Today we’d like to introduce you to Howland Russell.
Alright, thank you for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, how did you get started?
I went to college to become the next football coach of the Dallas Cowboys after Tom Landry, But after college, I saw how little the training for that was going to pay. I applied for management with Papa Gino’s up in New England. I was rejected. They didn’t think I would stay with restaurant work. I went to local Papa Gino’s in my town and worked as a maintenance man and grill cook. I moved quickly and became their General Manager of the Year for 1985; I came down to Florida in 1989 and had a Loop burger. I walked into their corporate office on Atlantic Blvd and insisted I work for them because I was so impressed. They made me an assistant manager and within three months was general manager. I became area manager in June 1991 and helped grow the Loop from five to ten stores in my time with them.
Paul Davis Restoration recruited me to become a franchise business consultant to their franchisees. I had to learn a whole new business and became an expert in Water Damage, Mold, and Fire Damage. I started teaching Continuing Education classes for insurance agents/adjusters and became a desirable speaker. I became a partner in Paul Davis National, a stand-alone Paul Davis franchise specializing in large and commercial work. We started in 2005 and did very well. The parent company bought us out in 2017.
In the meantime, I did some consulting with a start-up called Maple Street Biscuit Company. I became an early investor of 10% of the company. They bought out my shares in 2016.
Chris Fusco, Charles Moles, and I started Jumpin Jax House of Food in 2017. I bought out Chris pretty quickly. We opened in Mandarin in 2017, added Atlantic Beach in Jan 2019, added Downtown in Jan 2020, and then COVID hit in March 2020. We couldn’t understand how the government could force a business to stop serving customers, but it did. We worked hard to change how we did business to minimize the impact. We applied for all of the government assistance we could. Still, our customer base stayed away from the Atlantic Beach store; COVID depression hit our staff. The supply line and labor staffing issues that came along with the pandemic forced us to close the Atlantic Beach store and move the Mandarin store to JTB and Belfort to improve our sales through delivery, catering, and takeout.
Thanks for sharing that. So, you could tell us a bit more about your business.
We specialize in American Comfort Food:
-Salads
-Pizzas
-Burgers
-Chicken Sandwiches
-Shakes
We aim to deliver high-quality food while promoting a natural, energetic, and enjoyable environment. We were voted number 5 Fastest Growing Companies in Jacksonville by The Jacksonville Business Journal just after the pandemic started. But the pandemic hit us pretty hard. We have a reputation for great food and fantastic guest service; we aren’t fast food. But our standard is from order to ready in ten minutes or less!
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those just starting.
No business fails because it can’t make a budget. They fail because they run out of cash. Make sure you have plenty of money! And that your overhead is smart and low.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jumpinjaxhof.com
- Instagram: Jumpinjaxhof
- Facebook: Jumpin Jax House of Food
