Bob Evans BEST Blog

New Beginnings

As some of our loyal blog fans may have noticed, we have a brand new look and name on this blog. We've refreshed the B3 Blog to become more of a holistic blog about Bob Evans Farms, Inc.

Expect to see more frequent updates about a variety of topics, including: special guest commentary from Bob Evans CEO Steve Davis; information about our Rise & Shine events; our progress on our restyles; our community involvement; menu and product news; and a wealth of posts that highlight Bob Evans Special Touch (BEST).

If you aren't already familiar, BEST has helped us reinforce quality, service and cleanliness in our restaurants and has served as a valuable mentoring program in our plants. BEST is what we each set out to accomplish every day, it has become a way of life at Bob Evans.

In order to showcase our BEST, we have dedicated this blog to our guests, employees and partners. Please continue to submit comments and/or tweet @bobevansfarms on Twitter to tell us what you think, so we continue to uphold this high-level of excellence.

Please note:You can continue to access old posts and photos on our two former blogs: Rise & Shine and Homestyle Happenings.

We hope you enjoy this new blog format and look forward to sharing more exciting news with you soon!

Merl Beery, 1947-2009

It is with great sadness that I write today about the passing of Merl Beery, a friend and colleague for over 30 years here at Bob Evans Farms.  Merl was the Senior Vice President of Product Innovation and Technical Services, and was responsible for product development, technical services, quality assurance and purchasing for the company’s restaurants.  Merl had been fighting pancreatic cancer, and passed away last week at the age of 62.

Not only was Merl an integral part of the Bob Evans team, but he was also deeply rooted in the community, including the Ohio 4-H Foundation, OSU Food Industry Council and State of Ohio Food Service Advisory Board.

To say Merl was a pleasure to be around would be an understatement.  He was a kind, caring soul and we here at Bob Evans greatly miss him already.  To honor his legacy with the Bob Evans brand, the test kitchen at our corporate headquarters in Columbus will be named “The L. Merl Beery Culinary Center”.  We will greatly miss Merl, but will never forget his legacy.  To learn about more about Merl's life and legacy, please visit his Columbus Dispatch obituary page here.

Thank you for writing!

I would like to take some time once again to share some letters that we received from our guests.

Charles Hyder wrote describing his experience at the Bob Evans Restaurant on Tamiami Trail in Port Charlotte, Fla. (#200), noting the exceptional commitment of the General Manager, John Cwikowski: “I know excellence when I see it. Bob Evans is tops; in no small measure because of managers like John Cwikowski.”

Thank you, Charles, for sharing your thoughts about restaurant #200. I’d also like to give a special thank you to John and all of the employees for giving our guests that Bob Evans Special Touch – what we like to call “BEST.”

The next letter is from Michael Colucci, who told us about of his favorite waitress of all time, Carole Torarice. She works at our Amherst, N.Y., Bob Evans Restaurant (#289) and has given service above and beyond for over 11 years.

Michael told us about Carole’s outstanding service, explaining the importance of knowing when to be of assistance and when to not disturb, especially during one of his business meetings that he regularly conducts at the restaurant. He ended his letter by writing, “Just wanted to let you know of the great relationship I have had with Carole and with Bob Evans Restaurants.”

I would like to thank you, Michael, for conducting your business meetings at Bob Evans and for telling us the story of your favorite waitress. Great work, Carole, for always doing your BEST.

The next letter I would like to share with you is from Duayne J “Dewey” Orner. He wrote that since the passing of his wife, he has eaten at the Bob Evans in Mechanicsburg, Pa.,  (#212) on a daily basis.

He writes that the reason he frequents the restaurant daily is not only because of the excellent food, but, as Dewey wrote, “The outstanding service provided by the staff. They have become like family. During my daily visits to this restaurant I have also observed many familiar faces, and they too receive the same outstanding service.”

Dewey, we are sorry to hear about the passing of your wife. I am glad to hear that you’re part of the restaurant #212 family, and that you receive outstanding service there.

The final letter I would like to share is from Pat Weyl, who wrote about the excellent service she receives from a server (also named Pat) at a Bob Evans in Dover, Del. (#280).

Pat said, “I can honestly say I cannot remember ever having this type of outstanding service ever before at any restaurant. Pat goes beyond and makes us feel, as a guest, that we are truly valued.”

Thank you, Pat, for your kind and pleasant thoughts that you have sent to us about your experiences. We applaud the team there for their committed service to make sure that guests like you have the best experience possible at Bob Evans.

Thanks to all of the letters we receive from our valued guests. I sincerely enjoy reading all the positive experiences that you have had at our restaurants. Please keep sending them in, and I will keep sharing them with you.

Have you heard?

I am honored and excited to welcome President E. Gordon Gee to the Bob Evans Farms Board of Directors.

