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Grilled-Cheese Chain Goes Mobile

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  • Description

    The Melt founder Jonathan Kaplan on plans to expand his business.

  • Duration 3:23
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I think the -- My next -- -- from creating the popular flip cam video camera.

To launching a chain of grilled cheese eateries and nice looking to expand -- -- chain.

With a fleet of buses to sell his -- which -- across America.

Joining me now for this week's small business big ideas is Jonathan Kaplan.

Founder of the melt which itself the very cool techie named Jonathan but it must have been quite a Coulter shocked.

To go from computers and optics into toasted bread and melted cheese -- -- Well it's gone really really well and I hate to say but I didn't know very much about video cam -- is when we invented the -- and I'd probably don't know enough about how to make a great grilled cheese sandwich but what I do know is if you can create a great customer experience and deliver a product that consumers love.

Bring happiness into the world than you can have a great business and that's what we're trying to do with amounts.

Now -- -- the flip -- you sold it did Cisco I hope you make yourself rich.

And then you watch this corporate company screw up the flip cam and a bail out of business entirely.

With this chain he -- sell that off to some other big company -- and -- -- whether it so that no one else comes along and ruined it.

But I have to tell you that right now are focused on trying to build our 500 locations over the next four and a half five years our first years -- really well.

-- vast sold over 300000.

Outside feel really good about where we -- and as you mentioned earlier where -- putting together a fleet of buses because we believe that this food -- revolution that's been happening around the country and you've been seeing in New York for quite a long time with -- hot dog stand on every corner.

Is really part of that next generation of fast casual restaurant chains and we want to get out there and make sure that we can bring happiness anywhere and and help us footprint lets us bring our entire store anywhere in the country and we can do so in a way that.

-- efficient and affordable I don't like a retail store where you really have to have a great location that works all -- all the time seven days a week.

Every day part.

And yet it looks like -- opening 500.

Fix retail stores want to scrap that entirely -- all with a giant once trucks.

Well our plan is to do around 400 retail locations and around a hundred plus locations so our our goal is that -- 20% of our business be mobile.

And that this wheels and walls idea just very similar to the way the Internet has allowed retailers have both fixed locations and an online presence we think both are going to be important.

And so I think that we scrapped everything you would be very difficult for for assets -- really proved to the world that.

Where fast casual restaurant chain of people want to come to and a brand that people want to believe and you know we'll just be a food truck business and I think if we only did retail that we couldn't really be everywhere that we -- -- -- the combination we think is really important the same way I think.

Many retailers have looked at the Internet has an extension of their business not a replacement or -- substitution.

You know I'm not sure I -- -- give any other change do in the lunch truck type of approach but are they getting it knocked off by a Wendy's or McDonald's here what do you think.

Well I think it'd be great if they thought about the mobile space as well and you know right now as I said we're gonna build our business and we're gonna build -- strong and my hope is that I -- to ring the bell Sunday rather than -- business but we'll see what happens all right -- good luck -- Jonathan Kaplan if you're really successful.

Only a matter time before the food critics start complaining.

About you make America -- earlier chiefs have a good day --

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