Shop Penn

What led you to where you are today?

My sister and I were visiting an uncle in California, probably about seventeen years ago now. He was thinking about getting into the frozen yogurt business at that time, and so he was looking for our advice to pick out locations and take a look at a couple different things. These yogurt shops were very busy, so we looked at ourselves and we said, well, there's nothing like this back home in the Philadelphia area so why don’t we come back home and work on our own concept. So that’s what we did. It was about two years of hard work putting together plans, equipment, and figuring out where to purchase different items from. Then we opened our first store fifteen years ago.

Describe the experience of growing your business over the past 15 years.

Yeah, it's been exciting! There's been lots of ups and downs for sure, which is typical for any small business. So we opened up our first store in June of 2009. Our store here in University City, right on Penn's campus, opened in September of 2009. We grew quickly, we had twelve stores open within the first two years. And then, you know, we went through some tougher times. So a couple of those stores slowed down a little bit. Lots of people, other competitors, got into the market. You know, there's a lot of market saturation and things like that. So a couple of our stores closed, and then, excitingly, the last couple of years we’re starting to grow again. So, we opened up our first new store in about twelve years, a couple months ago. And we’re working on another new store now. So now we're in the growth phase after, you know, slowing down for several years.

What motivates you?

Like any small business, there are tons of challenges. For us, mostly it's staffing. It's constantly hiring and training, and motivating the part time staff so that when a customer comes in, we're providing what we say is the best twenty minutes of their day. So, you know, providing a clean store, fresh frozen yogurt, fresh toppings, a friendly, positive environment is what's most important to us. So it doesn't come easy. You know, most people think you unlock the door, and the business runs itself. I'm here several days a week; so late at night, or whether I'm training someone new, or having to go in when someone calls out sick, or whatever it may be. As is the case with any small business, especially in the food business, you know, it's super hands on. You’ve got to be here often to keep things operating well.

What do you find to be the most rewarding aspects of your job?

For sure the most rewarding thing is just working at our stores. My favorite part of the job is seeing customers as they come in and seeing regular customers who have been coming in for ten, twelve, fifteen years. We still have people who come in several times a week. So interacting with those guests, getting to know them well, interacting with new customers as they experience Kiwi for the first time - whether they're visiting from out of state, or are a new student here at Penn and they come in for the first time is really exciting. Anytime I get to interact with the customers, you know, I'm in front of the registers talking about different things [with customers], that's what's most exciting.

Do you have any mentors or people who have deeply influenced you?

As far as mentors go, mine would definitely be my father. So my father started his own business when he was in his mid-20s - the furniture business. My sister Ryan and I grew up working in the furniture business.  So that's what I did growing up from the time I was 12 or 13 [years old], I was in the warehouse sweeping floors, different things like that, whether it be delivering furniture, offloading trucks etc. So I grew up working in that business. So he's been our mentor as far as starting Kiwi. You know, both with the, support resources but really helping with decision making and things like that over the years, especially early on. And we are new in the business. So, you know, we didn't have much business experience other than working at, you know, the furniture business. So, having him as a mentor, a fellow entrepreneur, was super helpful for both of us.

What are some of your proudest accomplishments?

My proudest accomplishment is getting to 15 years with Kiwi, and most of all the fact that we just opened up a new store and are opening up another new store in the next year or so, and the fact that we've survived 15 years and there's very little competition left. So we've seen, you know, tons of frozen yogurt shops come and go over those 15 years, but we're still here and we plan on being here at Penn and our other locations and new locations for, you know, another 15, 20, 25 years.

What is your favorite thing about Philadelphia? 

My wife and I and a couple of our kids lived in Center City for probably 8 or 9 years. So our favorite thing to do was going out to eat, the walkability of the city, walking into Rittenhouse, going to parks, and things like that with the kids. So other than that, for sure, the sports teams. So I'm a passionate sports fan. I have season tickets for the Phillies, Sixers, and Eagles. So I go to lots of games, watch every game, things like that. So mostly it's, my love for sports.

What’s your go-to Kiwi Yogurt flavor?

Yeah, so I love all the flavors. We had maybe 1 or 2 over the years that I wasn't fond of, but typically I’ll get five, six, seven flavors in a cup, you know, combinations that you think wouldn't really mix well together - cotton candy, cookies and cream, right now we have peach, which is which is really good creamsicle, for the summer season. So I'll kind of mix, you know, five, six flavors, several toppings, and it always comes out tasting great.

What is your favorite Kiwi Yogurt topping? 

I would say we have this milk chocolate crunch topping, which is delicious. It's the most addicting topping for sure. It's little crunchies in a chocolate hazelnut sauce.

What is a Shop Penn business you frequent other than your own?

Several of them. As far as the other food businesses, I would say Honey Grow.

Where is your favorite place to travel to?

Definitely Europe. So I studied abroad in Italy, and a great time there. We've been back once, but we hope to take our family back there next summer. It’s our plan, so we'll have to get back to Italy.