Less than one year ago, Doug and Rich Gillespie brought the Freshii franchise to Vancouver’s Grand Central Shopping Center (2420 Columbia House Blvd., Suite 100, Vancouver). Having enjoyed a strong first year of business, the franchisees are now preparing to open two additional locations within the city.
The first of the two new locations is scheduled to open in the coming weeks at Salmon Creek Square, a retail center located at 910 NE Tenney Rd. in Salmon Creek. The other new location, coming to Columbia Tech Center at Mill Plain Crossing South (18919 SE Mill Plain Boulevard, Suite 110, Vancouver), will open summer 2015.
Pegged as a healthy alternative to traditional fast food, Freshii features customizable menus of made-to-order soups, salads, burritos, wraps, rice bowls and smoothies designed to nourish and energize people on the go.
The brand’s focus on promoting a healthy, feel-good lifestyle is what originally sold the Gillespies on bringing the franchise to Southwest Washington.
“We really strive to build relationships with our guests, along with great food, that is how we built our following,” Doug Gillespie.
“I wanted to be part of something bigger, focusing on more than just food,” he added. “We are part of the community. We use biodegradable bowls and recyclable products as much as we can. We find ways to give back.”
Gillespie cited the Free the Children partnership with Freshii as an example of the franchise’s philanthropy. Proceeds from special edition reusable bowls go to the charity which builds school kitchens and gardens to nourish and energize children in developing countries.
Despite their rapid growth, the father and son team experienced their fair share of challenges along the way.
“The first piece of advice I received in starting the restaurant was that 85 percent of running a business is spent on managing employees. A year in, I can’t really argue with that, except, maybe it is more like 90 percent,” Doug laughed.
As with most restaurants, Freshii has turnover as employees go back to school or chase their own career goals. In a business that prides itself on building quality relationships with its customers, that becomes challenging as personnel changes, Doug said.
“We strive to maintain familiar faces the best we can,” he said, spending much of his own time in the restaurant visiting with guests personally.
Adding two new locations to the mix, Doug acknowledged that the turnover challenge isn’t going away, but he said it is a challenge he is ready to overcome.
“I’m excited to grow the brand [and] to reach into neighborhoods closer to people’s homes or work with each new location,” he said, adding that the new restaurants will also feature breakfast hours and menu items.
As for the future, the Gillespies don’t expect to stop at just three Clark County locations.
“This is turning into something very special,” said Doug. “We envision Freshii being the Starbuck’s of healthy food, accessible to everyone. We could have kiosk locations, stand alone restaurants… we aren’t going to stop with three stores.”
