Back in 1978, Terry Smith developed
the personal pan pizza concept for
Pizza Hut, which helped grow the struggling company’s sales 30 percent the
following year. From that experience, he
realized he had a knack for helping companies in a bind.
He spent the next
two decades overseas developing new
food and restaurant
concepts, but then
he got a call from
Tumbleweed Inc.
that brought him
back to the States.
When he came to the restaurant
chain as president and CEO, he saw
declining guests. He decided that if
he could turn every guest into a raving Tumbleweed fan, he could turn
the company around, and it started
at the board level and went all the
way down to the dishwashers.
Smith started a team concept to
allow people to work on different
tasks and participate in things they
expressed an interest in to get them
excited about his goals. He also
revamped the menu and redesigned
stores to stabilize and reposition the
company so he could someday focus
on growth. Sales are up, even with
fewer stores, and he’s reaching the
point where he can think about
growth. He’s also managed to gain
more money by moving Tumbleweed’s
sauce manufacturing plant to a larger
facility and allowing other companies
to use it to make their own products.
On top of his Tumbleweed endeavors, Smith wanted to try something
new, so he opened up a Sedona Grill
in Lima, Ohio, and he plans to open
more throughout Ohio, Indiana and
Kentucky in the years to come.
HOW TO REACH: Tumbleweed Inc., (502) 893-0323 or
www.tumbleweedrestaurants.com
