ThisWeek Keys 10/25/2012

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/Key-Bank-Keys-to-Success-stories/2012/10/lolas

Canal Winchester Human Services’ Adopt-a-Family program hopes to serve even more people this year, matching the increased demand over previous years.

Last year’s Adopt-a-Family program benefited 92 families, which included 320 individuals. That was an increase over 2010 numbers — and already, the 2012 demand for food pantry help and for the Tools for Schools program has increased beyond 2011 numbers, according to Human Services Administrator Penny Miller.

Families seeking assistance from the program must apply by Nov. 30, she said.

“Throughout central Ohio, there will be many holiday assistance programs that help struggling families,” she said. “Some will provide clothes, some will provide toys and some will provide food.

“The Canal Winchester Adopt-a-Family Program is unique and very special because we coordinate all those efforts under one program, providing a solid system of support for the families that are helped,” Miller said.

According to Miller, the program focuses on providing for families, not just children. Human Services is looking both for families in need to apply for program assistance and for donors.

“Residents living in the Canal Winchester School District, Lithopolis or rural Fairfield County (not served by county services) who would like to receive assistance through the Adopt-a-Family program, may pick up applications at the Community Center (22 S. Trine St.) or the Community Food Pantry (360 W. Waterloo St.),” Miller said.

Applications are also available from the Human Services website, cwhumanservices. org.

Donors have several ways to give, according to Miller, including adopting a whole family or the children in a family, sponsoring a gift card tree, a food drive or toy drive. Human Services will again accept clean used coats in good condition for distribution as well.

“Financial contributions are appreciated and will be used to support children and families that we are unable to ‘adopt’,” she said. “Donations are tax-deductable. We hope everyone in a position to be a giver will partner with Human Services to make the holidays a little better for our neighbors in need.”

Additional information is available by emailing Miller at penny.cwhs@gmail.com or by calling 614-834-3888.

“The success of this program is only because the Canal Winchester community is so supportive of the work of Human Services and we can never express our gratitude enough,” she said.

ThisWeek Keys 10/25/2012

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/Key-Bank-Keys-to-Success-stories/2012/10/three-bags-full

Three Bags Full has successfully provided a business framework for the past decade that lives up to a “moms helping moms” motto.

DeAnn Nightingale established Three Bags Full in 2003, after being faced with a post-move garage sale to thin out her children’s clothes and toys. The business is a targeted, multi-family children’s goods sale held twice annually at different locations around central Ohio.

“I had my two little kids and we’d just moved. I thought about having a garage sale to thin some of our kid stuff out , but if I’m sitting at my garage sale all day, I can’t go and shop at your garage sale, so that was how we decided to get started,” Nightingale said.

The first sale brought together 10 families, all selling only children’s items out of Nightingale’s garage. She said the first two events were such a success that when it came time for the third, she needed to rent a community room.

“Moms everywhere are looking for value and ways to save money, so this is pretty much the epitome of shopping local: You’re buying from your neighbors,” she said. “If you have kids, you certainly have things that they haven’t worn very much or played with too rough, things without stains or tears.

“I think so many times people don’t realize those things laying around the house still have value, so why not get some return on your investment? And if it doesn’t sell, then you can still donate it.”

Nightingale said the key to success for Three Bags Full has been good organization, quality standards for the items being sold, and technology to make everything run smoothly. Besides her husband and two kids helping with the sales, hermother, Joyce Black, is “my right-hand person.”

“I would say there are two specific things that make this work,” she said. “First is the people, the moms who participate and provide us with feedback so we know we’re meeting their needs, and the ones who help out by volunteering. The next is the technology; we have the website and Facebook to spread the word, as well as a scanner system that allows us to be more streamlined with credit card checkout and accounting.”

There are perks to participating in the sales beyond just being a customer, Nightingale said, which is another key component to the business.

“We’re run mostly by volunteers who receive perks in exchange for helping. The biggest perk is being able to shop the sale early before the general public,” she said. “Another perk is that with additional volunteer shifts, families can go from earning 65 percent of their item price up to 80 percent.”

