Webinar/Podcast
Mike Stasko with Sunny Street Café
Welcome to the Corner Booth!
Join host Chris Tripoli and guests for a podcast for anyone who is starting a restaurant business, growing an independent restaurant business, or dreaming about starting an independent restaurant business.
Learn from successful restaurateurs who share their stories WHY they got into the business and HOW they created and built their winning concepts.
Corner Booth is a production of RestaurantOwner.com.
So grab your favorite beverage, have a seat, and listen in!
Mike Stasko, president of Columbus, Ohio-based Sunny Street Café, was influenced by his father’s career in the restaurant equipment and supply business. He eventually went to work with his father at Rise & Dine, a breakfast and lunch concept where Mike learned how to manage its operations and business development. Mike rebranded Rise & Dine to Sunny Street and opened the first of what would become eight Columbus locations.
In this episode, we learn what makes Mike’s full-service breakfast and lunch restaurant business successful and how he is growing it via franchising. Says Mike, “Franchising is the best way of getting into the business for yourself without being by yourself,” adding, “We have been very careful with the franchise partners we select and continue to actively support them.”
Sunny Street is open from 6:30 am to 2:30 pm daily. Each unit seats 100 to 120 guests, with space for private and group dining. “Most locations are in suburban shopping centers, making the family our primary guest. Weekends are huge,” says Mike. “Children have helped our pancakes become the number-one seller.”
Sunny Street recently redesigned its packaging for off-premises dining to meet growing customer demand for third-party delivery and curbside pick-up, which account for approximately 20% of sales. Mike’s immediate goals include maintaining strong daily operations, growing the catering and delivery business, and supporting Sunny Street’s 22 franchisees in Ohio, Illinois, and Texas.
