Stainless Steel Trap

"Here's the griddle we have for the grilled cheese," Mr. Snodgrass said revealing the gas powered Southbend appliance that was about four times bigger than the electric Presto model we used in my dorm.

Yuri, DP & I looked over the fridges, ovens, a salamander grill, a three-compartment sink & the stainless steel that covered the white tile kitchen.  It was very compact for how much equipment was in there.

The three of us had already decided we were going to take them up on their offer to moonlight in the kitchen.  "Tell 'em we're still thinking about it," DP said the night before.  "We'll see what else they'll throw in for free.  Make it look like a negotiation.  We have the upper hand, here."

"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked him.  "We either set-up in their kitchen or that's the end of Mad Munch.  We can't keep doing it in my room."

"Yeah, but maybe they'll pay for our supplies.  Don't forget we're doing them a service here, & it's our idea," DP said.  

Lincoln College was a private school, so who knew how much money they might throw at us.  The equipment sparkled & reeked of a "spare-no-expense" investment.  Yuri's eyes were taken at the sight of the salamander grill.  

"We should do burgers," he said.  "It'll be easy to grill 'em up on that thing."

"And, there's a hot dog steamer over here.  Those'd be real easy to do," Mr. Snodgrass said.  "So, what do ya guys think?  Ya ready to start selling food out of here?"

"I like the looks of this place, but we gotta talk about it.  We'll let you know soon," DP told him & shook his hand.  "Thanks for the tour." 

How to SCORE with Your Target Market

Justin recommended me to another volunteer at SCORE who could help me develop a menu.  After hosting the Grilled Cheese Taste-Test, I compiled all of my survey results & was in search of some direction.

Henry had his own desk at SCORE's Downtown San Diego office & he was happy to meet with me.  I went over my idea for a cart & showed him the recent flyer & taste-test surveys.

"The girl is a little weird, I would lose that.  But I like the questions you asked on here," he said.  "So what's your next move going forward?"

"Well, Justin gave me a lot of info on getting permits, so I was gonna apply for a Fictitious Business Name & Seller's Permit first." I explained.

"Good, good.  But before you do all that you need to hammer out a menu," Henry said.  "You have all of these answers here, now you just need to put them on paper so your customers know exactly what you're selling them."  

He flipped over my packet of filled out surveys & read a few responses.  "You have some great insight here into your target market.  Now, you just need to apply what you've learned from their responses & give 'em what they're asking for.  Listen to your customer, they will tell you what the want & what they're willing to pay for," he said & placed the papers back down in front of me.

"I think you should do another taste test.  Invite the same people back & get some others to try it for the first time.  Get more extreme with your toppings, try to give 'em something that they really want but can't get anywhere else," Henry paused & looked me in the eye.  

"Put yourself in their shoes.  Really try to focus on what they are missing out on & give it to them!"

I left that first meeting with Henry excited about creating more unique grilled cheese combinations that this round of survey guinea pigs would not soon forget.         

The Numbers Don't Lie

Keeping good records is one of the most important things when it comes to running your own business.  From the very start of Mad Munch in San Diego, I wrote down a ledger on a legal pad & kept my receipts from every related purchase.  That was something we didn't do at all in the early days at Lincoln College.

"How much money are you guys actually making?" our friends would often ask.  

I'm a firm believer that the phrase, "That is none of your business," is an age old rebuttal to an outsider asking how much money someone is earning at running their own operation.  I feel that you should never share numbers with anyone not working on your team.  That would be like showing your playbook to the opposing football team.  And besides, you should never ask them how much money they make at their job.  It's in poor taste. 

At Lincoln, the easy response was that we had no idea, because without keeping a running tally of your expenses (or sales for that matter) we had no clue.  We knew the profit margins were good since we had no overhead outside of gas for Yuri to drive to Walmart & our prices per sandwich & pizza cost almost twice what we paid for supply.  

Also, we were fortunate not to pay an electric bill, health permits, insurance & taxes on our sales.  Employee payroll, which is the largest expense a business will pay out, was always cash "under the table."  We kept track of hours worked on a time sheet, but those were rarely filled out & no one was following up on them.

You must track everything that goes into & out of your business.  If it's not measured than you have no way of knowing how well your actually doing.  

An old boss of mine at Jimmy John's always used to say, "The numbers don't lie."  I wasn't a big fan of the guy overall, but I've found that statement to be true time & time again.  

Next Level Opportunity

"The reason I brought you in here was that we have a proposition for you," Mr. Snodgrass said.  I think his title was Student Housing Director or something important sounding like that.  After receiving his phone call for the meeting, I thought I might get suspended over running Mad Munch out of my room for the last three months.

"A proposition?" I asked.

"Yes.  Well, I spoke with Dean Smith & some of the other high ups & they liked you guys' business prowess," he said & lowered his voice.  "Bobbo told me he sees you taking multiple deliveries to other halls on a nightly basis.  I mean, that alone proves to me that there's a viable demand for Mad Munch on this campus."

"Now, while you can not keep operating from your dorm, since it's an obvious fire hazard, we've come up with an alternative option."  I swallowed hard, not sure where he was going with it.  "We would let you guys have access to the kitchen in the Student Center, under our supervision of course, after dinner service to run your grilled cheese operation.  What do you think about that?"