This year, Three Bags Full is expanding with a holiday and toy sale with a focus on items that are both new and on used items that are in excellent condition. The sale is slated for Community Wesleyan Church in Newark.

“We’re always open to new opportunities if it’s the right fit and we can manage the growth,” Nightingale said. “I think these sales empower families to stay within their budgets and in turn that makes a better family environment to live in.”

For information about future sales, visitwww.threebagsfull.info.

ThisWeek Keys 10/25/2012

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/Key-Bank-Keys-to-Success-stories/2012/10/starliner-diner

The Starliner Diner was named after the 1960s Ford Galaxy Starliner; and if you were to take a road trip in search of fun and funky Americana, eclectic food and a place where families come together, the Starliner Diner would be your final destination.

Owner Molly Davis said the restaurant menu was inspired by trips out West. Many items have southwest and Latin American flavors, such as the adobo roast pork or Yucatan chicken, alongside some American standards such as fried fish, pizza and various pastas.

“I’m just enjoying this journey that began 17 years ago and has brought us to where we are now,” Davis said. “This has been a collaboration of families, really, and that has made for a solid foundation and a family environment here.”

According to Davis, most members of her kitchen staff are members of the Cruz-Reyes family, including three brothers, a cousin and now one of the brother’s sons. Her wait staff includes brothers and sisters from other families, some of whom have been with her for 16 of the 17 years the restaurant has been open.

“Even the decorations in the restaurant, a lot of that was donated by friends and family,” Davis said.

The walls of the Starliner are covered in mostly mid-century Americana style art and design, all set off by colorful murals and brightly painted surfaces. A large wall of clocks reminds customers of a parent or grandparent’s wood-paneled lounge or basement bar.

Davis said all of these components – a diverse staff with a long history at the Starliner, food that rivals any fine-dining establishment in Columbus, and a very relaxed atmosphere – have made the restaurant a success.

“Running a restaurant like this is like running your house, except multiply that by 15,000,” she said. “Every day there are groceries to buy, bills to pay and you’ve got to make sure the kids are doing their chores.

“So that’s the kind of place this is: We’ve got a foundation set and I think it lends itself to an open and generous environment where our customers feel comfortable. And that’s part of it – our staff is committed to serving others and they really want to make you happy.”

Running a restaurant requires a sense of humor, Davis said, because not everything goes right all the time. In fact, just weeks ago, her beloved car, her 1960 Starliner, was spotted being towed away from behind the restaurant. Staff members and customers assumed Davis was having it moved. She wasn’t – the car was being stolen in plain sight.

“You’ve got to keep your sense of humor,” she said. “This restaurant would’ve given a serious person a heart attack or stroke by now. With anything that doesn’t go quite right, we just talk it out, use it as a coaching moment. You can’t dwell on this stuff.”

Davis said in the future, she’d like to eventually be able to open a second location.

“We’re so authentic where we are right now that I want to make sure another location wouldn’t water us down,” she said. “Our back-of-house staff has a combined experience at Starliner of over 40 years and our front-of-house easily has over 50 combined years.

“So if we’re able to launch another location, we have people who could transfer over and make that experience very similar to what we have here, but it’s not going to happen right away.”

For more information about Starliner Diner, including hours and menus, visit www.starlinerdiner.com.

ThisWeek Keys 10/25/2012

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2012/11/06/civetta-consignment-opening-shop-has-been-a-hoot-for-residents.html

What began as a family grocery store in 1966 grew into one of Groveport’s favorite family restaurants, Little Italy Pizza.

In 1966, Chuck’s Little Giant grocery store was a staple of downtown Groveport but by the late 1970s, supermarkets were pushing the Little Giant out of business. That was when son Nick Ward took over from his parents and put the business on a new track.

“My parents still own the building and I’ve been running the business ever since 1979,” Ward said. “In the ’70s, the large grocery chains were becoming too much for us, so I moved us in this direction and we’ve been successful with Little Italy ever since.”

According to Ward, his sons, Aaron and Avery, are both regular fixtures at the restaurant now, continuing the family business along with Ward’s mother, Janet, who continues to keep the books.

