Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Tallarico.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Boardwalk Subs opened in October of 2003 directly because I wanted to spend more time with my kids. I worked all the time, including nights and weekends. Sometimes 2 jobs. My family and I were nervous at first but we leaned on our community and quickly realized how many people were there to support this dream that we had. I commuted an hour each way for the first year and even slept overnight in the store one snowy evening. Shortly after opening, we relocated our family from Lansing to Byron Center so I could focus more on expanding the business, and my kids would have a great school to grow up in. Fast-forward to today, we have 7 locations across GR! We are so excited to continue to grow within Michigan and throughout the Mid-West. And maybe the World!! Who knows.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I haven’t viewed many of the challenges as struggles, I had to succeed for my family. We didn’t turn a profit until 6 months after we opened. And even then it was a small one. Then the recession hit and we had to put all of our energy and money into the business. There were alot of times I was the only person working from open to close just to keep payroll down. My wife kept her job at the hospital to make sure we still had health insurance while doing our accounting on the side. But then when she lost that job and our family went thru a hard time. Again, we leaned on our Boardwalk community and got thru it. We continue, even to this day, to give back to our communities as a way to thank them.
We’ve been impressed with Boardwalk Subs, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are a family owned and operated business focusing on freshly sliced, jersey style subs. We are known for 3 things: size (they are 15″ long!!), taste (we have a special way of grilling our bread thats addicting) and our Prostitini (a ham coated in a black pepper shell, baked in house for 8 slow hours). We also offer lots of catering options as well! Perfect for any event, large or small!
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
First find a problem that you think you can solve, do your research, create a product that you truly believe in and jump all in. Like literally, all in. Take any opportunity to market your business, especially free ones. Gorilla marketing is how we have always operated, even with 7 stores. We hardly pay for advertising still. We give out coupons to people we meet within the communities. We talk about Boardwalk Subs all the time. It consumes us. And that’s what you need to do to succeed. You need to become obsessed with it, or you’ll fail.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://boardwalksubs.net
- Instagram: @boardwalksubs
- Facebook: @boardwalksubs
- LinkedIn: @boardwalksubs
