going to step up in the next few weeks and fund the expansion. i can't believe all the people who i thought had money and were interested didn't have money and weren't really interested. people who actually contacted me. well that's life and i just learned another life lesson. if i live to be 85 i should be a real smart guy.
i've got alot of good positive things going on in my life and i thank god for all my fortunes.
ava, mom, dad, familia, my health, our business. what more can a guy ask for.
life is good.
work hard.
ciao,
john david dicapo

catering

2010-11-04T05:47:00.002-05:00

we catered the local harley davidson dealership's fall party last night serving pasta, chicken, italian hoagies and italian cookies and they couldn't have been more pleased. we also had a good time at the event. i brought my daughter ava (and gave her $5 for helping) and also erin who is the manager of the igtogo to do customer relations. it was great. i can see the opportunity to make many more customers at these events. several people told me they were planning on coming to the gardens today for another meal. that's what we like to hear.
get paid to make customers.
our traffic count picked up yesterday at the restaurant and we hope today for a continuance.
ciao,
john david

business has slowed

2010-11-03T06:06:00.002-05:00

it seems like halloween took some of the wind out our sales but we expect to regain it with a new advertisement going up this week promoting our authentic italian pizza by the slice and italian sandwiches.
we also have had 3 catering parties this week which will show in the bottom line. we expect catering to increase throughout the holidays. we also have our new menu coming out this week with the catering menu on the back side which should also spark increased catering business.
i really don't think i realized how much catering we will do and by owning our own commissary and producing and delivering from that facility it makes it simple and easy.
we expect business to pick up as the weekend draws closer and people get back into a normal routine.
ciao for now,
john david

halloween was scary!

2010-11-01T07:22:00.003-05:00

Halloween was scary!
it was amazing that after two record days thursday-friday that saturday was so bad. i guess having Halloween fall on a saturday night many people had parties to attend and going out for dinner was not part of their agenda. anyway we did rebound on sunday and with the cool weather this week we expect to get our sales back on track. we have a catering function at the local harley davidson dealership on wednesday and a pizza party at the toyota dealership on saturday.
we should have a good week.
ciao,
john david dicapo

another milestone

2010-10-30T08:23:00.002-05:00

we had our single best hour of sales yesterday 10/29.
that's telling me that what we're doing is right and we need to continue down the same path.
i read on the internet how others have tried to do italian in a drive thru or fast food scenario and none have succeeded. even the big guys like pizza hut tried and failed.
i feel real fortunate to have been raised and schooled at the famous italian gardens and i have been able to bring all the experience and knowledge that i gained to the igtogo.
believe me, what i know you really can't learn from books. it takes practical experience.
we have several investors looking at our expansion plans and i'm confident someone will step up soon.
sabenadica,
john david dicapo
p.s. i received our trademark from the uspto yesterday. we are now officially dicapo's italian gardens togo and no one can use that name. salute

headed in the right direction

2010-10-29T05:59:00.002-05:00

we broke a sales plateau yesterday surpassing our best day ever. that's telling me that we are not only keeping our regular customers but attracting new ones. i do have a new advertisement coming out for november in the star and in december using valumail. i do need to do more advertising as it is reflected in our sales figures and bottom line.
it's great to hear from our customers how much they like the food and the service at the gardens and how it differentiates us from the rest. we take pride in treating each and ever customer like their members of the family and people can definitely see and feel it.
it the gardens way!
we hope our positive momentum continues.
ciao,
john david dicapo

the system

2010-10-27T06:23:00.002-05:00

we have developed a great system over first year. we can get a person through the drive thru in less than 1 minute if they order pasta and were in dinner hour. that's amazing and I'm proud of the folks that have helped put the system in place and that work it.
we had a good night last night but we could do so much more. we need to advertise and promote. it's the key.
the soliciting of investors is in high gear. we need to find that special person or small group that can make this happen. i believe in my heart and with the faith in god that it will happen and happen soon (in the next few weeks).
ciao,
john david dicapo