I was stunned.  Not only did they like what we were doing, but they wanted us to continue doing it & use their equipment?  

"Wow, Mr. Snodgrass.  I don't know what to say.  Would we have to pay you to use the kitchen?"

"No, we'll take care of all that.  Consider it a sort of internship.  Obviously, you'd have to clean up after yourselves every night so it's ready to go in the morning," he said.  It sounded like a lot more cleaning for me but not a bad deal for Mad Munch.

"Well, talk to your buddies & see if this is something you guys wanna do."       

Mad Munch's First Write-Up

It was a Handle Tuesday & everyone seemed to be thirsty.  A couple weeks after spring break & right before mid-terms Lincoln College students were ready to cut loose.  My old roommate, Art had collected enough money this week for 2 handles of Captain Morgan & he was mixing up some Cookie Monsters (Captain & Mountain Dew).  

That night, Mad Munch was host to a few dine-in patrons who sat at the bar & on my couch, munching on Cheezers.  PBR Power Hour was in full swing as I was popping in & out of my room taking deliveries to our other handful of regulars.  Every time I came back the music was louder & the conversations more amplified.  My friends were in good spirits at Sharky's Red Southside Pool Hall.

Around 11:30, I was coming back from another pepperoni pizza delivery when I noticed two RAs (resident advisor) standing at my door.  There were definitely girls in my room but it wasn't midnight yet, so I figured it must have been a noise issue.  I walked up slowly & noticed my door was wide open.

"What's going on, guys?" I asked.

"Well, Zach.  Your friends here are getting written up for drinking," Chad explained.  "And here's your write up for cooking in your room.  I warned you, & now we're shutting it down.  For good."  

    

What You Don't Know Will Hurt You

With my grilled cheese survey responses in hand I knew that there was indeed a demand for some late night food besides tacos, hot dogs, & Jack in the Box.  But, how was I gonna get out there to feed this need for piping hot grilled cheese?  I needed a plan to navigate my way through the red tape of permits & health department inspections- not to mention a cart & somewhere to post up at.

One night online I found a gold mine of free information for starting up a small business.  The non-profit organization is called SCORE & they have a chapter here in San Diego County with many volunteers who are willing to share their wealth of business knowledge.  There are volunteers who are experts in all different facets of entrepreneur life & with one sent email I was able to get a hold of one.

Justin was a retired military guy who once ran a juice cart that became a cafe in PB (I can't recall the name of the place).  One morning he called me & gave me some great instructions on how to get started.

"First, you'll need to get an SS-4 Employer ID Number.  Then a Ficticious Business Name since you're gonna call your business Mad Munch & not use your name in the title," he said.  "And you have to publish that in a local newspaper to make it valid."  

I made a list of the other pertinent documents that I had to file with the city/county.  I still have that list today & have shared it with other people who are starting out on their own venture.  Here are the other requirements to start up:  

• BOE-400-SPA (Board of Equalization Seller's Permit) 
• Business Tax Application 
• Department of Health Temporary Food Facility Permit (TFF)
• Proof of Insurance
• Commissary Kitchen Letter (to store & cook food offsite)   

"That's all you really need to get going.  I would try to do it in that order to keep all your bases covered," Justin explained.  "I like your idea for grilled cheese & I think people will to.  Good luck & let me know if you need anything else."

It was a lot of information to absorb but I had all night long at the Inn to get to work on it, so my fuse was lit & I had the steps in place to climb the ladder.       

Grilled Cheese Insights

After doing a bunch of internet research on my overnight shift at the Inn at Sunset Cliffs, my friend, Dave suggested I do a grilled cheese taste test.  That way I could get some feedback on what toppings & types of bread that people liked on their grilled cheese.  

So, I set a date for a Saturday night in mid-October 2011 at my apartment on West Pt. Loma & invited just about everyone I knew in town.  Believe it or not, most people love grilled cheese & also love to eat free food that they don't have to cook themselves.  While I didn't charge anyone to eat, I spent about $65 out of my pocket on cheese, bread & charcoal to make enough sandwiches for every to try.

I put together a menu of 8 different grilled cheese sandwiches & printed out surveys at work for anyone who sampled to fill out.  Only ten surveys were returned legible enough to read, but they gave me great insight into what my potential customers were looking (and willing to pay) for.

The main takeaways from the survey were:

• Cheese combinations don't matter as much as having meat on a grilled cheese
• Sourdough seemed to be the fan favorite bread (among Wheat, Rye, Hawaiian & Potato)
• Charcoal takes too long to heat up & propane is much easier
• People love Tomato Soup & is a must for a side
• Ketchup, Hot Sauce, Ranch & Marinara are popular side sauces

What's in a Name?

People always ask us, "Where do you come up with all of the names?"

Well, it all starts with the ingredients that will be used in the Cheezer.  Then, from there we usually think of a song title or band name, an actor or actress or a memorable character or line from a movie or TV series.  Pop culture is something most people are familiar with & therefore makes it relatable.  

And, Kate is really great with puns.  Any time she throws a party, there is always a theme & some kind of puny name for a title.  That extra step makes it more memorable for the attendee. 

