volume 3 | issue 7
ENTREPRENEURS THAT KICK ASS™
BASEBALL, PIZZA, FRANCHISING, AND A PROHIBITION ERA
CONFECTIONERY SHOP
Denino’s, 2015
in Staten Island, well... I made sure that the tradition
passed on to my son, Alex, and so we went to Denino’s
for pizza. The emotional connection that certain very
unique and special businesses have on a childhood and
Denino’s, 1923
As a child growing up there was nothing better than
getting pizza after a little league baseball game and for
those of you that know Staten Island, NY, well, there was
and is no better place than Denino’s Pizzeria and Tavern.
So many memories... and this past spring when my 12
year old son’s travel baseball team came to play a game
on generations of families is quite rare and difficult to
describe but Denino’s is one of those special businesses.
So this past year our entire team was extremely proud
and glad to be working with Michael Burke, Denino’s,
and their entire team in assisting and guiding them
in the launch of the Denino’s franchise system. Unlike
—continued on page 2
ABOUT THE INTERNICOLA LAW FIRM, P.C.
The Internicola Law Firm, PC is a specialized business and franchise law firm dedicated to supporting
entrepreneurship and assisting entrepreneurs and business owners in building great businesses. This
newsletter is all about entrepreneurship and sharing with our clients, colleagues and friends a mindset
of success, best practices for business expansion and protection and learning from one another. This
newsletter means a lot to us, we hope you enjoy it and we are always glad to hear from you with any
comments or suggestions that you may have.
Charles N. Internicola
email [email protected] | web www.BusinessandFranchiseLaw.com | tel 800.976.4904
The Business and Franchise Law Report is a publication of the Charles N. Internicola Law Firm, P.C., and is intended to educate the
general public about business law issues. It is not intended to be legal advice. The information in this newsletter may be freely copied
and distributed as long as the newsletter is copied in its entirety.
Brian A. Lincer
BASEBALL, PIZZA, FRANCHISING, AND A PROHIBITION ERA
CONFECTIONERY SHOP TURNED —continued from page 1
other franchise systems focused on volume growth and
rapid expansion, from the very, start Michael and his
team insisted on implementing a franchise system that
maintained the unique character and qualities that has
made Denino’s a landmark for over seven decades. The
franchise development model that we followed and
adopted is not one focused on rapid expansion but on
organic expansion that is initially focused on Denino’s
ever expanding base of raving fans.
It is always interesting to see the progression of a
deninos.com
business and how entrepreneurs overcome obstacles,
plan. Which gets to the point that entrepreneurship
try their best and, in certain cases, create landmark
and success is more about a mindset of hard work,
institutions. In the case of Denino’s, here are some
trial and error, adapting and never giving up. If the
interesting facts:
Denino’s were just content selling candy, well I am sure
almost no one would know about Denino’s. Likewise,
if Michael Burke and his family, through hard work
and dedication, did not stay true to Denino’s roots
and their dedicated customer focus, well, like many
other family owned businesses, Denino’s may not of
stayed on the growth trajectory that it continues to
enjoy.
The true testament
Denino’s was the sponsor of the 1964 Staten
Island Little League Team to win the Little League World
of
Series;
the fact that the
Denino’s
historic Pizzeria and Tavern started off as a confectionery
continues
to grow among yet
shop during the prohibition era (photo on page 1);
another generation
Not until 1951 (28 years after the Denino’s
- including my 12
family first started the business) did they introduce
year old son who sat
what is now Denino’s famous pizza.
there eating pizza in
Among many other awards, Denino’s has been
a dirty grass stained
consistently named Staten Island’s Best Pizza.
baseball uniform.
The Denino’s story is quite compelling and interesting
Charles’ son, Alex
on so many levels.
For
more
information
about
Denino’s
franchise
system,
deninosfranchisepizza.com.
This historic pizzeria started off as a candy shop and
although pizza came along it was not part of the original
2
is
generational story of
Talk about true entrepreneurship, today’s
Denino’s
The Business and Franchise Law Report | Volume 3 Issue 7
the
visit:
BUSINESS RESOURCES THAT KICK ASS
HOW DO YOU MANAGE THE MOST IMPORTANT ASSET OF
YOUR BUSINESS?
I guess it is more important to start off with the
question of, “What is the most important asset of your
business?”
Answer: Your customers and your customer list.
So how do you maintain and manage this critical asset?
Learning from and following the lead of our clients, over the years, our firm has become a big believer in Infusionsoft.
Infusionsoft is a cloud based CRM (customer relationship management system) that is designed for small businesses
and allows small business owners to maintain their customer lists, track prospects and customer communications.
The system allows you to automate and control communications with new prospects and with your existing
customers. It also allows you to track responses to your marketing and advertising campaigns and can power and
automate a good deal of other tasks. The system is quite comprehensive and involves tools and tasks that every
small business owner should be working on.
Some Business Development Questions:
1. Do you maintain an active and current list of your customers?
2. Do you maintain an active and current list of prospects who contact your business
but don’t convert into customers?
3. Have you established a long-term communication campaign (email, direct mail and
phone calls) with your current and long term customers?
www.Infusionsoft.com
4. Have you established a long-term communication campaign (email and direct mail) with prospects who didn’t
convert and hire your business?
5. Do you know the conversion rate on your email, direct mail and marketing campaigns?
If you don’t have a handle on these 5 questions, we definitely recommend that you check out Infusionsoft.
What also makes Infusionsoft a compelling company is how they approach their own business development.
Infusionsoft understands their target customers (small businesses) and so they have focused everything they do on
helping small business owners succeed. Infusionsoft offers some great (free) articles and materials about strategic
planning and business marketing: Visit www.Infusionsoft.com.
Let us know what you think. Also if you are using a competing CRM system we would be glad to
hear from you, learn about your experiences and share them
with other readers of this newsletter.
www.BusinessandFranchiseLaw.com
3
1000 South Avenue | Suite 104
Staten Island, NY 10314
1.800.976.4904
www.BusinessandFranchiseLaw.com
CONNECT WITH US!
“
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
Entrepreneur is someone who has a vision for something
and a want to create.”
—David Karp
FRANCHISE ALERT
LEARN HOW BROOKLYN-BASED LOBSTER JOINT FRANCHISED
IT’S BUSINESS
Lobster Joint is Brooklyn, New York’s version of the very best in
New England comfort food and the place (joint) where you can
find the freshest lobster rolls on the east coast. Bob Levitt and
Thomas Chabrowski established a truly unique restaurant that has
taken NYC by storm. They recently launched their franchise.
Robert Levitt and Thomas Chabrowski
Co-Founders of Lobster Joint
Learn
about
the
Lobster
www.ownalobsterjoint.com
Joint
story
by
visiting
IN THIS ISSUE
ENTREPRENEURS THAT KICK
ASS™ Baseball, Pizza, Franchising,
and a prohibition era confectionery
shop turned pizzeria
PAGE 1
4
BUSINESS RESOURCES THAT
KICK ASS How do you manage
the most important asset of your
business?
PAGE 3
QUOTE OF THE
MONTH
Tumblr founder and CEO
talks about Entrepreneurs
PAGE 4
FRANCHISE ALERT
Learn how Brooklyn-based
Lobster Joint franchised it’s
business
PAGE 4