investment goal

2010-10-26T06:11:00.002-05:00

we are actively seeking investors to participate in the growth and expansion of igtogo. we've got a start and we hope to have the capital collected in the upcoming weeks.
this is an opportunity that some day will be written up in a book.
it's history.
sabenadica,
john david dicapo

good solid weekend

2010-10-25T06:04:00.002-05:00

we had a good solid weekend with consistant sales all three days.
we had a price increase that took effect on friday and not one customer has mentioned it. i guess most feel that even with a slight increase our food is still a great value. what we will NEVER do is sacrifice quality for price. i've seen many operators substitute a lower quality product in order to increase profits and it usually doesn't work.
we will continue to sell restaurant quality italian food in a quick serve, drive thru facility that provides good value to our customers. that's the key to our success.
ciao,
john dicapo

I'm so excited

2010-10-22T06:28:00.003-05:00

i feel were really on our way. it's a great feeling to know your close to doing something that will change the way america eats. mcdonald's did it, taco bell did it, kfc did it, subway did it and now were going to do it.
we're going totally against the crowd. we will stand out by being the first drive thru only italian restaurant in the city and maybe the country.
we provide restaurant quality food at a good value in a fast, clean environment.
what's not to like?
people love it and so do i.
god bless.
john david dicapo

alot of interest

2010-10-20T06:22:00.003-05:00

i have alot of interest from people who want to get involved with me to build our first prototype igtogo but no firm commitments as of yet. meeting with the bank today to show them the property so that they will be ready when we pull the trigger.
the barry road igtogo is doing just fine. our sales have slowed alittle from two weeks ago when we were making record highs but those days will be back real soon. we ran an ad for free spumoni with the purchase of a pasta dinner and got very limited response. we won't be doing that one again anytime soon. we need to build the lunch business up and i'm going to focus on that starting next week. new signs and i'm going to visit local businesses with our new menu. we get nothing but positive comments from customers about our food and service and everyone is talking about catering and planning events for the fall and the holidays.
we will end up doing alot of catering out of the igtogo not only on barry but all future locations. it will be a good source of income for any of our restaurants.
we're real close to making my dream into reality. just one break and were on our way never to look back.
it's going to be a wild fun ride.
please come along.
ciao,
john david dicapo

investors needed, please apply

2010-10-19T06:49:00.002-05:00

meeting with the bank tomorrow to view the op property and work on the sba package. still haven't secured the $150k equity need to proceed.
i am soliciting many different groups. someone is going to be real lucky.
ciao,
john david

we had a nice weekend

2010-10-18T06:32:00.002-05:00

business as very good this weekend. nothing exceptional but busy as usual.
we had a family party last night for my mom's 75th birthday and all our family attended a dinner and we had a great time. ava enjoyed herself as the only youngster there taking pictures and being the center of attention. she really is a beautiful girl. god bless ava.
we have a very busy week ahead. meeting with the bank on wednesday and investors all week.
need to get the financing in place for overland park. should be our first $1m store.
ciao,
john david

it's a great day

2010-10-15T06:34:00.002-05:00

today's my birthday and i'm real happy to be here. i'm 52 years old and have an opportunity in front of me that few people get in their lifetime. i'm able to take the family business to the next level with the help and support of my mother and father. i have my health, my faith in god, my little daughter ava and my parents and brothers and their family.

what a lucky guy. i'm going to do what i do every birthday and that is to work a shift and then do a little celebrating.

