In 1994, they introduced Crazy Bowls and Wraps, which revolutionised dining in St. Louis Keith Kitsis acknowledges that if it weren’t for a fair dose of young naiveté, he and his wife Gail may not have made the decision to launch Crazy Bowls & Wraps (multiple locations including 11427 Olive Boulevard,
Crazy Bowls and Wraps According to Kitsis
We said, ‘Let’s just do it, and if it doesn’t work out, we can figure it out.’” “When you reflect, perhaps we didn’t consider the situation as thoroughly as we could have. But occasionally being smart can make you risk-averse. If we had sought legal advice and urged them to find flaws in our plan, we would have.
It’s difficult to imagine Crazy Bowls & Wraps, which is now in its 25th year, as anything other than a sure thing given its level of success. With sixteen outlets and throngs of devoted customers since. The pair launched their first store in Creve Coeur in 1994, the brand has become a local sensation.
But Kitsis never imagined that he would become a huge success in the restaurant industry when he first began out. He was a native of St. Louis and lived in Phoenix, Arizona, where Gail worked as a teacher and he worked in the employee benefits sector. Despite the fact that they had no plans to quit their jobs. They couldn’t help but note how many different healthy rice and grain bowl concepts peppered the city’s eating scene and how there weren’t any others St. Louis.
They had been considering returning to their hometown, and that revelation offered them an idea. Why not bring a fast-casual, healthy food concept?
Crazy Bowls and Wraps According to Kitsis,
We observed such a difference between what was accessible out West and in St. Louis.” “We opened one there after noticing it because it simply made so much sense to me. We merely wanted to provide folks healthful foods to eat to improve their moods; we weren’t attempting to do anything radical.
The couple’s timing was ideal since they had recently completed a home flip and had some extra cash to invest in starting a restaurant. They had the resources to pursue their good concept and were confident in its viability.
But, they were also upfront about the fact that they required assistance to make it happen. Kitsis, who had never before in his life worked in a restaurant, was given a crash course by a Japanese chef in Phoenix who showed him. How to run the kitchen. To assist him get started and create the menu. He invited back to St. Louis several of the folks he worked with at that restaurant. Then he left.
As Kitsis recalls, “the day we launched our restaurant was my first true day in the restaurant industry.” “That was undoubtedly a lesson learned the hard way. We encountered many challenges and had to learn from many mistakes, but we paid attention to what our clients had to say and began to work things out.
Kitsis acknowledges the assistance of two persons in getting him and Gail where they are now. First was his father-in-law, who taught them the value of accounting and performance evaluation. The other was Ken Rosenthal, the creator of Saint Louis Bread Company. Who took the Kitsises under his wing and assisted them in figuring out some of the specifics for Crazy Bowls & Wraps, particularly the wrap itself and the significance of consistently releasing new products.
For the Kitsises, things only improved after that
They built a second store after expanding on the success of the first. Next, a third. They had a loyal following and several distinctive items, like the buffalo chicken wrap, that the same customers kept coming back for every day before they realised it. They were the owners of a legitimate restaurant franchise.
Kitsis is not shocked up to this point.
I frequently eat it. In actuality, I’ll probably eat there tonight. After my yoga class in South City, I’ll visit the Lindell location and have the teriyaki chicken bowl with quinoa “Kitsis adds while giggling. “I can be creative in my career, even though this is such a wonderful and demanding industry. The nicest thing about it is that our relationships with other individuals make us who we are.
To talk about the St. Louis restaurant industry, how his love of the outdoors impacts his work, and the one item you’ll never find in one of his rice bowls, Kitsis took a break from celebrating Crazy Bowls & Wraps’ 25th anniversary.
What is anything about you that you wish others knew but don’t?
I love going on hikes and being outside. Particularly when I travel, I want to explore regional and national parks.
What routine do you follow every day without fail?
Meditation and exercise. I can concentrate and be present in every other aspect of my day because of it. When I workout, my finest ideas come to me.
Which superpower, if any, would you like to possess?
There aren’t always enough hours in the day, therefore if I could have any superpower, it would be the ability to manage time.
Taking stock of your brand is a fantastic opportunity that comes with entering a new market. That is why, when they planned to expand their restaurant franchise to Ohio, Crazy Bowls & Wraps contacted Atomicdust. The history of Crazy Bowls & Wraps began in 1994 when Keith and Gail Kitsis founded Bonzai Express, a wholesome fast-casual restaurant in Creve Coeur, Missouri. The eatery, which offered unusual West Coast health food in a mainstream setting, was well-liked. With fifteen locations and a name change, Crazy Bowls & Wraps had gained widespread acclaim in Missouri and Illinois.
Crazy Bowls is proud of the caliber of its cuisine. Where feasible, they utilize healthful, locally sourced foods, such as cage-free chicken and organic tofu, and they follow nutrient-dense recipes.
Most days, you can spot an Atomicdust employee dining there or picking up takeaway. But until we started working with Keith and Gail, we were unaware that the eatery prioritised locally sourced, seasonal products. We only knew that it was a quick, delectable lunch choice.
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