History
Sweet Peppers Deli was an idea that was born from years of restaurant experience. To be sure, the franchise company is Sweet Peppers Franchise Systems, LLC, a Mississippi limited liability company -- but it all started with Mom. You know, Mom always made the best food. Anyway, Myrrl Bean and her partner, Harvey, got together in the restaurant business in 1982. Then her sons John and Bernard joined the fledgling team, and things really started cooking. Myrrl's inspiration and direction helped the Bean family grow their collective skills into a major force in restaurant development in Mississippi. They began with Harveys, an upscale traditional casual dining chain of three restaurants; and expanded to a group of nine restaurants.
Meanwhile, in 1984, Robin Fant purchased Bulldog Deli, a tiny restaurant in Starkville, Mississippi with only 8 tables. He quickly redefined the deli's concept to include a more upbeat atmosphere and a larger menu -- a mix of New York Style and southern charm. Fondly known as "The Deli", the restaurant successfully attracted a wide audience of Starkville customers from the businessman's lunch to the collegiate date.
In 1996, Bulldog Deli moved into a renovated and expanded gas station. The new building tipped it's hat to the past with a pair of working garage doors and the station's original brick. Thus, a piece of Sweet Peppers' signature style was born.
Fant and the Bean family formed a partnership in 1997 to fine tune the concept created in Bulldog Deli, and opened the first Sweet Peppers Deli in Columbus, Mississippi. In February 2000, they opened the second Sweet Peppers in Tupelo. In 2003, the company refined the fast-casual concept to accommodate a food court atmosphere, and opened Sweet Peppers Express in Barnes Crossing Mall in Tupelo.
You can get the rest of the story from our franchise documents, but you get the picture. It's all family oriented -- so welcome to the family!
Ok, you still with us here? The Bean family and their team of partners know the restaurant business. That's the real point. Experience. Sweat. Success. Sweet Peppers. It's all in the family. And along the way, the Beans have attracted great associates and enthusiastic employees. They've built a solid team of food professionals that you will get to know and work with, in your own Sweet Peppers Deli franchise.
This isn't a "start-up" franchise with the owner still in the kitchen cooking -- it's an experienced, professional restaurant organization with all the trimmings. From accounting and information services, to corporate executive chef and training team, to the operations and support staff, Sweet Peppers is prepared for you. Over twenty years of restaurant experience invested into a proven fast-casual concept is offered as a "new" franchise to you. That's another point -- the fast-casual segment is the "star" of the food industry -- just like Sweet Peppers is the star of the Bean family restaurants. (Kind of sounds like the newly discovered acting star whose only been in the business twenty years.) At Sweet Peppers, our food is the "star," but we have a great supporting cast to work with you, and we'd like you to meet them personally.