headed in the right direction

2010-10-13T06:23:00.002-05:00

i think were headed in the right direction. business is good and we have a plan to expand. the economy isn't great but for a restaurant company that is different but good and a value to our customers our timing couldn't be any better. when most other qsr are doing $1 deals and lowering their prices we are raising ours because our customers tell us that they love the food and they get way too much for the money. we are trying to get to the point where we become profitable and the consumer still gets a great value. our new menu with a few added changes and an increase of 10% in pricing should do it.
where can you feed a family of 4-6 great pasta with meatballs, a family salad and a whole loaf of garlic bread for under $22. that's $4.40 per person for a family of 5.
this is restaurant quality food.
i had a woman come thru last night and told me that she would have paid almost twice as much at applebee's to get the same amount of food and her family liked ours more. now that's what i like to hear and we just need to do more advertising and tell more folks.
i am going to make an effort to hit some businesses around the area in the next few weeks with our new menu and maybe some free drink tickets.
we need to spread the word more.
have a great day.
ciao,
john david

great spot

2010-10-12T06:02:00.002-05:00

well i found the spot in overland park and negotiated the price to where it is fair. all we need now is the money to get started.
we can sit and blog all day long but until we get to op/ks and do 1m a year in sales we will go unnoticed.
let's find the money and get rolling.
john david

happy columbus day

2010-10-11T06:36:00.002-05:00

i hope everyone has a great columbus day and appreciates all the good things italians have brought to american. i wish we were in a position to celebrate the day at the igtogo. when we get our new building and new location we will definitely promote columbus day.
enjoy!
john david dicapo

we need an investor

2010-10-09T09:12:00.002-05:00

we need to grow and we need an investor. i've been told by several banks that at least 2 years of financials are need before they will look at a loan to expand. that just bank bs.
we need to find a person with adequate capital that believes in this company the way i do.
if you know of anyone send them my way. we have deals looming we just need to capitalize them.
the time is now.
john david

good help

2010-10-08T06:05:00.002-05:00

is hard to find. we have been through several (over 10) people now who say they want to work and after a few days or weeks decide they really don't. the american work ethic i'm sorry to say is dying if not already dead. how can the unemployment rate be pushing 10% and we can't find people who want to work for an honest days wage.
business is great and seems like were going to just get busier.
we'll keep trying to find good help. i hope these employee struggles won't continue with us as we grow. we need to find a solution.
training and retraining takes away from time cleaning and selling.
ciao,
john dicapo

we're coming into our own

2010-10-06T06:27:00.002-05:00

we have been fortunate enough to develop a good business model. good quality inexpensive great tasting food, fast service, clean restaurant and courteous friendly employees
with the watchful eye of god looking over us we are very blessed.
john david dicapo

it's official

2010-10-04T06:02:00.002-05:00

it's official. the last 3 days were the best 3 days we've ever had at the igtogo. i think people are finding out how good the food is and how great of value it is. we have a good staff and everything went real smooth. i'm very happy and ready to start the week. hopefully we can continue our momentum.
we really need to secure an investor and get these other locations locked up. we need to get moving with plans and start the process needed to expand.
hopefully one of the people we are talking to will see the potential and get involved.
i watch cnbc and see how people invest with money managers who promise big returns and only steal and squander away people's money and then ask myself why a person would give a person $200-$300k when they could invest with me and actually see their money at work and be a part of the success of igtogo.
i'm sure someone will see what were doing and want to finance our expansion.
hopefully that person will step up so we can get moving forward and expanding our business and brand.
ciao,
john david

our best weekend ever

2010-10-03T07:18:00.002-05:00

we are into our best weekend ever. the igtogo is rolling and we are real happy about it. the customers are happy, the employees are happy and i'm happy. we had an advertisement go out in a local marketing magazine and it brought in alot of customers. we offered an italian dinner for two for $14.99 including drinks. it was and is a big hit.
we are planning to raise our menu prices about 10% in the coming weeks. we need to do that to become more profitable. after one year in business and developing a good customer base i hope that a small increase will raise our profits and make our bottom line shine. i don't feel like it will effect our customers who get great restaurant quality food in a drive thru.
we have located a great piece of real estate in jo/co and want to move forward building our first prototype igtogo to our spec. we have a great design and with it we feel we can achieve our goal of doing $1m a year in sales.
we need to continually move forward.
have a great sunday.
god bless you.
john david dicapo

we need to increase the lunch business

2010-09-30T05:53:00.002-05:00

lunch is dragging us down. we need to come up with a marketing campaign to do more lunch business. we need to get to the local businesses and promote our single pasta servings and sandwiches.
we have our graphics person coming in a week or so to work of the new menu but until then we have to do something.
i wish we could get some small signs for the area in front of the building to promote our pizza by the slice but we have been unable to do that as of yet. will give the sign guy a call today.
we have many projects in the works along with a catering party for 30 tonight.
ciao,
j.d.

