Reference no: EM133035976
CASE STUDY WIL'S GRILL
In January 2017, John Christ needed to make some decisions about his business, Wil's Grill. Not long ago, his dad had said, "Son, passion has gotten you here; not the money." Now, John needed to focus on "the money"-but which path should he take? He could expand his "street food" business, add a catering business, or do something else. John, who loved to make customers happy by serving them great healthy local food, recognized that he also needed to do so profitably.
BACKGROUND
John grew up on a ranch in Cave Creek, AZ, a small community northeast of Phoenix Arizona. His parents had food service and restaurant experience, and cooking and entertaining were an integral part of spending time with them. "By age 10," John recalled, "I could cook."
As a teenager, John bussed tables at a restaurant where his dad Wil worked. He also spent many mornings with his dad at a clay-bird sport shooting range near Cave Creek. When done, they needed to go elsewhere for lunch, since the range did not offer food or beverages. So, father and son worked out an agreement with the range owner to open a small food booth on-site, which they named "Wil's Grill." On a single grill they cooked burgers, fries, and served beverages. Wil taught his son the nuts and bolts of running the business: obtaining necessary permits and licenses, ordering food and supplies, shopping, transportation, inventorying, cooking, cleaning and most importantly, "treating customers as friends." Hospitality-driven service was a core value.
To celebrate his high school graduation in December 2009, John went on a 30-day backpacking excursion with the National Outdoor Leadership School in Wyoming, where he later recalled, "I honed my leadership skills there and this would serve me well in managing my future business."
In August 2010 Wil closed Wil's Grill when John enrolled at Northern Arizona University (NAU), in Flagstaff, about 120 miles north of Phoenix. At that time NAU enrolled about 23,000 students. John majored in Environmental Studies and also took classes in other areas, driven by "my inquisitive nature to learn as much as I could about the world around me." At the NAU School of Hotel and Restaurant Management John learned about the "clean food" movement-characterized by locally produced, organic foods and sustainable practices.1 Clean food was healthy for both the planet and for people through production of efficient amounts of food, provision of leftovers to local shelters, and minimization of waste via biodegradable products and recycling practices.
CASE STUDY INSTRUCTION
1. Review the case study thoroughly, highlighting key facts and issues presented in the case.
2. Provide a short summary of the main points in the case.
3. Identify 2 key problems presented in the case: What are they? Why do they exist? Who are the key members? What is the impact? Cover the Who, Where, Why and How in the case.
4. Develop a solution for each of the problems you identified. Make a recommendation on what you might do differently and why. Utilize strong supporting evidence and cover both the pros and cons of your recommendations.
5. Include a conclusion which ties up the main points of your analysis.
Utilize scholarly resources to support your work.