Dallas Business Journal - November 25, 2004, by Lisa Tanner
Best-laid plans
Relocating to Maui seemed like a good idea at the time, but fate pulled two Dallas restaurant owners home again
For one Dallas couple, that decision proved to be a major business -- and financial -- setback. But changes made as a result of the ill-fated decision have placed their business on a stronger footing than ever.
The Maui move represents a loss of "a few hundred thousand" dollars, according to Costa Arabatzis, who with his wife, Mary Cloutier-Arabatzis, own the two Ziziki's restaurants in Dallas, which offer Greek and Italian cuisine in an upscale setting.
Both say they don't regret the move to Maui, saying that without the learning experience it provided, they would have lost even more money in the long run.
With their family growing to include three children over a four-month period in 2000 (two were adopted), the couple decided Maui would not only provide a wonderful place to raise a family but a good site for an additional Ziziki's restaurant. Plus, Costa Arabatzis' father and brother already lived there.
But the timing of the new restaurant's opening couldn't have been worse -- just before the 9/11 terrorists attacks on the U.S. mainland wiped out much of the business for Maui's restaurants.
At the same time, facing the same tough times and down economy, sales slipped and costs skyrocketed at the two Dallas restaurants.
Change of plans
After some soul searching, the couple closed the Maui location and returned to Dallas.
Once here, their immediate task was to put the Dallas restaurants on firmer financial footing.
To do that, the couple managed the operations themselves. And they addressed rising food costs, a major factor in their restaurants' troubling financial situation.
The problem became clear one day when Costa Arabatzis discovered they stocked $300 worth of ground pepper. One quick way to get a handle on costs was to stop stockpiling items.
Instead of just ordering more of an item when one container was used, the restaurant went to a more just-in-time ordering system.
Using a commissary setup also proved to be a cost-saver. One restaurant was established as the commissary, and preparation site for some of the food served in both. Vegetables and meat, for example, were trimmed and assembled in one spot. That reduced labor costs while improving food freshness.
Over the course of many months, those initiatives have saved the operation more money than the Maui foray lost.
Expertise
It is possible for owners to turn over restaurant operations to others without business suffering, but it is essential that they pick the "right managers and the right systems," said Matthew Mabel, president of Surrender Inc., a Dallas-based hospitality and management consulting firm.
Growing up in the restaurant business gives Costa Arabatzis confidence that a restaurant need not fail, despite financial and other setbacks.
"No matter how slow its gets, we can adjust accordingly. I can always cook and Mary can run the door," he said.
He continues to handle the back of the house operations, including the kitchen, while Mary, with a business background in marketing, handles the front of the house operations, including the dining room.
Marking the 10th anniversary of the first Ziziki's restaurant, located in the Travis Walk complex in Dallas' Knox-Henderson area, the company recently rolled out a new branding campaign. That includes new graphics, new menu sections and a line of products such as the restaurant's trademark Ziziki's sauce, made from yogurt and cucumbers.
That restaurant is also in the midst of an expansion that will add a coffee bar, chef's table and additional dining room space during busy Friday and Saturday evenings.
Soon the restaurant, and its five-year-old sibling in North Dallas, will be joined by a location in Southlake . The couple is also investigating other ways to grow the business, including smaller, take-out only operations.
