Food Chain - Issue 199 - April 2024 | Page 69

______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Polly
’ s Pies community . Today , we ’ ve grown to occupy 13 Polly ’ s sites , including the original restaurant in Fullerton , as well as ten KFC franchises .
“ From this 55-year journey , we have a string of core values , many of which Eddie learned from his days of playing basketball at UCLA . In 2023 , we decided to condense these values into four key areas that embody Eddie and Donald ’ s original ethos . These values are around being trustworthy and acting with integrity , as we ’ ve become known for our high-quality , fresh , and tasty ingredients .
“ As Polly ’ s has been around for generations , our culture is based on nostalgia , and we want to continue serving the families we ’ ve known for decades while also growing our concept to younger audiences . We ’ re doing this in several ways like adding new innovations to our menu and renovating some of our tired restaurants to represent the quality and value associated with Polly ’ s . When it comes to menu items , we must carefully balance attracting new visitors and satisfying the needs of our loyal , longstanding customers .
“ We have our signature pies , for instance , including apple , cherry , Banberry ® , chocolate cream , and lemon meringue . We also make an excellent bumbleberry jam , which is the key component of our delicious , proprietary blend , Bumbleberry pie . We ’ ve also added five different coffees to our daytime portfolio and extended our dinner offering to provide something for everyone regardless of dietary requirements , as well as an exceptional wine list and some high-quality beers to enhance our beverage options .”
Restaurant refurbishment
Turning to store renovations , Eric elaborates : “ When I started with Polly ’ s around five years ago , I knew that our people are fantastic , our food is high quality , but the restaurants themselves needed an update . This is natural for a company with a history ; some of the sites were over 50 years old and had only had small upgrades during that time . foodchainmagazine . com 69