Some of our names come from Ocean Beach streets, others from cats we've had over the years & others as nicknames or just simply plugging a sandwich's ingredient with something that rhymes.  However it comes about, we do it to make our Cheezers not only stand out in quality & taste but also on paper.    

Free Utilities Can Be Costly

"Damnit! That's the third time this week!" I exclaimed.  We were sitting in the dark with a half cooked pizza.  Luckily, the Cheezers were done & ready to be wrapped in foil & bagged.

"It's the damn Pizza Pizzazz," DP said, "It uses too much power."

"Hey, don't blame this on the Pizzazz, it's one of the greatest inventions of-" But, Yuri was cut off by a loud rapping at the door.

"RA, open up!"

The three of us scurried, DP put the griddle in a drawer, Yuri hid beer cans behind the bar & I draped a flannel shirt over the Pizza Pizzazz.  I opened the door to see Chad, head of the RAs flashing a Maglite into my room.

"What the hell's going on in there?  Why does the power keep goin' out, fellas?" he said, brushing past me, the light's beam wandering.  "For some reason it's only on this floor & at this end of the hall."

"That's strange," I said & shrugged my shoulders.  That's when the lights came back on.  

"You guys know anything about this 'Mad Munch,' I keep hearing about?  Bobbo overheard a some students over in Heritage South talking about getting pizzas delivered wrapped in aluminum foil.  What's that all about?" Chad said.  He stared at me for a moment, then DP & then Yuri.

"Pizza, huh?" DP said.  "That sounds pretty good right now."

"Yeah," Chad laughed, "Well, you know you're not supposed to cook food in your rooms- not even in a microwave.  So, ya know, just make sure we don't have anymore blackouts.  Cause if we do, it's gonna be much harder to get a pizza around here."  He gave us all another glance, then told us good night & left.

"That was close!" Yuri said, handing us both a beer.  "What the hell are we gonna do now?"

"Ah, nothing, Chad's bluffing.  He can't do anything, he's an RA," DP said.

"We gotta be more careful.  Bobbo knows everyone."

Great Tastes by the Lake

Fourth of July weekend 2004, I rode up to Chicago with my friend, Dardo.  He grew up on the Southside & was heading back to visit family & friends.  

I had never been to that part of Chicago & it was a cool experience, staying at his folks place.   The next day we took the El to Wrigley Field for a Cubs/Sox game.  It was his first MLB game & it ended up getting rained out after Sammy Sosa blasted a home run in the pouring rain.  

The day after we went to Grant Park for the Taste of Chicago.  I was amazed by how many different types of pizza you could sample for a single $20 ticket.  Endless tents created a festival of smells & smoky sights.  It felt like every restaurant in town had come out to participate.  And, why not?  I'm sure that it was great exposure to get your food in front of the holiday weekend masses.  

I couldn't help but wonder what a Mad Munch booth would have looked like at such a grand event.  Piping hot grilled cheese, cut into small bite-sized pieces for everyone to try.  It would be a few years before I got up close & personal with "tent life," but I would never forget my first real big city taste of it.         

Blackout Cheezers & Pizzas

After spring break 2003, Mad Munch, Inc. really got on a roll.  Monday-Thursday nights we were cranking out 2 for 1 grilled cheeses by the dozens.  We had regulars who would order every night.  

Who would want to eat grilled cheese every night?  I thought, but people were doing it.  Hell, I was eating a lot of them myself.  

It was around this time that, Elia, one of our regulars, started calling them, "Cheezers."  The name stuck & he kept calling for his favorite: the $2 Hot Ham & Cheese.  We also added sliced turkey to the menu.  I created the $2 Turkey, Ham & Cheese & I named it the "209 Melt" after my room number.  

My friend Marlo, would call every night around 8pm & order a Pepperoni Pizza & a PBR for a whopping $6!  The pizzas were great, we bought them at Aldi for $1.99 each & sold them for $4.  Cheese, Sausage or Pepperoni.  They took a little bit longer to cook than a Cheezer but they were twice as much in sales.

Things were going great until one night in my room the power stopped & the lights went out.  I walked out to the hall & it was dark everywhere except for the backup safety lights.  

"Alright, I think we blew a fuse," the RA said, "Let's go check the breaker."  I followed him downstairs & sure enough he flipped the switch & power was restored.  

"That's weird," he said.  "I wonder what tripped it?"

"I have no idea," I said & went back to finish cooking Marlo's pizza so I could deliver it to him.  That was the beginning of Lincoln College's discovery of Mad Munch.            

Turner & Spreader Spatulas

In any kitchen you work with a lot of tools.  Perhaps none is as versatile as the spatula.  

But, when you ask someone, "Hey, could you pass me a spatula?"  Which one do they grab?

I never really thought about it before, but there are many different hand-held tools that are referred to as a spatula.  I grew up with the plastic variety in my parents kitchen used to flip over pancakes when they start bubbling.  Apparently, that style of a spatula is also called a "turner."

When I worked at Sub Express, a co-worker called the plastic utensil with a white rubber head a spatula also.  How could the tool that we used to spread mayo & slather mustard on sandwiches also be a spatula?  I was thrown for a loop.  But, it seemed so natural to everyone else.  Maybe I was the weird one?

The term spatula is also used to describe a tongue depressor in hospitals & is synonymous with a trowel when spreading plaster or paint at a construction site.  It seems every tool box has some version of a spatula in it's arsenal.  