i guess i've been busy

2010-09-29T06:20:00.002-05:00

that's an understatement. i have alot on my plate but that's better than going hungry.
business is good and will get better. we have new menu items coming on line mid october and several new advertisements coming out.
we are looking at new locations in overland park and have a building in mind to move our manufacturing plant.
we need to get more professionals on board to help in this growth and we are constantly looking for assistance.
we have several meeting scheduled in the coming weeks to possibly solve some of these issues.
if your not growing your dying.
john david dicapo

pass on summit center

2010-09-26T07:05:00.002-05:00

well we had to pass on the 16k sq. ft piece of ground in front of the summit center in lee's summit we've been looking at for several months. with the amount of business we are doing and the number of cars that we generate that site was just way too small and we feel would cause too much congestion. people would be turned off by their inability to get in and out fast and that would be a black eye for the igtogo. we cannot and will not make decisions on our next locations that we don't have 100% confidence in. this is not the time to make marginal decisions. all our locations have to be good. we cannot or will accept a loser.
business continues to be great.
we have a few new employees that we hope will stay and grow with the company. we do have an overland park site spotted and we are in discussions.
our food remains too notch and along with our great value and friendly and courteous service igtogo should grow and prosper.
have a great sunday.
god bless you.
john d. dicapo

what a great day

2010-09-25T07:57:00.001-05:00

We had one of our best days ever yesterday Friday September 24th 2010. We had a great lunch business and an even better dinner business. The funny thing is we really weren't that busy. We have our systems and procedures down pretty well that everything flowed just perfect. We're starting to see the incremental rise in our sales and hopefully they will continue. We were up 50% from our b/e point and that's a great day.
Hope to duplicate it today.
God Bless all
John David DiCapo

back to normal

2010-09-24T13:23:00.002-05:00

Well our computers are back up and business is great. We had a fantastic Thursday and we've hired 2 new people. The weekend is setting up to be real nice so hopefully we can continue our positive momentum.
We have an excellent product. We are in the process as I've said before of increasing our prices so we can start making money. We have a dedicated customer base and they are very loyal. We have a valuemail ad coming out next week which should increase business.
We found a location in Overland Park. Negotiating now and looking for an investor to buy the ground.
Enjoy the weekend.
John David DiCapo

computer woes

2010-09-22T05:40:00.002-05:00

can you believe our computer went down yesterday morning? we had to hand write every order and call it to the others in the restaurant. we hope that we get the new board shipped overnight this morning otherwise it's going to be another day of working without technology. i guess we just wore it out with all the business and transactions we do. we've been consistently busy for the last 2 weeks thank god and i don't see it slowing down anytime soon.
i'm going to pick up my little sweetheart daughter ava at school today and we're headed for op ks to scout out a new location. there's got to be one out there for us and we need to find it soon.
we need to keep our momentum headed in the right direction. positive mojo.
the igtogo is a winner. we need to get an investor and EXPAND.
ciao,
john david dicapo

