Ronnie Olstad joined Chachi’s in 2014, and is the Operating Partner of Chachi’s at Market Mall, in Calgary, Alberta. His professional background with Joey’s Restaurants, and Jugo Juice, equips him with tremendous experience in the management and leadership of the Chachi’s franchise brand.
When the store opened in spring 2014, Ronnie found himself working 80 plus hours per week, training staff, and making sure every customer enjoyed a great experience. His hard work and determination has paid off. His first month open, he enjoyed setting new company records for Chachi's, for both sales and customer counts.
His franchise business was in the top 4 food court tenants of the shopping centre, out of 20 total tenants, in only his first month of operation. He takes particular pride in offering customers innovative new products, combined with individualized customer service. “It’s really great that we can serve one of the best sandwiches in the city and make it with local ingredients. Customers see our passion for quality, and they taste it in the final product. We use local suppliers for bread, meats and cheeses. We make many of our sauces in-house and from scratch. Customers tell us we are changing mall food. That feels good,” said Ronnie.
Ronnie’s team is trained to recognize regular customers and call them by name. “We try and create a service experience that they are not used to seeing in a food court. We have a staff friendly dress code of black t-shirts and blue jeans, aprons made of denim and leather, and we play cool music from the 70’s and 80’s. People are not used to that kind of attention to detail in food courts. I think that’s why we are seeing the growth that we are,” he said.
Every 8 weeks, the company features a new sandwich on the menu, to keep regulars excited. Globally inspired recipes, made with local ingredients, inspire the menu. Banh Mi with Asian Beef, BBQ Pulled Pork with Mac – that’s mac ‘n’ cheese, right on the sandwich – and seasonal favourites like Turkey, Cranberry and Brie for December. Ronnie is proud of the menu, “We have a really unique offering. Gourmet sandwiches, but also comfort food items like mac ‘n’ cheese, big pickles, pepperoni, artisan brewed soft drinks, and an arugula salad to round the menu off. We are serving restaurant quality food, in a fast casual environment.”
The company is proud of his work ethic and commitment to his business. “He understands the hard work required, and the sacrifice for success. He is investing his time for future reward. He gets it. His store is spotless, he hires great employees and trains them, and follows our franchise system to a tee. That’s why Ronnie is successful,” said Cofounder, Jason Cunningham. Ronnie has a “roll up your sleeves” management style, and can be seen at his Chachi's location, serving customers, and working on the new recipe for the next great sandwich.