At Mad Munch, the first piece of equipment I bought in 2013 was a wood & metal "turner" at a thrift shop for $2.50.  It lasted for nearly five years before it literally snapped in half one day on the griddle.  I purchased a better replacement at Restaurant Depot along with two backups.  We also have five rubber heat resistant plastic "spreader" spatulas that we use daily.  

If I could only take one tool with me on a deserted island it would probably be a turner spatula.  Sure, a knife would be the logical choice, but you could sharpen the edge of the spatula (assuming the island had some rocks on it) to make it knife like.              

Attitude is Everything

I wish I could remember the name of the sweet older women who I worked with at WSIU-TV in Carbondale in 2004.  She was always very upbeat & had a great demeanor.  I only worked with her my first semester filing Beta Max tapes in the Post Production archives, before she retired. But, one day she gave me some wonderful advice that I still try to live by to this day.

"Your attitude is everything.  It's the only thing you really have control over in this life.  So, don't ever take it for granted," she said.

Before she left, she handed out a poem by Charles Swindell to all of us at the station.  Here's an excerpt from that poem entitled, "Attitude."

"The remarkable thing is 

We have a choice every day
Regarding the attitude 

We will embrace for that day.
We cannot change our past.
We cannot change the fact that 

People will act in a certain way.

We cannot change the inevitable.

The only thing we can do

Is play the string we have.

And that is our attitude."

Words to live by.  I still have my printout of the poem that she handed out that day.

Sharky's Red Pool Hall

When I rearranged my dorm for Mad Munch I stopped sleeping on a twin bed for months.  I slept on a couch & pretty much built a bar in my room.  I hung a strand or two of black lights to enhance the atmosphere.  It was cozy with a pinch of hustle & bustle from the electric griddle & Pizza Pizzazz traffic we were getting.   

DP got us hooked on a local radio station (he said they were broadcasting out of a trailer near Atlanta, Illinois) called FIX 96.3.  They played a lot of random bluegrass, country & blues.  It was like nothing I'd ever listened to.  Every night from 8-9pm the FIX featured the "Blues Power Hour," & we listened religiously.  Mad Munch started advertising a "PBR Power Hour" to coincide with the radio show.  It was our first real promotion & several folks became regulars for "2 for 1" cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon (back when PBR was a poor man's beer).

In my final art class at Lincoln that semester, I was tasked with a 3D art project.  We could carve out any thing we wanted out of foam blocks as long as it had a color in the name.  I decided to make a sign for my underground bar & grill.  Here's how it turned out:

Don't ask me why I went with red instead of blue or black, but it now hangs in my spare room as a reminder of the early days of Mad Munch.     

Entrepreneur Life

While a lot of people work for an employer, those of us who work for ourselves know that you never really clock out.  When it's five o'clock everywhere else, we're trying to maneuver our way through the weeds.  

It takes a special kind of individual to push themselves uphill into the unknown.  A big risk, sure, but the really hard part is to to turn it off once you turn it on.  When you're passionate about your craft, who cares if you crash & burn.  

That's what courage is all about: knowing you may fail horribly but still going & giving it your best shot anyway.  And, sometimes the first shot is the only one you'll ever get.  

That's why you've got to do your homework before you get out there.  But, preparation is only the start & reading books will only get you so far.  Not until you try everything will you know for sure what works & what does not.  At the very least, it'll leave you with a great story & probably something to laugh about.  

The journey becomes your education & your experience becomes your skills. 

      

Doorbell Innovation

Sometimes in life you have to get past some locked doors to get were you wanted to be.  

At Lincoln College, there was a gatekeeper named Bobbo, a mountain of a man, who looked funny perched inside the little toll booth looking glass box inside the lobby of Carroll Hall.  When anyone came over to hangout in my dorm, I had to go down two floors & through two locked doors.  Bobbo would just nod if he saw you or continue chatting to someone who was trying to distract him.  

But, going down to let people in every time was annoying.  

So, one day I bought myself a doorbell.  You plugged in the little receiver into a three prong outlet & with one of those 3M sticky tabs, I stuck the doorbell button outside on the red brick wall behind a bush.  

For around $10, it made my life so much easier.  Now, when someone came over they just pressed the bell & I heard a "Ding-Dong" in my room.  I'd throw them down my keys & saved myself a lot of steps.   

College is great place to learn how to adapt to foreign surroundings & solve new problems as they arise.  In the last ten plus years running Mad Munch, I consider those skills our most important.  You must constantly change & innovate to thrive in business.

Winston's Advice

Labor Day Weekend 2011, I went on a trip that I really could not afford back to Illinois for a friend's wedding.  I flew into Chicago, went to a Cubs game & also a Pearl Jam concert at Alpine Valley, Wisconsin before making my way downstate.  By then I was pretty much flat broke.  I stayed with one of my original Mad Munch pals, DP in Bloomington & actually did some construction work for him to pay to stick around one more day.

"How's Cali been treating ya?" he asked.

"Alright.  I've been thinking about starting Mad Munch out in San Diego," I explained.  "I could get a cart & serve up Cheezers late night next to this night club in OB, Winston's."

"Winston's?  Like the bagel guy in Carbondale?" he asked.