i'm mad and disappointed

2010-09-21T07:42:00.002-05:00

we had a guy named chris apply for a cook's job 3 weeks ago and he said how much he needed a job and would love to work at igtogo. he had previous experience working for the other drive thru only italian restaurant in the northland and he wasn't getting the hours he needed so he quit and was looking for a fresh start. we interviewed him and felt he would be a good addition so we hired him. the next 3 weeks we trained him and he was starting to be able to handle the position.
when the manager ryan arrived yesterday morning i commented to him that chris was doing a good job and that we should consider letting him start to expedite the food to the customers. ryan's response was that chris told him his previous employer had offered him more money to return. when chris arrived earlier than his normal shift time 11;30 i asked him about his previous employer and what were his plans. he told me that it was true that the other guy offered him more money but that the other guy had lied to him in the past and that he didn't plan on returning to that other place.
well guess what? at 12 when chris's shift started chris was nowhere to be found. didn't answer his cell or text. can you believe that. a guy comes in and to your face lies.
that seems to be the norm today. the american worker is a sad lot. no respect, i guess that's a reflection of our country and the breakdown of the family. when kids showed their parents respect it was taught that they shows others respect and when they aren't taught that and don't show respect at home they are ignorant to the fact that respect for others is important. i blame them and i blame their parents.
now we have to start the process over of looking for another line cook and cashier to help operate our very busy successful restaurant.
ciao,
john david dicapo

sunday's great

2010-09-20T05:57:00.002-05:00

sunday's are great for business. football games and getting together with friends and family make for a perfect time to share a bucket of pasta or a pan of lasagna.
it's a beautiful thing and business was great yesterday as predicted. we sold many, many dinner for 2's and the ad should propel us into another great week. the weather is going to be warm today and tomorrow but will cool off wed and maybe we could get a little rain which always helps business.
we are going to get our graphics person to raise some of our prices on a new menu we should debut in october to coincide with increases in raw material costs. we need to get our food cost down. there's two ways of doing that: increase prices or lower production costs. we will be able to do the later as we grow and open more restaurants and buy in larger quantities to get the volume discount. the bigger we get the more our costs should go down and the more profit we can make.
bigger is better as long as you control quality and service.
looking forward to a good day and a great week.
ciao,
john david

missed a day

2010-09-19T07:14:00.002-05:00

did i not blog yesterday? i guess with the big catering order i forgot. well you got to miss one every once in a while. we had a nice day yesterday. nothing special just a typical saturday. the weekends aren't the biggest days for us. our best day this last week was wednesday. it was rainy and i guess folks just didn't feel like cooking. i do see our sales trending up with the cooler weather. comfort food. that's what were selling.
working hard on the lee's summit location. don't want to make a mistake. it needs to work and work well. i'm sure it will
we have an ad coming out in the kc star today featuring the dinner for 2. it should be a huge night.
god bless.
john david

good day

2010-09-17T06:25:00.002-05:00

we had a good day and we didn't even sweat. wow, we took in 20% more that our targeted sales quota and we didn't even sweat. we have a good crew and we have our system down and now we just do it.
it give me a chance as the expediter to talk to the customers about the weather, their kids, the old gardens or anything else they want to talk about. as an old bartender i know how to start and sometimes stay out of a conversation but that what makes the igtogo different than other QSResaturants. i just spoke with a friend from cleveland and he said he went to a chick-fil-a and they were very non personal with him and chick-fil-a is supposed to be the best at customer service. maybe one slipped through the cracks or maybe as they grow so fast their loosing that southern hospitality. we'll as long as i'm at the helm of igtogo customer service will be right up there with food quality and value.
i love this thing we have and can't wait for it to grow. it's going to be a blast.
stay aboard.
cioa,
john david dicapo "head meatball"

we spiked

2010-09-16T06:13:00.002-05:00

we spiked yesterday and hit revenues which were 50% more than our average. it was wednesday and there was a slight rain. i don't know what was the cause of the spike in business but it sure was welcomed. we handled it great. we were well prepared and the flow was great. we had a great night and i can see how we can do this daily and also how it can be increased. we didn't have that great of lunch business and that can be improved with more signage and marketing. it's crazy with so many people out of jobs we can't get a sign person out to give us a bid or to show up when they say they're going to. some peoples word just means nothing now days. it's a real shame and its a detriment to our business world. some people believe that being late, re-scheduling or just not showing up at all is the norm today. i can't accept that. that's not my style or how i was raised and it pisses me off.
as i hand out the orders i can see alot of returning customers. we have great customer retention and i'm proud of that. we serve great food and a good price, fast and courteous and people appreciate it and come back again and again.
i want to get igtogo to the level of business that we hit yesterday as our new norm and strive to increase it. hard work pays off!
ciao,
john david dicapo

