Sam Covelli Speaks to Warren Rotary
Sam Covelli Speaks at Warren Rotary
This week, Sam Covelli, Owner/CEO of Covelli Enterprises, was our guest speaker. Covelli Enterprises employs 25,000 people, 2,000 of which are here in the Mahoning Valley. Under the Covelli umbrella are Panera Bread, O’Charley’s, and most recently, Dairy Queen.
Mr. Covelli said that it is the spirit he finds in the Mahoning Valley and the belief he has in the people here that have led him to keep his corporate headquarters in Warren. He is very proud of the people who work for him, for they have helped maintain the high company standards started by his father several decades ago. The four standards that guide all of the Covelli franchises include:
v Employ not just great people, but NICE people.
v Provide the best quality food—customers know when the food they are eating is special, so don’t use cheap products and don’t take any shortcuts.
v Give people a great value and they will keep coming back. You don’t need coupons or discounts to draw customers back if they know they are getting a great value from the restaurant in the first place.
v Maintain the cleanest restaurants in town.
Mr. Covelli said that if he were to take even one standard away, he wouldn’t be in the restaurant business very long. He has tried to instill in all his employees the willingness to do whatever it takes to make customers happy.
He is often asked why he sold his McDonald’s franchises. He was not displeased with McDonald’s; in fact, he spoke very highly of them. He said he simply ran out of territory and, therefore, started looking at different options. This led him to Panera and O’Charleys.
His first Panera store was opened in Boardman and he said that his 250th store will also open there. Over the past few years he has opened stores in Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and West Virginia. He purchased another store in Florida and is expanding there as well. Three years ago, he bought 19 stores in the Columbus area. They are managed by his son and they have expanded the Columbus operation to 32 stores with 8 more under construction.
It is estimated that 65 million customers have been served through Covelli’s restaurants. Another 27 to 30 new stores will be opened this year. It was very obvious that not only is he proud of his company’s accomplishments but his employees as well. When asked what he does for fun, he responded “work”. He said he truly enjoys seeing his employees move up in the company, searching out new markets, and planning new stores. He went on to say that he is very proud to be a part of the Valley and his company’s roots will always be here.
We were honored to have Mr. Covelli and his wife, Karen, join us today. Not only was his presentation interesting and informative, but entertaining as well.