"Yeah, the same name, but-"

"That's what you should do," DP said.  "We'll go down there & talk to him.  Ask him about his cart.  Where he got it.  What you gotta do to make it happen."

"Wait?  Go down there?  To Carbondale?  When?" I was so confused.  We were a three hours drive away & I had a flight back to California in two days.  I had to work the overnight at the Inn at Sunset Cliffs.

"Tomorrow,"  he said.  "It's a Thursday, it'll be perfect.  Let me give him a call & let him know we're coming into town."

The next morning, along with his brother, Jay, we all piled into his truck & headed south.  I hadn't been back in a few years but things were a lot different than I remembered.  Most of our friends were gone, the ones who were still there worked at the bars, while a few of those bars had changed names or the buildings they were in had vanished.  

We made a few stops, ran into some old buddies, & saw a live band or two before it was time to meet up with Winston.  He was in his mid-fifties I would guess by his salt & pepper fading hair line & his cart with the green umbrella was just how I remembered it back on the Strip.  DP introduced us & I asked him a few questions that I had scribbled down the night before in a pocket notepad.

"Where did you get your cart?  What type of fuel do you use?  How often do you set up out here?"  Those types of questions.  He gave me some good feedback & valuable insight into the street vendor's world.

"I got the cart custom made in Columbus, Ohio for $2500, but that was back in the early '90's.  Be a bit more now," Winston recalled with a laugh.   "I use charcoal like what you use in a Weber grill.  Light the coals around ten o'clock every night 'cept for Monday & Tuesdays.  Consistency is one of, if not the most important thing.  No matter what you're peddling, the people have to know you're gonna be out here."

We left Carbondale the next morning at the crack of dawn.   I traveled all day in two different cars & an airplane to reach a pitch black San Diego night, drop off my suitcase & ride my bicycle to clock in for my shift at the Inn.  Sure, I was tired, but now I had a new plan to work on.         

     

Mad Munch, Inc.

Things were getting good.  The phone kept ringing & the orders kept going out.  Mad Munch, Inc. was open Monday-Thursday usually from around 8pm until close.  Most people left on the weekends for home or to party at larger campuses like ISU (Normal) or U of I (Champaign) so we were rarely there on Fridays & Saturday nights. 

Homework was pretty light at Lincoln College besides the occasional paper or exam, & with it being my last semester, I was only taking 15 hours, so I had extra time.  With it, I found a job on campus as a custodian.  Work started after 4pm Monday-Thursdays & friends might have seen me vacuuming classrooms, emptying wastebaskets, & cleaning toilets.  It was easy work, didn't pay much, but it was nice to have some spending money.

Most days after cleaning, I'd go take a nap, eat dinner & then get ready to moonlight at Mad Munch.  The three of us would usually sit around my dorm over a few beers & wait for the phone to ring.  We'd get calls some nights up until 3AM.  I didn't schedule any of my classes before 10AM, so I could get some sleep.  One day in between classes, I printed out our first Mad Munch document at the computer lab:   

We pretty much split up our earnings three ways or went in on a 30-pack with any extra cash on hand.

Sub Express

My first paying gig that involved sandwiches was at Sub Express.  It was just like a Subway, except they had different owners.  The restaurant was in the back of a gas station off of I-74, down the road from Kickapoo, Illinois.  

I had just borrowed $1000 from my dad to buy an '89 Pontiac Grand Am so I needed the job to pay him back.  It was my second job & many days during that summer of 2000 I would work 7-3:30pm at a fulfillment warehouse in Peoria & then drive straight to Sub Express for the the 4-10 dinner shift.  It was exhausting, especially coming up on my senior year of high school, I never had time to hangout with friends.  Sure, some of them would stop by while I was working but that didn't do much for me.

Amber, a girl from my high school, trained me & within a week or two I had it pretty much figured out.  Heat up the frozen meatballs in the Bane Marie, microwave the chicken for one minute when someone ordered it, remember to take out the frozen bread dough at the end of the night to proof.  She showed me how to make sets with the meats for the "cold cut" combo, sweep the lobby, mop the floors.  

A few months later, my friend Kyle started working there & I actually trained him.  He'd worked at a few restaurants before so he ended up showing me a few things.  He used to smoke me out quite often in the walk-in cooler, which on a humid summer day was a welcome break.

I ended up quitting at the end of the summer when football season started & I started commuting to practice after school or from my other warehouse job instead of Sub Express.  It was nice to eliminate one job & finally roam the halls as a senior.  

The experience of working with the public for the first time was invaluable & I think most teenagers should have to slug their way through it.  It can draw a person out of their shell & make you better at the art of bullshitting when things don't do as planned, a skill that is important in just about every job that I've had.            

Spinning Pizzas with Pizzazz

 Yuri came back to Lincoln one Sunday in the Spring of 2003 with a surprise appliance.  "Check out this bad-boy," he said pulling it out of the box in his dorm.

"What the hell is it?" DP asked.

"The Pizza Pizzazz!" Yuri announced.  "You'll see.  Let me cook this inaugural Jack's Supreme."  He unwrapped the frozen pizza & put it on the round metal base.  "You just plug it in, set the timer here, the temp here...400 & press play.  It's that easy."

The three of us sat there & watched the pizza slowly spin, passing under red hot coils which made the cheese start to bubble.