“My mother’s still taking care of the bookwork and finances while my oldest son runs the night shift and is our head cook,” he said. “My youngest, Avery, is 15 and likes to take care of our technology, including running our Facebook page and web marketing.”

The restaurant’s best-selling menu items are the fettuccini al forno, a dish of wide pasta noodles baked with meat sauce and cheese, similar to lasagna, according to Ward; as well as the homemade spaghetti and meatballs, another favorite with the regulars.

“We want to provide a high-end product for our customers at the lowest prices we can, so I’m proud of the fact that we make everything we can in-house, like our pastas and meatballs, so that means we can spend our money selecting the best of the best ingredients,” he said.

“The key to success for me has been to know my customers and personalize our service to their needs. I like getting to know these people and that way, I’m able to reflect on our conversations and put that personal touch into the food we prepare for them.”

Keeping up with all of the growth along Hamilton and Gender roads has presented a challenge, but so far, Ward said he believes Little Italy’s relationship with Groveport, the quality of the restaurant’s food and service have allowed it to stay successful.

“We’ve got a lot more competition out there now with the big franchises, so I always want to let people know how much I appreciate the support our customers give us,” he said. “We offer a family-friendly, casual dining experience and we like to focus on those local families.

“We have the ballfields right behind the restaurant, so we’re happy to be able to provide a place for families to come and enjoy a good meal after the games.”

For more information, call Little Italy Pizza at 614-836-3056or visit the restaurant at 619 Main St. in Groveport.

ThisWeek Keys 09/27/2012

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/Key-Bank-Keys-to-Success-stories/2012/09/Little-Sicilys

Since 1975, the pizza “worth the drive” has been prepared with the same family recipe that has kept regulars coming back for generations.

Owner Tim Bucco and his wife were once regulars themselves at Little Sicily’s Pizza, 2965 Brice Road, before becoming the owners in 2006.

“My wife and I have been customers since almost day one and we knew the previous owner well,” he said. “When we were dating, we came here all the time, back when it was only a 12-seat restaurant with mostly carryout business.

“This has always been family-owned; my daughter and son are in college right now but if they’re interested someday, they’ll be welcome to carry it on.”

Bucco isn’t quite ready to hand over the reins yet, he said.

He feels like he’s just getting started.

“In the 1990s, Little Sicily’s expanded out to 70 indoor seats and then when we took over, we put in the outdoor patio to expand it by 50 more seats for a total of about 120,” Bucco said. “This way, we can have entertainment every Saturday night during good weather and we’ve got a couple of regular acts that people really seem to enjoy.

“While we’re mainly a family restaurant, we do like to invite people in for the NFL ticket on our three big-screen TVs and we have regulars that participate in our fantasy football league,” he said.

Of course, the key to success for any longtime restaurant is in its food, Bucco said, and the pizza recipe at Little Sicily’s hasn’t changed since 1975.

“What has really helped make us successful is our homemade recipes that we have and our customer service,” Bucco said. “The only thing we changed was adding a homemade lasagna, and that has become a big seller for us. Our Little Sicily sub is our favorite sandwich; people here just call it ‘the sub’ because it’s so popular.”

Good customer service requires having good employees, and Bucco said his employees are like family.

“We have 17 employees right now and I feel like they are my extended family,” he said. “Our motto is to let our family serve your family.”

Having grown up in the area, Bucco said it is important to him to support the community that has supported him.

“We always support the local schools,” he said. “I’m a Groveport graduate and we like to help with car washes and gift certificates to give back.

“We were also invited to participate in a Community Pride event last spring to help spruce up a housing development close by with (Columbus) Mayor Michael Coleman.”

One very successful change that Bucco introduced is offering a gluten-free pizza alongside Little Sicily’s traditional, time-honored recipe.

“I’m not sure what’s causing it, but more and more people seem to have food allergies, so we want to be able to keep serving them,” he said. “I’m doing about two to three dozen of these a week now. Of course, our traditional pepperoni pizza is still our mainstay.”

Bucco is confident in his food and invites anyone who hasn’t been to Little Sicily’s to give them a try.

“We’ve done this successfully for 38 years now without delivery, and that’s why we’re still the pizza worth the drive,” he said.

For more information, visit littlesicilys.com.