According to the Restaurant Monitor rankings, the Company rates as one of the top 100 largest restaurant franchisees in the country. | 
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The Cimmarusti Story
By Larry and Ralph Cimmarusti The Glendale, California -based business started with an Italian Deli located in Starry Hollywood 25 years ago. Today, the company is one of the largest Burger King and Tony Roma´s franchise operations worldwide boasting annual sales near $100 million dollars. According to the Restaurant Monitor rankings, the Company rates as one of the top 100 largest restaurant franchisees in the country. The Cimmarusti brothers, Larry and Ralph, grew up in Los Angeles, graduated from Eagle Rock High and Glendale College. The brothers own 100% of the company and its related affiliates. "As you grow you don´t realize how big you are," said Larry, whose Company now operates 60 Burger Kings, 6 Tony Roma´s and 15 Original Roadhouse Grill restaurants. "I still look at it as a mom and pop business, and mom, Ann, still works two to three days a week."
The Start of Success
The restaurant business began shortly after high school and junior college with an Italian Deli in Hollywood, CA. The first restaurant was actually an open-fronted Hollywood vegetable market purchased for $5,000 that was converted into an Italian Deli. Frequented by the stars that lived in the Hollywood Hills, the deli thrived and provided an exciting start into the restaurant world.
Danger loomed when Burger King decided to open a restaurant next door to the deli. In those days, Burger King had very little penetration in Southern California. Ralph had to travel to the closest unit, in Marina Del Rey, just to try a Whopper. "I knew immediately that they [Burger King] would run us out of business," Ralph recalled.
The choice seemed clear: sell the Italian Deli and buy a Burger King. Unfortunately, the only Burger King up for sale was out in then-sleepy Simi Valley and this unit was operated very poorly. After Larry and Ralph purchased the restaurant, they realized that the first years were going to be a struggle. "People came to the drive-through window on horses. I would put Burger King crowns on their heads and Ralph would shovel up from behind them," Larry said. It was from this humble start that the Cimmarusti´s learned the importance of community involvement. The brothers worked diligently to promote the business. As an example, during the gas crisis, Ralph and Larry would walk over to the gas station near the Burger King and give free sodas to customers waiting in line for gas. They hosted baby contests, teen beauty contests and many sporting events, and celebrity basketball games at the local high school. The Simi Valley Burger King turned around, and Burger King Corporation noticed the efforts of their work. Soon another troubled store was up for sale in Los Angeles. "Burger King Corp had written this off," Ralph recalled. "Burger King used to call us ‘the dog brothers.´ So if they had a store that was struggling, they called us. We had this reputation of being able to turn businesses around."
The Business Today
The business today looks much different than it did 25 years ago. The Company operates 78 restaurants in California, Texas, Oregon and Minnesota. The business expanded into casual dining in the mid-1980s by opening several Tony Roma´s restaurants and growing to one of the larger Tony Roma´s franchise operators in the system. Recently, the company acquired the Original Roadhouse Grill concept.
The business also grew into other related areas. The skills learned in building new restaurants provided a logical entry into real estate development. The Company operates its own real estate brokerage firm, owns approximately 50 properties throughout the country, manages office buildings and retail strip centers, and has a construction company that is actively involved in restaurant/retail center development. |