"This is amazing," I said.  "I feel like this is the future of cooking cardboard pizza as we know it."

After about 15-20 minutes, the timer dinged & the carousel stopped.  It looked about as hot & ready as a pizza could be.  Of course, Yuri was so excited about his new appliance that he forgot to buy a a pizza cutter.  He ended up using scissors, but it didn't matter we were sold on it.

"Alright, let's go to Aldi & pick up some cheap pizzas.  We're in the pizza business now fellas!" Yuri said.  

Cheese, Sausage & Pepperoni Pizzas joined the menu at Mad Munch that week.  Each sold for $4 out the door, cut & covered with aluminum foil & delivered in about 20 minutes.   

     

  

The Key to a Great Sandwich

Every sandwich must have some sort of bread to hold all of the delicious ingredients in check.  At Mad Munch, we like Sourdough a lot.  It's probably the most easy-going bread across the board & it accentuates the melted cheeses so well.  

When I make my own deli sandwiches, I like to use an Onion or French Roll.  I start off by spreading on some mayo, some sliced tomatoes & chopped lettuce (the finer the better).  My go-to meats are turkey & roast beef if I had to pick only two, buy I do love hard salami, ham, corned beef or pastrami if available & any fancy Italian meats like capricola or prosciutto.  

For cheese, I like sliced pepper jack, colby jack & provolone.  Slather some mustard (deli, brown spicy or dijon if you're fancy) on your cheeses as you layer them between each meat to help it all stick together.  Pickles, sliced pepperoncinis, jalapenos or any peppers are also great to put in between there.  

Lately, I've been slipping some of Kate's home-made pesto in there.  A little bit goes a long way, just like her horseradish sauce.  

The idea is to get a little taste of everything in each bite you take.  I learned that when I work at Jimmy John's in 2009.  I learned a lot of things about restaurants, delivery, business & sandwiches there, but that's another story for another time.

The secret when creating your own Dagwood (as my dad likes to call 'em) is to take special care when assembling them & don't forget to add a little slice of love.  That's the key to every great sandwich.           

Two for One Dollar Grilled Cheeses

The three of us weren't really sure what we were doing.  None of us had any business experience & we didn't keep a ledger of what money was coming in or going out.  Looking back, this sounds like a recipe for disaster, & it would have been long term, I'm sure.  But, DP, Yuri & I were young college students looking for extra spending cash, so what the hell did we care as long as we didn't lose our shirts?

When we set the price for our grilled cheese sandwiches at "2 for $1," I think we simply fell in love with the way it sounded.  And so did our customers.  Sometimes, you just get lucky.  

I didn't learn until later that this pricing strategy was called a "Loss-Leader," which meant that you offer lower prices than your competition to get new customers to buy from you.  I guess it could also be considered, "BOGO" or buy-one-get-one, but I don't think anyone ever really ordered just one- they always wanted two grilled cheeses.  

It allowed us to get a foot into many new dorms & when we added hot ham, eggs, turkey & cheese sandwiches to the menu for a whopping $2.50, people ended up ordering those as well.  Word spread about Lincoln College's underground grilled cheese operation & soon the demand grew for bigger & better delivery food & refreshments.        

"Ever Done a Grilled Cheese with..."

"I love grilled cheese," someone will say & then, it will eventually lead to: "Hey, have you ever done one with [insert tasty ingredients here]."

It's a question that we get at Mad Munch all the time.  Well, not as much as we used to (back when we were serving them in front of you in a tent), but Kate & I have heard the query plenty over the years.  

About two years ago, I constructed a Jambalaya grilled cheese (Fats Domino) packed with shrimp, chicken, rice & the Holy Trinity (onions, bell peppers & celery).  After that I said, "Alright, that's it.  I've done all of the ones I've wanted to do."

Then, my mom came to visit & I figured out how to deep-fry a Monte Cristo sandwich (Shenanigan'z) just like Bennigan's (her favorite sandwich ever).

Here's some that we've been asked about (Cheezer's name at Mad Munch):

• Bratwurst & Sauerkraut (Frank N' Stein)
• Mexican Street Corn (Cornholio)
• Lasagna (Gatto Affamato)
• Horseshoe, an Open-Faced Cheeseburger (Gettin' Lucky in Brimtucky)
• Chicken & Cole Slaw (Cluck Norris) 
• Gouda & Pear (Goudalocks & the 3 Pears)
• S'Mores (Gimme Some More)
• California Burrito (Hometown Hero)
• Fried Pork Tenderloin (Ol' King of Spring Bay)
• Lamb & Beef Gyro (There Goes My Gyro)
• Homemade Chili (Traveling Tony)
• Ground Beef Nachos (Nacho Beach)
• Thanksgiving Dinner (Hokie Dokie)
• Chicken Parm (Chicky Chicky Parm Parm)
• Fettuccine Alfredo (Fetty White)
• Meatloaf & Mashed Potatoes (Bat Outta Hell)
• Spinach Artichoke Dip (Chester the Sailor)
• Cheesecake (Newport Ave. CheeseQuake)
• Shrimp & Grits (Shrimpin' Ain't Easy)
• Philly Cheese Steak (Yo! Uncle Phil)
• Chips & Guacamole (Sleepy Pedro)
• Hawaiian Pizza (The Big Kahuna)
• Peanut Butter, Banana & Bacon (Big Hunka Love)
• Reuben (Reub Your Enthusiasm)
• Pimento Cheese (Carolina Caviar)
• Spicy Chicken Tenders (Daytona Thunder) 
• Tuna Melt (St. Pati's Mexican Table)
• Italian Beef (Touchdown City)

Toasty Cheeses

The first time I attempted to make my own grilled cheese was with the help of my neighbor, Matt.  We were at his house without any parental supervision & he asked if I wanted a snack.  I said sure & followed him to the kitchen.

