Philadelphia Inquirer Business Spotlight - Corporate climber is now Top Dog

By: Peter Binzen

Corporate climber is now top dog

One of the notable shifts along the Main Line in recent years has been Wayne's transformation from a sleepy suburb into a live-wire village of coffeehouses, upscale restaurants, smart shops, and a five-screen movie theater.

In Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There, social critic and New York Times columnist David Brooks, a native of the place, described Wayne as a paradigm for the "changing ingredients of elite status" in America today.

Yet with all the manifestations of high living and free spending in Wayne, there's a somewhat shocking newcomer: entrepreneur Todd S. Chusid's hot-dog joint at 11 Louella Court.

Chusid, 39, gave up a $250,000-a-year consultancy to open Johnnie's Dog House on March 15. Instead of traveling widely for such clients as Bank of America Corp., Dell Inc. and Verizon Wireless, he now turns out dogs, fries, onion rings, chips and chili, as well as soft drinks, milkshakes and ice cream, for fast-food aficionados seven days a week.

The proprietor is in the kitchen every day. And there's clearly a market for his output.

"To break even, we had to get to $800 a day in sales," Chusid said. "We did it right away. In the spring, we were doing $1,400 to $2,000 a day, and I think we can improve on that." Johnnie's Dog House is small but chic, and, in the variety of its offerings, as creative as the pricey Tacquet restaurant in the nearby Wayne Hotel.

Hot dogs aren't just hot dogs at Chusid's parlor. His menu exploits the notion that "every town has its own style hot dog." There's the "Boston Back Bay Beanie Weanie" (with baked beans and chopped onions), the Italian-style dog (grilled potatoes and green peppers), Texas-style (chili, jalapenos and bacon), and the Philly "Freedom Dog" (mustard, relish, chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, bacon and chili).

However, the owner's personal preference is for "Baltimore's Best" (with cole slaw and bacon.) It sells for $2.50. None of his dogs sells for more than $2.85, and two dogs and a soft drink go for $4.50.

Johnnie's Dog House is actually a joint venture. Chusid's wife, Christina, helped with the careful planning that preceded the opening, and she keeps the books and the payroll for a part-time workforce that is the equivalent of 2.5 to 3 full-timers.

Chusid's early business experience gave no hint of the career change to come. After graduating from Northeastern University in 1988, he joined Johnson & Johnson as a statistician. He was with J&J for only two years but in that time met his future wife. They were married in 1993, and now live in Berwyn with their three daughters: Samantha, 8, Sophia, 6, and Rose, 2.

In 1990, Chusid left J&J for Information Resources Inc., a Chicago-based marketing-research firm. "They asked me to build a consulting practice out of Pennsylvania," said Chusid, who had been living in Manhattan.

He moved to Center City, and "built everything from scratch," opening an office in Plymouth Meeting and hiring about 20 people. "IRI was very small," he said. "They allowed you to take responsibility. We became IRI's largest region, with $40 million in revenues after just 18 months."

However, Chusid, eager to "move up to the next level," left IRI in 1995 for KPMG, a large accounting firm with a consulting practice. As a KPMG partner, he and the team of consultants that he headed saved clients $15 million to $20 million a year based on "technical and business process improvements," Chusid said.

He knew partners who were making $700,000 a year, and expected to reach that level himself. But in 2001, KPMG spun off its consulting operation into BearingPoint Inc., a McLean, Va., company.

Chusid was uncomfortable in his new role as a corporate executive with BearingPoint. "I was laying off people every week," he said. "You fire people and make your numbers. That's just a fact."

For some time, he had been thinking of going off on his own. The changes convinced him that he should leave. "It was the right time," he said. "My wife and I had been talking about it for 10 years."

Christina Chusid said her husband's job had placed a strain on the family. "Todd traveled from Monday to Friday virtually every week," she said. "Back and forth to the West Coast, to Chicago, to Florida. We didn't see much of him."

As someone who "craved hot dogs," she welcomed his idea for a store featuring that popular comestible. On the other hand, she saw a "huge risk" in his leaving a well-paid position with a big company to venture on his own into the problematic restaurant business.

"My parents wouldn't even talk to me," she said. "They were in denial."

In planning the store, however, Chusid engaged in the same systematic thinking that had characterized his work with clients at IRI and KPMG.
"I did a lot of research," he said. "I met with food suppliers, paper suppliers, people in business. I went to accountants and financial advisers."

He borrowed $150,000 from Wachovia, and leased for $2,000 a month the space formerly occupied by a deli shop. At the front, there was room for just six chairs at two tables and 10 bar stools along the walls. But Chusid placed a bench out front and tables in three parking slots reserved for the restaurant.
His sister, Deborah, a Manhattan graphics designer, developed the store's logo, and Gruber Design Associates, of Havertown, did the makeover.

Michael Gruber said his firm gave Johnnie's "a contemporary take" with flashy colors of "mustard yellow" and "ketchup red." But it also provided a "retro scene" with old photos of people chomping on hot dogs.

Even in the restroom, there's a photo of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz sharing a big dog. And Bob Dole also makes the scene photographically in the toilet, although he's just standing and talking.

In searching for high-quality grub, Chusid said "I tasted 12 kinds of fries, 6 dogs and 5 onion rings." He chose U.S. Foods, of Allentown, as his meat supplier, Pepperidge Farm for rolls, and Hank's Beverage Co., of Trevose, for root beer and other soft drinks.

Chusid figures he spent about $100,000 getting started. And Johnnie's - it was not named for anyone in particular - got noticed. Philadelphia magazine included it in its recent Best of Philly issue.

His friend, Philo Thompson, with whom Chusid had worked at KPMG, flew in from Denver just to see Johnnie's. "I think it's fabulous," he said.

Perhaps most important, Christina Chusid's parents changed their minds. "Now they love it," she said. "They came down from North Jersey for Wayne's jazz festival, and Dad was at the grill cooking hot dogs."

Contact columnist Peter Binzen at BusinessNews@phillynews.com. Read his recent work at http://go.philly.com/peterbinzen

Todd and Christina Chusid were reluctant to give up his well-paying corporate job with three children, Rose, 2, Sophia, 6, and Amantha, 8, but grind and frequent travel of the work prompted the change. The Chusids leased a former deli in Wayne. Because of its small size, they added a bench out front and tables in three parking slots reserved for the restaurant.

Todd S. Chusid gave up a high-paying, high-stress corporate job to open a hot-dog shop, Johnnie's Dog House, with his wife in Wayne.

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