Start-Up Restaurant as Third Career
She was bored with repetitive tasks within her first two career paths. So, she took an economic risk with a friend, to start a new business on a third career path totally different from her first two.
FAMILY BACKGROUND
Brittany Tolliferreo (BT) is an African American female who grew up in West Philadelphia until being enrolled in the Milton Hershey School in Hershey, Pa, a rural community in the central part of the state.
Her family background does not include any known entrepreneurs (people who start a new business).
EDUCATION – THE MILTON HERSHEY SCHOOL
The Milton Hershey School was founded with four students in 1910, initially for only white male orphans until the 1960s when it enrolled girls, racial minorities and “social orphans” – those with impoverished parents. Enrollment in 2020 was about 2,000 students whose ages span 4 to 15, in grades from pre-K through 12th grade. Neither the students nor anyone on their behalf make any payments for their education, books, meals, and housing. Individuals with intellectual or behavior problems are not accepted for enrollment. Students live in group homes of uniform gender and similar age. The school has Christian elements but is officially non-sectarian.
The most recent (2019-2020) available demographics of the student body for race / ethnicity were 843 White, 693 Black, 374 Hispanic, 221 Two or More Races, 29 Asian, 8 American Indian / Alaska Native and 3 Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander.
Students are encouraged to develop leadership skills and build character. School guidelines prohibit pressuring students to convert to any religious faith.
The school’s separate curricula involving (a) science, (b) law / public safety / security, and (c) mathematics have received various national awards and recognition.
As of the 1990s when such statistics were available, the application acceptance rate was about 14% and each academic year, about 12% of the student population departed, mostly by graduating or being removed by their family. Between 25% to 33% of the departures were academic or behavioral expulsions.
At the conclusion of her 12th grade classes, BT successfully graduated from the Milton Hershey School.
The school offers college scholarships and partners with many state colleges for admission and financial aid at that level.
Editor’s note – It would not be scientifically accurate to assign percentages of credit for any one person’s motivation and persistence to succeed in life and business. So, unscientific credit for BT’s success can only acknowledge the early coincidence of her birth genes and her structured educational environment. Parent(s) or school may each claim major credit – no harm in that!
FIRST CAREER PATH – NURSING
Following high school graduation, BT returned to her early childhood area in Philadelphia to attend LaSalle University’s school of nursing, a three-year course.
But, said BT, “nursing just wasn’t for me.”
SECOND CAREER PATH – BANK TELLER
BT was always comfortable in math classes and dealing with numbers generally. Since she needed to work to support herself, BT found employment as a bank teller. Again, said BT, “it just wasn’t for me.” She felt unfulfilled. “I was tired of working for someone else, tired of the monotony – just the same thing over and over and over and over again,” she said.
So over it.
THIRD CAREER – START UP RESTAURANT WITH FRANCHISING POTENTIAL
Instead of looking for another job as someone else’s employee, BT headed to her kitchen with an idea for self-employment. She made fried chicken sandwiches with the idea of possibly launching a business which she could manage as her own boss.
BT’s sandwiches were unlike many fast-food chicken sandwiches. Hers contain two jumbo tenders, neither breasts nor thighs. She got some brioche buns that would hold not only the tenders but stand up to a heavy application of sauces and toppings.
“I had some friends come over and try it, and they loved it,” she said. This was BT’s ‘lightbulb’ moment.
“Honestly, it just happened,” she said. “I was living in a food desert – nothing good to eat around here. So, I’m thinking, we need something good in this area.”
She spotted a vacant restaurant, called the real estate agent whose name was on the window and opened her own restaurant – “literally starting the business with $12,000” as the total assets from the combined savings of BT and her sole business partner, KH, who handles the marketing. While KH prefers to stay in the background, he is credited with developing the name of the chicken sandwich business: “Chick-A-Boom” where Chick is for chicken, A is the A-1 quality and then Boom, “because this sandwich is no one-trick pony,” he said. “All those flavors and sauces and toppings – when they hit your palate, it’s boom!”
While business was good in 2019, BT found that the storefront, at 1,200 square feet, was too small. She also wanted a drive-through window. So, she found another location in West Philadelphia, which put Chick-A-Boom ‘on the map’ – especially with the coincidental onset of the covid pandemic causing customers to seek pickup and delivery.
But BT still wasn’t satisfied with that location because it was attached to a gas station, “and I want to stand alone.” (Editor: Literally and figuratively!) The new location, at 2448 Island Avenue in Philadelphia, has a dining room plus drive-through and delivery pick-ups.
CHALLENGE – KEEPING HOT FOOD HOT
The challenge of selling hot food is keeping it hot through the take-out process. BT and KH use black cardboard boxes lined with foil. “This is not a typical drive-through where everything’s in a microwave and you’re just slapping something together,” says BT. Everything is made to order, including the scratch waffles for the chicken, which take three minutes. “I always teach my staff to thank customers for their patience, trying to make them feel special,” said BT.
CHALLENGE – WHETHER AND HOW TO ADD RELATED PRODUCTS FOR SALE
To continue offering customers a special experience, BT and KH decided to sell their own brands of canned drinks, which they call Boom Juice and Sky20Water. Their drink cans can be recycled, which eliminate fountain sodas and give these business owners a better profit margin than commercial drinks, which also means you can’t buy a Coke or Pepsi at a Chick-A-Boom restaurant. “I don’t want to do like what everyone else does, with the plastic cups with the plastic lids” says BT.
They plan to add salads and wraps to the menu, but not a grilled chicken option. “Strictly all fried,” she said. “Treat yourself!”
KH said he was working with a local supermarket chain and national retailer on a potential deal to sell their Chick-A-Boom branded drinks, with such flavors as peach tea and strawberry lemonade, in four-packs.
CHALLENGE – HOW TO GROW THE BUSINESS
Never content to rest on a level of success, BT is always trying to promote her restaurant’s offerings on the relevant social media platforms. So, motivated by the possibility of finding investors to sponsor business expansion through franchising, BT slid into direct messages from a nationally well-known pro football player, Randy Moss. After Moss ‘liked’ one of her sponsored restaurant posts on Instagram, “we were just talking,” said BT “but it was all business” which progressed to a couple of Zoom calls.” Then Moss came to her restaurant, “tasted the product, and loved it. From there, he became (another) business partner.”
With Moss on board, BT and KH plan to expand further. So far, they and Moss plan to open three restaurants in Moss’s home state of West Virginia: a sports club and two drive-throughs. They also want to open concessions on college campuses.
Said Moss, “I invest in people and in visions, not in companies.” He said he was sold on not only Chick-A-Boom’s potential to become a franchise, “but a disruptive cultural property that can integrate with live experiences in sports, music and digital.” He added that it was important for him to invest in Black and family-owned businesses.
CAREER GOALS AND SATISFACTION
BT’s goal for Chick-A-Boom is “to be bigger than McDonalds.” But she quickly adds, “Or as big as McDonalds.” For herself, “I just want to create generational wealth and help others. Those are my main goals.”
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This career story is based on a business news article written by Michael Klein, published by The Philadelphia Inquirer on August 3, 2023, plus internet research.
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MORE ABOUT BRITTANY TOLLIFERREO
Researching ‘Brittany Tolliferreo” on the internet will lead to her website and overarching business name: “Brittany Tolliferreo LLC” (LLC stands for Limited Liability Company) which invites review of her multiple business aspects including Technology and Operations Solutions and Branding Expertise.
