Whatis your Niche?

When someone is addressing the needs of a specific market, that someone refers to his or her niche. Some people decide in advance about a specific niche that they would like to market their products or services. Sometimes they find their niche not by a grand design but by accident.
Let’s talk first about a person who is thinking of opening a restaurant. One fundamental piece of your marketing plan should be to identify the specific niche that the restaurant should address. Having a good idea about your niche, you plan your product or service’s marketing actions in targeting that specific niche. More often than not, a good marketing plan addressing the needs of your niche is enough to contribute greatly to the success of your operation.
Other times a niche can be found after the business has been launched. As strange as this may sound, in this case, the niche found the business rather than the other way around. To illustrate the point, we would like to talk about our own niche.
When we decided to open Realpoul Realty, our plan was to be a full-service real estate office. Even though this is true today as it was in 1985 when we started, our emphasis has shifted over the years and we now sell more businesses and commercial properties than before. How did this happen? Actually, there was no grand design, no master marketing plan, and no deep thinking. When we first opened the office we started receiving phone calls from friends or referrals asking us to market their
restaurants; this fact enabled our office to shift our strategy and concentrate on our newly iscovered niche.

A New Impressive Wolfy's in Northbrookl, IL

Josh Kaplan and Peter Romas met just about a year ago; their
strong friendship ended up in a very successful venture. Josh
and Peter own and operate Wolfy’s, located at 873 Sanders
Road in Northbrook, IL, in the Standy Plaza. Their place is a
clean establishment with easy-on-the-eye colors and pictures
painted on the walls.
Josh’s father is a distributor for Vienna; Josh always wanted to
own a fast food place. Peter is the son of the late George Romas, a successful restaurant entrepreneur in the Chicago area for many years. About a year
ago, in a business social function, a vice president for Vienna Beef introduced Peter to Josh, and as they say, the rest is history. The young men liked each other and soon developed a business plan; the plan was executed earlier this year when they opened Wolfy’s in Northbrook; as many of us know, Peter and his family also own and operated the original Wolfy’s in Chicago.
One way to find out about a place is to look at the Internet and see what others are saying about it; from the many positive comments we selected a couple of sentences that really tell the whole story. “Best hot dog joint on the North Shore. The chicken in a pita is insane. These guys are the real deal. I have gone to Wolfy’s multiple times since they opened and have yet to have a bad meal. Josh and Pete rock the house and it is nice to see a new business succeed in this horrible economy.”
Peter is married to Vivian and they have two daughters: Sophia and Giorgia; Josh is married to Kate and they have a son, Nate. In the picture we see Josh on the left and Peter inside their restaurant.

Tiger Lounge Rocks in Bridgview, IL

Ted Delis is the owner of Tiger Lounge & Grill, located at 500 South Harlem Avenue in Bridgeview, IL. The stablishment has
an impressive lounge, sports bar with specialty drinks, many TVs, pool tables, and a DJ.
Ted arrived from Tripolis in 1978 and started working in restaurants as a busboy; in 1980 he became a cook and continued his work in the restaurant business. In 1990 he moved to a new restaurant and in 1995 he became a partner in
the same restaurant. As soon as he became a partner they changed the business concept and the restaurant was converted to a sports bar.
He remained there until 2008. Late last year, he moved on and he opened Tiger Lounge on his own.
Two of his employees became managers in the new establishment. One manager, Anne Tamel, has been with Ted for the last 13 years; the other manager, Edita Jasiukaitiene, has been with Ted for the last years. We asked Anne why she stayed with Ted so many years and she suggested that she loves the work and is happy with the way Ted treats not only her but also all his employees.
Meanwhile, we wanted to see what customers think about the place; one suggested: “This place rocks! The decor is beautiful.
It’s my new favorite hangout. During the week it’s the local hangout sports bar for me and my friends but on the weekends it’s the bomb! Best club around here and they are always packed. They have great party deals and I’ve already been to 2 parties my friends had there. The atmosphere is so comfortable and the staff is so nice, especially the owner, Teddy. We will be back for sure, probably this weekend!” In the picture we see Ted inside his sports bar.

RoccoVino’s: A Great Friendship Creates Successful Business!

Ted Boufis was born and raised in Indiana; his father, John, is a successful entrepreneur with a variety of businesses. Ted, despite his young age, has been involved in the restaurant business for a long time and owned a few restaurants himself. His newest accomplishment is Grille 43 located at 28800 North Waukegan Road (IL 43) in Lake Bluff, IL; when we met Ted at his business in July, it was under construction and his plans called to open it in a couple of weeks.
But how did Ted from Indiana end up in Illinois? Love—that’s right, love! He met his wife Dina a couple of years ago on a boat cruise sponsored by YAL (Young Adult League), which creates a setting where young adults grow spiritually through experiencing the four characteristics that symbolize the YAL movement: worship (liturgia), witness (martyria), service (diakonia), and fellowship (koinonia). Last year they got married and he moved to Illinois, the birthplace of his wife.
His new place will be an upscale restaurant and bar with reasonable prices and an emphasis on freshness. It will be an 80- seat full-service operation serving burgers, steaks, etc. It was designed by Brian Parker Design Company of Ann Arbor, MI.
The hours of operation will be from 11 AM to 10 PM daily except Fridays and Saturdays, when it will stay open until midnight and close at 8 on Sundays. For those who remember the spot, it used to be a Quiznos; Ted completely remodeled the place and added structure as well.
Going back to his family, his father, John, is from Evia and his mom, Theoni, from Soulima, Kalamata. Ted and his wife, Dina, have a son, John, who was just a few days old when we met with Ted. In the picture we see Ted outside his restaurant under construction. We wish Ted great success with his new restaurant and new family.

Did you know??

There are plans to open Greek restaurant in Northbrook, IL- Café in St. Charles, IL, - Grill
in Shorewood, IL, - Mexican grill in Bloomingdale, IL, - BBQ in La- Grange, IL

Closed Down
Nick’s Gyros in Northbrook, IL , - Jacky’s Bistro in Evanston, IL, -
Michael’s North in Chicago, IL, - 5’Oclock Steakhouse in Fox River
Grove, IL (destroyed by fire)

Name Change
Gridley’s Grill to Double G’s Roadhouse Long Grove, IL

Contact Us

Should you wish to have news about your business included in future columns of ESTIATOR magazine, or you wish to share your comments with us, please contact: Peter J Poulopoulos, MBA, of Realpoul Realty (773) 743-2100.