President Gee was elected to the Board last month and will be serving a term expiring in 2010. He is currently the president of The Ohio State University, a position he previously held from 1990 to 1997. Before returning to OSU, he served as chancellor of Vanderbilt University and as president of Brown University. 

President Gee is among the most highly respected university presidents in the nation, bringing a wealth of impressive experience to our Board, including legal, strategic management and corporate governance expertise.
Please help me in welcoming President Gee.

We look forward to his energy and enthusiasm on the Board of Directors at Bob Evans as he shares his wisdom with us.

Tweet @bobevansfarms or even tweet President Gee (@PresidentGee) to share this exciting news.

Lending a Helping Hand

Today only (Tuesday, June 30) participating central Ohio Bob Evans Restaurants will be partnering with the Mid-Ohio Foodbank to benefit Operation Feed forthe event, Foodfight6.30. 

With 200+ organizations participating in central Ohio, Bob Evans is proud to donate a portion of our sales to feed hungry people.

To be exact, 5% of our receipt sales will be donated to Operation Feed. As we are all aware, times are rough. It's been a challenging year for many in the community, and Foodfight6.30 will offer a lending hand toward raising funds to support those in need.

In addition, Bob Evans Foods team is also donating several trucks of food for the Mid-Ohio Foodbank.

Please help us to make this event a huge success! Invite your family and friends to breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert today to fight hunger.

We appreciate your support and hope to see you soon!

Bob Evans employees giving their BEST in the fight against cancer

I always say that the best thing about Bob Evans Farms is the people. One of the reasons I’m so proud of our team here is because of the way they come out to support Central Ohio’s efforts to combat cancer.

Friday we welcomed Dr. Michael A. Caligiuri, Chief Executive Officer of The James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute.

The James is one of the nation’s leading research institutes, blazing trails in the areas of basic, clinical and prevention research. Dr. Caligiuri, an expert on lymphoma and leukemia, spoke to our Bob Evans corporate employees about the fight against cancer. What he shared was truly impactful: 

Cancer is on the rise, becoming more lethal with every passing year. Just look at this chart from the Centers for Disease Control showing the incidence of cancer deaths in the US from the 1930’s to today: To visit, go to http://www.cancer.org/downloads/PRO/Cancer_Statistics_Slides_2009.ppt#400,5,Trends

It truly is an uphill battle. In the next six months, cancer will affect one out of every two men and one out of every three women. Of course, that means treatment. In Ohio alone, the cost of cancer per year is $8 billion, and the United States spends $4 billion on cancer research annually.

But Dr. Caligiuri also shared good news. Many kinds of cancer that used to be considered terminal are now curable, thanks to research.  And researchers are making amazing strides to change all that. (Read more about the James’ research efforts here.)

Dr. Caligiuri also spoke about the impact of Project One, the $1 billion, 10-year expansion of the James hospital and OSU Medical Center. The plan supports the growing demand for OSU Medical Center patient care, education and research services and will set a new standard for academic medical centers worldwide. I serve on the board of the James, as does Bob Evans Farm board member Cheryl Krueger, and both of us are very executed about the good things this expansion could bring. This is why our fund raising is so critical – we’re closer every day to cures and treatments that can eradicate this disease that touches so many.

Dr. Caligiuri was also on hand to motivate and thank the team at Bob Evans who are in training for this summer’s Pelotonia bike tour for cancer. The event is a grass-roots group bicycle tour in daylong jaunts of 25, 50, 100 miles or a two-day 180-mile tour of Ohio. We have a team of nine employees signed up to participate, and each has committed to raising at least $1,000. I couldn’t be more proud of the way our people have stepped up to meet the challenge. I don’t suppose it’s for a glimpse of Lance Armstrong riding along beside them. http://www.pelotonia.org/ride/Lance_and_the_new_bike_tour_ColsMonthly_May2009.pdf

I was also proud to see the turnout this weekend when our group of Bob Evans employees joined nearly 46,000 people for the 17th annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in downtown Columbus. See a picture of the team here.

Our team raised $105,000 for breast cancer research. The team got involved with Race for the Cure when a much-loved employee at our corporate headquarters lost her battle with breast cancer a few years ago. Special thanks go to our Chief Financial Officer Don Radkoski, who led the fundraising efforts and presented the check this weekend. 

The James’ brand new all-digital mobile mammography unit was stationed outside our office building today for our employees’ use.  Here’s hoping we’ll all practice good prevention in our own lives and give however we can to support the amazing efforts against cancer in our own backyard, and across the country.

Check out these links:

www.komen.org
http://www.jamesline.com/
http://www.pelatonia.org/

Letters from our Valued Guests

Once again, I have the privilege of sharing some letters that we have received from our customers about employees giving their BEST!