business is steady

2010-09-15T05:56:00.003-05:00

we are very lucky and fortunate to have many dedicated and loyal customers that love our great italian food, good service and great value. that's what people look for in today's world and they want it in a quick environment that allows them to multi task and we have just the thing. drive thru. the drive thru now accounts for over 65% of all food purchased from quick serve restaurants and since were a drive thru only restaurant people know they can purchase great italian food quick and fast and get home without missing a beat. that's why our paper costs are high. we use expensive containers that make our food look as good when you get it home as it would if you opened it when we first give it to you. that's important to me and to our customers.
we have a ribbon cutting scheduled for tomorrow at 10am to celebrate our 1st year anniversary on barry road and 85 years in kansas city. hopefully we'll get some press and the event will be fun and joyous. we're lucky to have survived the first year with all the adversity we've had to overcome but we made it and now it's time to get busy.
we have a catering event this saturday for a local car dealership and one next tuesday for a political candidate. catering could help us increase our bottom line and i know alot of people do it but not with the quality of food we serve and not for the price we charge.
we have a bank meeting this friday and our new building contractor seems to be a good addition to our team.
salute,
john david dicapo

cool weather-hot eats

2010-09-14T07:25:00.002-05:00

with the weather getting cooler and fall among us we're expecting business to improve with people eating more hot foods and of course our stick to you bones pasta, lasagna, garlic bread and all the other fine items we offer at igtogo.
i have a personal matter to attend to this morning so i will share more thoughts tomorrow.
ciao,
john david

it's going to be a good week

2010-09-13T06:32:00.002-05:00

we'll monday night football is finally coming back to kc and what better meal to enjoy before the game but a bucket of pasta or family pan of lasagna from the italian gardens togo. i hope many people feel that way tonight and i'm pretty sure they will. we have a constant contact email going out this morning telling our 750 best customers to come by and get their pasta before the game. we have a full friday night staff scheduled and we'll be loaded for a big night.
as you can tell i get psyched up every morning talking about igtogo. i just love the concept and the food is wonderful. we need to get some more technical help involved to show us how to make money. once that is accomplished it's off to the races. have a great week.
GO CHIEFS
ciao,
john david

steady as she goes

2010-09-12T11:12:00.002-05:00

business is starting to get steady and we are beginning to become profitable. the first year for any business is tough but for the igtogo especially we had a trying first year. we had a blizzard on christmas eve and below zero temperatures in jan-feb, we had QT totally building anew building and completely overhauling their infrastructure next door and we had a summer that was extremely hot. we overcame all those obstacles to break even for the year. that was an accomplishment in a year of recession.
our economy has not gotten much better but we are a lot smarter than we were a year ago. we have a tremendous amount of regular customers that eat here consistently. were building a business that we can sustain for hopefully many, many years.
we had our new potential builder here yesterday and i feel good about him. he's from lee's summit so it's coincidental that our second location will be in lee's summit. he is very well qualified and i have a real good gut feeling about him. we'll see where it takes us. i told him we are going to build 1000 igtogo's and he wasn't intimidated.
we are going to the bank on friday with the intent of getting the lee's summit store financed.
we need to have the second location up and running by the spring and #3 by the end of fall.
we can do it and we will.
have a great sunday. it's grandparents day.
john david dicapo

no complaints at the gardens

2010-09-11T09:49:00.002-05:00

we are doing really well. we strive for excellence and will accept nothing less. we always need to get better but we have to remain in our own niche. we can't be all things to all people so we have to be what we are: a real good drive thru only italian restaurant with quality food and a great value.
god bless america on 9/11.
john dicapo

growing pains

2010-09-10T06:09:00.002-05:00

we had a very busy night last night and at one point there was a logjam at the pick-up window. it was caused by a customer ordering 2 family lasagnas that take over 8 minutes to prepare. we have never had a protocol or procedures in place when that happens but we will now. i feel that the ordering of the family lasagna will be a common occurrence and we need to know what to do and how to keep the line moving when that takes place. we are going to have a managers meeting this morning to discuss our options and to decide what will be done when this occurs.
these are growing pains that every restaurant or business encounters as they mature. i'm glad that we are having this problem and i know we will get it solved and keep the line moving. we had a great night in sales and we hope every customer was happy even though they might had to wait a little longer than normal.
ciao,
john david

