Secret Ingredients - Wolfie's, Muskegon, MI

James at Parts Town discusses business tips with Linda of Wolfie’s Pizza and Subs in Muskegon, MI

JAMES: Give me some Wolfie’s history.

LINDA: We’ve been in business almost seven years. It all started because my husband lost his job, so we created a job. We’re right by the high school my kids went to, and we do a lot with the schools and other groups that are part of the school. That’s Wolfie’s in a nutshell!

J: That leads me to my next question – it seems like families are an important part of your customer base.

L: Yes.

J: What kind of challenges have you faced? What kind of learning moments have you had?

L: You have to learn to adapt to your customers and listen to what they want. If you’re not making exactly what they want, you have to tweak things to make your business more successful. Our area was hit hard by people losing jobs, so it’s been a struggle, but now it seems like things are starting to pick back up. We had a few years where there were a lot of unemployed people in Muskegon.

J: Does social media play into what you do?

L: The area of Muskegon we’re in isn’t the techie-est, but I do have a Twitter account and a Facebook account for Wolfie’s.

J: What would you recommend from the menu? What’s a must-have?

L: We’re known for our Junkyard Pizza. It’s a 16 inch pizza and it has eleven toppings, plus extra cheese, weighing in at about four and a half pounds.

J: Eleven toppings! How does the crust support that?

L: Very well! It’s a thin crust, and we cook it crispy. We also offer a couple of huge subs which are popular.

J: Is there one piece of golden advice you can offer? If someone wanted to follow in your footsteps and start their own place, what’s the one thing they need to know?

L: Customer service is the key. You have to listen to your customers. If you treat them like you want to be treated, you’ll be successful.

J: I’ll let you get back to running a restaurant – thanks for taking the time to talk to me!