Coyt and Jeannette Carroll wrote a very sincere note regarding their experience with the Bob Evans Restaurant on Lyman Drive in Hilliard, Ohio (#226). The Carroll’s spoke very highly of the General Manager, Nicholas Montoney, and the Kitchen Manager, Dustin Sadowski. “Each of them have been especially cordial to my wife and me each time we have seen them, and they are a positive part of our dining experience,” wrote Coyt. “Thanks for bringing Nick and Dustin to the Hilliard community.”

We appreciate you sharing your thoughts with us about Restaurant #226. Thank you to all of the employees at store #266 for providing a friendly atmosphere for our customers!

The next letter was received from Karen Dunlop regarding Bob Evans Restaurant  #0015 in Mentor, Ohio. As a mother of a family that eats out quite a bit during the course of the year, Dunlop wanted to share her positive experience with us at the Mentor location. After ordering the two pork chop meal to split with her husband, the manager came to apologize that they only had one pork chop left and would give them the meal at no charge. Not only did the meal come with no charge for the pork chops, but crepes were also given to this family at no charge for the mishap. Dunlop was extremely impressed, not only by the meal given to their family for free, but also by the professionalism of the manager who explained the situation. The Dunlops commented that, “it was a pleasure dining at your Mentor, Ohio location.”

Thank you for sharing your story with us and thanks to the employees at #0015 for providing a solution that added to providing the best experience to our customers!

After a visit to Bob Evans Restaurant # 383 in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Judith Lieberman wrote us a note to tell us about her experience. Lieberman visited this restaurant with her daughter, granddaughter, grandson and great-grandson on a crowded Sunday morning. She was impressed by the pleasant atmosphere in the midst of the busy Sunday breakfast rush. “Under the pressure of the amount of people I would have thought our waitress would have been hurried, but no—a smile and pleasant attitude instead,” wrote Lieberman. She also assured us that she would definitely be returning to this restaurant in the future!

Thanks to both Judith for sharing her story and for the employees of #383 for your patience and dedication to our customers—even on busy Sunday mornings!

Not only is it great to get letters from our customers, but we also love receiving letters from employees complimenting other employees at our stores!

Linda Levi of Bob Evans Restaurant #300 in Bear, Deleware expressed her appreciation for her supervisor, Brian Gallagher in an honest and impressive note that we received. Linda described Brian as having, “a mild manner and easy going demeanor to allow anyone, coworker and customer, to feel comfortable in his presence.” She explains that, “when the volume of business is at its peak, Brian is on hand assisting the wait staff, taking drinks and food orders to the tables.”

We are proud of all of our employees showing the BEST service to all, to both coworkers and also customers!

Edwin and Beatrice Kess from Columbus, Ohio wrote a note to express their gratitude for managers, Chidi Ebeniro and Hyko Nzekwesi at Bob Evans Restaurant #274. These customers were dining at this restaurant on President’s Day and were extremely impressed by the coordination of the two managers on this busy day, making sure to stay committed and dedicated to provide quality services to customers. “There was a standing only crowd in the lobby and outside the door waiting to be seated and served,” wrote Beatrice. “These two gentlemen were courteous and pleasant with the customers as they entered and departed the store.”

Thank you for writing to us to share your story, Edwin and Beatrice. Also, thank you to our managers of Store #274 for the excellent coordination and continued focus on our customers!
 

A warm welcome to Harvey

Harvey Brownlee joined our company earlier this month as president and chief restaurant operations officer and we are thrilled to have him on our team. Harvey’s known in the industry as an operator’s operator, so I thought it would be interesting to get his impressions as he trains in our Bob Evans restaurants this week.

A warm welcome to Harvey, our guest blogger, as he sends a few dispatches to us here at B3:

Monday, February 23, 2009: I completed my first day of Bob Evans restaurant training with RGM Scot Spainhour and his team from Clarksville, Ind. 

My first day was fantastic!  The restaurant was very clean and organized.  Area Director John Shackelford walked me through orientation and I learned about our team service approach, the role of the host/hostess, and the cashier’s responsibilities. 

The team also showed me how the food and ticket flow procedures work for IRIS, our new POS system.  I met the entire team and spoke with many happy customers.  The food looked great all day and the team treated everyone like family. 

Tomorrow will be very exciting because I will be working the grill and conducting a round table with local RGMs.  Wish me luck in the kitchen!  On second thought, I don’t need luck...I’ve got a great team training me! -- Harvey

Goodwill Impairment Charge

Earlier this week I released this letter to employees on the heels of a press release we sent out. The release talked about taking a "goodwill impairment charge" for our Mimi's Cafe brand and I wanted everyone to understand what that really meant for our business. -- Steve

Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2009

Dear Bob Evans Inc. Team,

Today after the market closed, we issued a press release (click here to view a copy) announcing our preliminary financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2009. I wanted to take the opportunity to explain our results to you. In today’s release, we reported preliminary results that essentially met our expectations, and reaffirmed our guidance for the 2009 fiscal year. Basically, we told Wall Street that we performed as well as we had expected to in the third quarter.