? biggest or best

2010-09-09T06:28:00.003-05:00

i just read an article in consumer reports rating the best burgers and guess what? mcdonalds came in dead last. the largest and most successful hamburger chain in the world has what consumers rate as the worst hamburger of all. you know what that tells me? consumers don't eat with their taste buds they eat with their wallet. this article compared mcdonalds with five guys and the mcdonalds hamburger costs $1 while the five guys costs $5.5o. of course the more expensive burger cooked to order will taste better but how many people want to wait for a burger to be cooked to order and how many want to get out of their cars and wait in line at five guys for that better burger and pay up for it.
i think five guys has a good product and it's on an upward swing but it won't be sustained. it's just a fad and after it's over mcdonalds will still be the king of the hill and the most successful hamburger chain in the world with the burger that's rated at the bottom of the list.
igtogo wants to be what mcdonalds was when mcdonalds started growing in the late early 60's. great food and a good price. we can do it.
we're doing it now we just need to keep growing and getting better.
ciao,
john david dicapo

full steam ahead

2010-09-08T06:36:00.002-05:00

i met a builder yesterday that i have confidence in. he told me all the work he has done in the past and he specializes in modular buildings. i think he could be our man.
i'm going to get the lease prepared for lee's summit and start the process. if we start now we should be open by the spring. that will make us ready for the lake season of 2011 and being on 50hwy on the way to the lake, that will take us to the promised land.
you get to a point where you have to either make the move or back away. it's time to move and move we will.
ciao,
john david dicapo

it's a new day

2010-09-07T06:37:00.002-05:00

well fall is here and the weather has started to mellow. we need some cool weather for a few days in a row to make us feel confident that the seasons are changing. i like fall. it's a good time to watch football with a couple of italian steak sandwiches or a bucket of pasta. were going to do real well this fall. we have several marketing and promotional projects in place and were also going to upgrade our christmas lights on the outside of the building. were going to get another microwave to help in our rush hours and overall provide the employees every tool they need to be successful doing their job. this is important. they need to know we support them 100%.
thank god for all that he's done for us.
ciao,
john david

good things are happening

2010-09-06T08:04:00.002-05:00

happy labor day! i'm working of course but what else is there to do on labor day but work. do it while your young my friend so you do not have to do it when your old. i said have to do it. now you might want to do it but that should be your option.
we have had a below average weekend sales wise but then again the weather has been wonderful and the grocery store have been busy with sales trying to capture that last bar-b-q day before fall. we'll get em, maybe today. last year we closed on labor day but were one year older and i hope one year smarter.
i had a good conversation with a potential builder of our new lee's summit igtogo yesterday. i have some good ideas relating to that business that i'll share at a later date.
overall real happy. have a great day.
john david

the ava fountain

2010-09-05T07:12:00.002-05:00

italy and kansas city are both famous for having wonderful fountains and since were italian and kansas citians we concluded we should have a fountain at the new igtogo. when people order and pay they usually have some extra change and what better thing to do with it but to make a wish and throw their change into the fountain wishing well.
as we grow and prosper and add more restaurants around the country the fountain will be our trademark like mcdonald's' arch. people will know were from kansas city, the city of fountains.
i like the idea that as people order, pay and proceed around the fountain and our circular italian gardens they will be serenaded by italian music and that will lessen their stress while they wait for their food. it will be our green area. people will love it and it will differentiate us from the pack. it will show were leaders and innovators and along with our great food, great service and good value will keep people coming back.
salute,
john david dicapo