Emporium business investment just 'pocket' change for student entrepreneurs in Kingston

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.

"People want quality, consistency and speed," he said. Hine and Kula also decided to repaint the store's interior and will be returning the popular video game "Guitar Hero" to the dining area for customers to play for free. Hine said that The Pizza Pocket will also host a poker night every Wednesday, which he said is legal in Rhode Island as long as the house does not take any of the money.

Hine can be found manning the restaurant anywhere from 50 to 70 hours every week, making calzones in the same way he learned during his freshman year working for someone else. Kula is studying abroad in Barcelona, Spain this semester and is not available to help out.

"But I knew that when I chose him as my business partner," Hine said.

Before he purchased The Pizza Pocket, Hine was being groomed to be an assistant manager. He said that he believes he has the skills to run the business because of his prior experience. "I've been working at this place for three years, I know how to run it," he said.

However, the full-time marketing major said that balancing the obligations of his business and his classes can be challenging, even this early in the semester.

"It's hell when you do this and try to go to school at the same time," he said. "But the store doesn't run the same when I'm not here. I'm not saying I don't trust my employees, but I feel more comfortable when I'm here."

Hine has good reason to trust his employees because they are all his friends. Some are recently hired from within his fraternity house or are old co-workers from before he was the owner. One employee is Brett Oles, who at 22 years old is now the oldest worker at The Pizza Pocket and is a year older than Hine. Oles said that he enjoys working for his friend and earning a good salary as a delivery driver. He sometimes works at the store for free when he is not scheduled, just to help out.

"I like it a lot more now, the environment is better," he said.

Hine said the camaraderie is helpful during the store's rush times, usually early in the morning on weekends when students look for a late night meal after a party or night at the bar. Hine said that students like to wait "until the last minute" to order, calling for deliveries or walking in just before the 3 a.m. closing time.

Employees write each order on slim paper tickets and hang them on a runner above the baking counter and another shelf. Hine said that during the rush the entire runner, approximately 15 feet of space, will be filled with orders and the shelf covered with boxes ready to be delivered.

"It's crazy. The person answering the phone will have phones on both ears," he said.

Hine said that he hopes to sell the business to another student.

"I would prefer it stay student-run," he said. "This whole restaurant is for the students. I'm catering it to the students because I am a student.