"So you put some bread in the toaster & make sure it's on low," Matt warned & grabbed a plate.  "That's important.  You don't want it to cook too long."  

I couldn't believe this 8 year-old (I was 9) knew so much about cooking.  When it popped up, he unwrapped two slices of American cheese.  "Now, you put the cheese in between & pop it in here on high for 30 seconds."

"You microwave it?" I asked.  

"Oh yeah!" he said, "Wait til you try it.  It's so cheesy...and fast!"  When the timer went off, he cut it in half diagonally.  "Here, try some."

It smelled great so I took a bite.  "Wow, that's good," I said.  "I can't believe how crispy it is."

"Yeah, I love 'em," Matt said & motioned to the loaf of white bread.  "You wanna try making one?"

My parents gave me a weird look when I made Toasty Cheese at my house a few days later.  I admit now that using two appliances to make one simple sandwich is a little unnecessary.  That didn't matter to me then, because it was the first hot sandwich that I made on my own.

My First Grilled Cheese

I remember climbing into a chair,  

The smell of butter in the air,

An electric griddle puffing out steam here & there. 

Mom cut it into fours, to make it easier for my little paws,

Each gooey bite was better than the one before.

Then there was soup as red as blood,

Creamy & steamy, but it tasted so good,

"It's tomato," Mom said, "The only soup to have with grilled cheese."

"And, you can even dunk it in there."  Then, she showed me with ease.

"It's the perfect hot lunch on a cold day like this."

   

Mad Munch's Original Regular

No business can truly thrive without it's regulars.  They are the ones who keep you alive during the slow times.  They are also the ones who can give you insight into what your future customers might like.

One of our first regulars back in the dorm days was a small-town country guy that went by, Big Mac.  He was big in stature, yet soft spoken, but he loved our breakfast sandwiches.  His go-to order was the Double Donny Special:  Two sunny side up eggs (without the yolks cracked) topped with a slice of thick-cut, hand-sliced ham & two slices of American cheese.  

I delivered it to his room on the 3rd floor of Heritage North only a few times.  He usually liked to stop by & have a PBR can with his grilled cheese.  I believe you could get the Double Donny & a beer for only $4.50.  When our "Tab Book" resurfaced at my house a few months ago, I did notice that Big Mac's tab was zeroed out.  It just goes to show, that your regulars have your back. 

It's Not Delivery, It's Donny

Mad Munch's ham, egg & cheese grilled cheese earned some great word-of-mouth after the Super bowl party.  Keep in mind, this was early 2003- Yelp & Google reviews weren't a thing yet & the only screens people were glued to were TVs & computer monitors.  Most people had a cell phone, but they were flip phones & took crappy photos, if at all.  

When it came to advertising in the dorm, we would either make flyers or spread the word at a couple of home-grown weekly events.  

Our friend, Art created a Tuesday night tradition that had been going nearly every week since 9/11, called "Handle Tuesday."  It all started because he had a tough Astronomy class that night & needed some relief afterward.  My floor would pool our money together & get as many half gallon handles of Captain Morgan as we could afford.  I'm sure you can imagine the results of five to eight 18-20 year-old students mixing spiced rum with whatever we could get our hands on.

From this lovely gathering spawned another fun booze-fueled weekly that we referred to as "White Russian Wednesday."  People would sometimes don a robe like the Dude from The Big Lebowski & walk around the halls drinking from mugs or red solo cups.  

It was on one of these occasions after having the 1998 film on in the background that the phrase, "Shut the f#@ck up, Donny," became somewhat of a tagline.  Yuri & DP would argue which one of us was Donny.  In the end, DP took on the persona & we started writing it on Mad Munch's brown paper bags: "It's Not Delivery, It's Donny."  But, since I was the one who took nearly all of the deliveries a lot of people thought that I was Donny.  It kind of added to the mystery, speakeasy feel of dialing 6606 & having grilled cheese sandwiches show up at your doorstep.                 

Big Game Potential

The funny thing about Lincoln that I didn't realize until I left was that it was kind of a commuter college.  And, by kind of, I mean that everybody went home or somewhere else on the weekends.  The place was a ghost town Friday & Saturday Nights.  In the two years that I was there, I think I only stayed there maybe 2 or 3 weekends.  Everyone came back on Sundays & most came back in the early afternoon.

So, we knew that the Super Bowl could be a money maker for selling grilled cheese.  And with my neighbor, Screech (everyone called him that because he bore a striking resemblance to Samuel Powers on Saved by the Bell), down the hall scoring a pool table that he somehow acquired from working at K's Merchandise, we knew that Sunday would be a big day.

