Olivella’s in Dallas plans future growth despite lower revenue

by Sam Todd of of The Daily Mustang

Although the stock market may be on its way up, and major corporations are seeing a glimmer of light in what have been the darkest economic days in recent times, small business owners are still waiting for their numbers to turn around.

It will happen – just not yet. At least that’s the attitude that Charles Green, owner of the local restaurant Olivella’s, is keeping in mind. But luckily for Green, while many were suffering financially because of the recession, he worked hard to keep his business above water long enough to outlast the economic landslide.

“Surprisingly, May of this year was the best month we’ve had since we opened,” said Green, “but as the summer came to an end, we saw a decrease in sales and our numbers from this September were 20 percent lower than last September, which is why we’ve started offering more and more discounts and deals for our customers.”

Olivella’s opened in May 2007. The restaurant specializes in wood-oven baked pizza, pastas, and salads, and is located just across the street from Southern Methodist University’s campus. SMU students and families who live nearby are the usual customers, but as consumers start to put more thought into what they get for their money, Green says that these discounts, like 20 percent off on orders more than $20 for all SMU students, are necessary to keep customers coming in.

“We would not be offering discounts like that if we were doing the kind of business that we were doing in May or June,” says Green, “but hopefully that will help business pick back up.”

Although the economy may be one major reason for the decrease in business, Green added that there are other factors that affect his business.

“Rain is bad for retail, especially for us, as 30 percent of our space is outdoors,” said Green. Then there’s the perennial problem of parking in the area.

“Even though it’s great to have the students back in town, they take up the majority of spaces during classes, and if the neighborhood moms and their hungry kids can’t find a place to park, they’re usually going to head somewhere else.”

Students are also trying to rein in their spending habits as allowances from parents are declining, which Green also added as a major factor in the decrease in sales this month. He plans on implementing an aggressive marketing plan to new first-year students by posting signs and distributing coupons to the nearby residence halls.

Jennifer Bowes, an SMU student and general manager of Olivella’s, says that the discounts and specials are the best way to keep customers coming in.

“We expected a spike in business when SMU students were back in the neighborhood, but the numbers of students coming in has gone down compared to last year,” said Bowes. “Students might not be in coming in as much, but the lunchtime crowd has started to pick up thanks to SMU professors and faculty. They appreciate the discounts as well, especially on food that’s a healthier alternative to the fast food places around campus,” she added.

Green also prides himself on staffing his restaurant with SMU students, which is another way to bring students in to keep business strong. Sara Scheible, a senior at SMU, eats at Olivella’s often, but usually goes on nights when her friends are working.

“It’s so close to campus, and because it’s within walking distance of my apartment, I don’t waste any gas getting there. And because a lot of my friends work there, it’s fun to go in and see them on the job,” said Scheible. “I feel a lot better about tipping extra when it’s a student or a friend getting the extra money.”

The actual food is something else that Scheible really appreciates, regardless of whether her friends are serving her or not.

“It seems that they use a lot of fresh and healthy ingredients, and it’s priced pretty well as the quality of the food is great. I don’t feel guilty about my nutrition or my budget when I go, and it’s also easy to get take-out if I’m in a rush,” she said. A typical meal at the restaurant can range from $10 to $15.

It seems that Scheible is not alone in her love for Olivella’s pizzas: The Dallas Observer recently awarded the restaurant the title for the best pizza in Dallas.

As Olivella’s hopes for a turnaround in numbers in the coming months, Green has already planned to open a second location near the House of Blues in downtown Dallas, called Neo. Green hopes that this new venture, scheduled to open its doors sometime this fall, will have the same kind of success that he’s had with Olivella’s.

He described Neo as having a more urban feel, with a look commonly seen in the Lower East Side neighborhood in New York City. He has also purchased a warehouse space, where the staple ingredients found in most of the dishes, like mozzarella and dough, will be made and delivered to the two locations.

“Having the large warehouse space allows us to produce our ingredients in much larger quantities than before, so in order to succeed financially, we have to expand as much as possible, so that we have somewhere for all these ingredients to go,” said Green. “If they’re just sitting in a warehouse and not being eaten by paying customers, it’s going to be a major blow for us, but it forces us to grow.”

As the market seems to be turning around, Green hopes that he’ll have more than enough customers to feed at both of his restaurants, and not let one batch of homemade mozzarella go to waste.