2008 Woodie Awards
Emporium business investment just 'pocket' change for student entrepreneurs in Kingston
Robert Preliasco
Issue date: 1/25/08 Section: News
1/25/08 - What started as a joke between friends has led University of Rhode Island students Kevin Hine and Justin Kula to the co-ownership of The Pizza Pocket in the Kingston Emporium.
Hine, a junior, worked at the Pizza Pocket for three years when he heard that it was for sale. When his friend and fellow Phi Kappa Psi fraternity brother Kula said that he was looking for a business opportunity, Hine told him, "If you want to buy a business, why don't you buy The Pizza Pocket?"
Hine said he was joking, but Kula took it seriously. With the help of Kula's father, an investment banker, the two became co-owners of the restaurant on Dec. 1, 2007. The store's official re-opening under new management was Sunday.
The goal of the new co-owners, Hine said, is to return the restaurant to the profitability it enjoyed in 2003 and 2004 when it took in about $1,200 a day. Hine said that he will stay with the restaurant after graduation and then hopes to sell it for a return on his investment.
"My real goal is to build the business back up to what it was," he said.
Hine said that the popularity of The Pizza Pocket had waned in recent years because the service declined, with customers waiting sometimes for more than an hour.
URI senior Jean-Paul Vandeputte said that he and his roommate were great fans of the restaurant during their freshman year. "One of my goals was to try every [pocket] that was on the menu," he said.
Vandeputte said that the restaurant's poor service eventually drove him away.
"I used to go all the time, but sophomore year it ended up being an hour and a half wait, so I stopped going," he said. He added that he may try the restaurant again now that it is under new management.
Hine said that many URI customers feel this way and he wants to start bringing them back. To do this he "slightly" changed the dough recipe, switched to freshly-cooked chicken, added more variety to drinks and other menu areas and is focused on reducing the wait time.
Hine, a junior, worked at the Pizza Pocket for three years when he heard that it was for sale. When his friend and fellow Phi Kappa Psi fraternity brother Kula said that he was looking for a business opportunity, Hine told him, "If you want to buy a business, why don't you buy The Pizza Pocket?"
Hine said he was joking, but Kula took it seriously. With the help of Kula's father, an investment banker, the two became co-owners of the restaurant on Dec. 1, 2007. The store's official re-opening under new management was Sunday.
The goal of the new co-owners, Hine said, is to return the restaurant to the profitability it enjoyed in 2003 and 2004 when it took in about $1,200 a day. Hine said that he will stay with the restaurant after graduation and then hopes to sell it for a return on his investment.
"My real goal is to build the business back up to what it was," he said.
Hine said that the popularity of The Pizza Pocket had waned in recent years because the service declined, with customers waiting sometimes for more than an hour.
URI senior Jean-Paul Vandeputte said that he and his roommate were great fans of the restaurant during their freshman year. "One of my goals was to try every [pocket] that was on the menu," he said.
Vandeputte said that the restaurant's poor service eventually drove him away.
"I used to go all the time, but sophomore year it ended up being an hour and a half wait, so I stopped going," he said. He added that he may try the restaurant again now that it is under new management.
Hine said that many URI customers feel this way and he wants to start bringing them back. To do this he "slightly" changed the dough recipe, switched to freshly-cooked chicken, added more variety to drinks and other menu areas and is focused on reducing the wait time.