I completely rearranged my single during the week prior.  I got my hands on a comfy couch that someone was tossing out, then dismantled my bed & shoved it in the closet to make my room bigger.  I turned a pair of school-issued bookcases/shelves on end to build a bar & the top made for a perfect griddle stand.  

By Super Sunday, my floor had a pool hall (it took up the entire room & nobody slept in there) & a bar & grill.  Each of us made several trips with 30-pack sized backpacks to carry our extra "books" up to the second floor, moving them to the fridge so we could enjoy them cold during the game.  

Yuri brought over some ham & eggs.  "We should throw these on a grilled cheese," he said.  "We paid good money for this contraption here, we might as well get our money's worth."  He sliced the ham with a knife & cooked the eggs over-easy.  The smell filled my small room & when he assembled the sandwich it looked ginormous.  

"I'll take one of those," I said & others followed suit.  Yuri's breakfast grilled cheese was a hit.      

Tampa Bay would go on to beat the Raiders that day in San Diego at Qualcomm Stadium, 48-21.  At the time, I'd never been to San Diego, but it sure looked nice on my 19" color TV.   

The Inn-cubator at Sunset Cliffs

That summer (2011) I kept working at the Inn at Sunset Cliffs, reading books & watching HBO all night, but the whole time I knew that I needed to find a hustle to make some extra cash.  I thought about starting my own bike rental business in OB with used bikes.  I'd find a cheap bicycle on Craigslist, fix it up & rent them out to tourists.  I had three bikes at one point before my roommate lost one, another was stolen & then I gave up on the rental idea before I lost my own bike.

One night I grabbed some Mexican food after going out & thought to myself, "I can make something better at home that doesn't cost so much."  The very next evening I experimented with some groceries on hand in my fridge: white bread, pepperonis, tomato sauce & Mexican cheese (a.k.a. cheddar & Monterey jack cheese).  It was different.  The taste didn't really floor me, but I felt like could pair better ingredients from Stump's Market (our local grocery store in Point Loma) & come up with some good combinations.

After my next payday, I did just that, only this time I biked the experimental breads, cheeses, meats & veggies with me to my overnight at the Inn.  They had a good sized kitchen adjacent to the lobby where I made the coffee every morning, so it was the perfect testing area- all I had to do was clean up afterward.  

I came up with a pizza grilled cheese (a variation of Sophia Petrillo) & one with Hormel Chili, sour cream & corn chips (Traveling Tony).  Those were the first two Cheezer variations that I made in San Diego.   

The Tab Book

I knew which staircase doors were jammed with pennies & was able to deliver the grilled cheeses fast.  We grew to have quite a few regulars, some even gave me tips (cigarettes, a hit on the bong, a beer, etc.).  

Another thing that made our food service stand out was the fact that we allowed our customers to get food on credit.  We'd spot them until they got paid the next week or whatever & kept track of it in a spiral bound book we referred to as "The Tab Book."  

Kate & I recently discovered the old purple notebook & used it for scrap paper (ironically those scraps were used to right down current orders at Mad Munch- full circle).  

The names brought back some fond memories, even though some of the people never paid, according to our scrawled out records.  

If you didn't pay & you're reading this, you know who you are.

That was really the only bookkeeping that we did.  There were no Balance Sheets or Profit & Loss Statements.  The three of us never talked about how much money we were actually making.  When we ran out of cheese, bread or Country Crock, we'd go around collecting tabs from the purple notebook.  

Yuri was the only one who had a car so he would then drive us in his Grand Cherokee to WalMart to restock.  I guess he just absorbed those costs, though I recall he asked for gas money a few times.  

Whatever money was left went toward booze & smokes.  It was an exciting time but we knew there was plenty of room to expand.   

The Thrill of Demand

I came back to school with a tub of Country Crock & some White bread, Yuri brought us a 5 lb. block of sliced American, & DP though up the perfect name- Mad Munch.  

"Just like Munchie Man, but better," he said.    

I had a whole new outlook on my last semester at Lincoln.  I was an Art major looking to transfer to Southern (a.k.a. SIU Carbondale) but when speaking to my counselor one day I realized where that path may lead.

"Thirty thousand a year?" I asked.  "That's how much an art teacher makes?"  

"Yeah, right around there.  But, you gotta get your teachers degree, your teaching credential & then intern for a while before you get to that point," Mr. Snodgrass told me.  "It's a very rewarding profession, though.  To see your students learn & create- that's what makes it worthwhile."

I walked out of his office stunned, not so sure about my career choice.  It wasn't just about the money, but more the lack of freedom to blaze your own path & write your own story.  I wanted to do something bigger, something that would reach more people.   

It wasn't until a few weeks later, when my dorm extension (#6606) was ringing so much we had to stop taking calls, that I realized what was missing in my art classes.  The thrill of demand!

DP was flipping grilled cheeses on a full griddle, while Yuri was wrapping them in aluminum foil & dropping them into a brown paper bag.  "Take this to Scotty's on the 2nd Floor, then run these over to Chewy's in Carroll North 3rd floor," he said, handing me the sacks.  

It was almost 2AM & I would have to hurry back to my dorm.  There were more grilled cheeses that needed to be delivered.

P.S.- Happy Birthday Mom- thanks for steering me toward Lincoln, supporting my passion for art & all of my other wild endeavors!