We also announced that we expect to record pre-tax charges of about $75 million in the third quarter, mostly for the impairment of goodwill, intangibles (the value of the Mimi’s Café name) and fixed assets (like the physical restaurants) at Mimi’s Café. Goodwill results when one company buys another, and it represents the difference between the purchase price and the value of the assets and liabilities of the purchased company. In our case, the vast majority of goodwill on our books resulted from the purchase of Mimi’s Café in 2004.

Although these charges mean that we’ll report a net loss for the quarter, they’re an adjustment that we need to make, according to accounting rules. The net loss does not reflect our true operating performance for the period, and we expect that the impairment charges will not result in any actual cash expenditures.

Why are we just now taking this charge when we purchased Mimi’s in 2004? Because the recent performance of Mimi’s has not met our acquisition expectations.  And, because we are planning to scale back our development plans next year to just two new Mimi’s restaurants, accounting rules mandate that we now reduce (or “impair”) the recorded value of the company on our balance sheet. 
 
I’d also like to underscore our commitment to improving Mimi’s Café performance. As you know, we’ve put many resources toward strengthening the Mimi’s brand, and we don’t currently plan to close any of the 140 Mimi’s restaurants. However, we have a lot of opportunity for improvement in Mimi’s same-store sales and operating margins, and the Mimi’s team must demonstrate dramatic improvement for us to achieve our future performance goals. 

While the Mimi’s brand faces many challenges, it also enjoys incredible loyalty across 23 states, and we have a pipeline of innovative new products and marketing programs to help regain our same-store sales momentum. With refocused marketing programs and an emphasis on operations excellence, I am convinced that we can achieve the same type of turnaround that we achieved a few years ago at Bob Evans Restaurants. If you recall, when we really started to focus on our Best Brand Builders we began to see performance start to move in the right direction. Please do everything you can in your own role to support our efforts at Mimi’s, because now is the time to live Brand Builder #1, Win Together As A Team.  Our customers, investors and employees are counting on it.

Thank you for giving your BEST to Bob Evans Farms every day.

Employees giving their BEST

Recently, I have received some truly wonderful letters from valued customers sharing their experiences of Bob Evans employees giving it their BEST, and I wanted to share these with you.

I received a letter from Karen whose daughter Laura is a sophomore at University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. Laura writes for The Observer, the university’s student-run newspaper.  In Karen’s words “an unsolicited testimonial from a teenage server."  View the article at:    http://media.www.ndsmcobserver.com/media/storage/paper660/news/2008/09/25/Viewpoint/Down-On.The.Farm-3452085.shtml

Thank you Karen for sending this fantastic letter, and thank you Laura for being a dedicated server at Bob Evans and sharing your experience!

The next letter I received is from Mr.Vana of Maple Heights, Ohio.  He wrote a nice letter regarding Jim Carroll, area director, and Jim Merchant vice president regional manager.  In his letter, Vana states that he is a 73 and a retired mailman of 38 years. Brittany, one of his four grandchildren, started working for Bob Evans. Vana stated that he is very appreciated of “the two fine gentleman Mr. Carroll and Mr. Merchant for helping our family out and helping Brittany go onto college!  You have opened your door and welcomed Brittany into your business, now it’s up to her to work for one of the finest restaurants in the country!”

Thank you Mr. Vana for writing this wonderful letter. I hope Brittany enjoys her new job and we are sure happy to have as part of our team.  

The next letter I received is from Anita and Henry of Louisville, KY.  Henry writes that on November 2, he and his wife were dining at restaurant #408 located in Richmond, KY.  After a good meal and wonderful dessert they paid their bill and left for home.  When they arrived home they discovered that they had left Anita’s purse at the restaurant.  When he called the restaurant, manager Vicki answered the phone and stated that Brigette, one of their waitresses, had found the purse and turned it over to her. Vicki, then, secured the purse in the company safe. After offering to drive back and pick up the purse, Vicki said she would go ahead and mail the purse back to the Goodrows.  They stated that Vicki and Brigette “are shining credits to your company and the professionalism of the staff of restaurant #408”.

Thank you Goodrow family for you wonderful letter.  I am sure happy that Vicki and Brigette took great care of you!  Thank you Vicki and Brigette for going above and beyond in providing excellent customer service.

I appreciate the wonderful letters that everyone has sent.  I am sure happy to hear that all of you have had a wonderful experience at Bob Evans. Thank you to the employees as well for going above and beyond to make everyone’s experience amazing.  Keep the letters coming!