Jul 29

Crumbl Cookies set to open doors this week in Mentor (Ohio)

National chain aims to draw people in with sweet smells

By Jean Bonchak – Published July 27, 2021

Crumbl Cookies in Mentor is the popular franchise’s first store to open in Northeast Ohio. (Jean Bonchak)

In a move that would make Cookie Monster happy, Crumbl Cookies is set to open its doors in Mentor (Ohio). The new shop. with its modern, minimalist interior, is set to host a grand opening on July 30 at 9662 Mentor Ave., across from Target. Currently paired with its distinctive setup is a singular product — enormous cookies created in more than 150 specialty flavors that are offered on a weekly rotating basis.

A prolific research and development department in Utah, where Crumbl Cookies originated, develops new recipes “inspired by popular flavors, foods, desserts of all kinds — from pies to cakes to candies and more,” according to the company website. A themed “Carnival” week recently tendered caramel apple, cotton candy and cinnamon fry bread varieties, along with chilled sugar and milk chocolate chip, the only staple selections on hand daily.

Andrew Fonda, who moved to Mentor from Montana to open the franchise, worked as a chemical engineer prior to specializing in the sweet treats.  He said that his initial introduction to Crumbl Cookies while visiting a shop a few years ago was an enticing experience. “The open bakery… you smell the cookies, see the cookies, it was kind of a cool space,” he said.  Based on a suggestion from friends, he decided to check out the Northeast Ohio market, scouting possible locations. Ultimately, Mentor fit the bill.  “We really like the Mentor area and the communities surrounding it, and we chose a convenient location where people will already be out shopping,” he said. “It’s a great retail area.”

Andrew Fonda is the owner/operator of the new Crumbl Cookies set to open on July 30 in Mentor. (Jean Bonchak)

Visitors to the store will find sleek black-and-white décor accompanied by punches of pink, a confectionary color used for their streamlined, signature cookie boxes. An open-concept kitchen allows patrons to take a peek at the baking process from its beginning, blending ingredients from scratch, to the final decorated product. Orders can be placed online or in-house. Delivery is also available. Fonda noted that the bulk of business takes place on site, where customers capture the cookies’ sweet, sugary smells.

Since its inception approximately four years ago, more than 200 Crumbl Cookies stores have opened in 32 states, and several more are planned. Fonda is already working on an additional establishment for the Mayfield area. A huge social media presence definitely has helped the company’s quick and steady growth. The first TikTok video featuring its cookies drew more than a million views. And its “Unbox the Pink Box” YouTube videos, which cleverly introduce the four specialty cookies being featured for the week, typically garner thousands of looks.

A June article titled “How Crumbl Cookies took over TikTok” by Maile McCann on modernretail.com states that “The keys to the brand’s success are a rotating flavor drop model, social media savvy and a commitment to digital integration at every touchpoint.” Among the batches and varieties presented, one cookie flavor rises to the top layer of crowd favorites. “Our milk chocolate chip is a staple on our menu for a reason,” said Anna Tibbitts, the company’s public relations specialist. “It’s not only award-winning but was the first cookie on our menu when Crumbl started.”

All cookies are boxed and may be purchased separately or in four-, six- or 12-pack assortments. Smaller-sized cookies are available for catering orders only. Boxes can also be customized with a bow, sticker and note for special gift-giving. Store hours are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 8 a.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays; and closed Sundays.

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May 08

Local healthcare workers shown support through community effort

By: KMTV Staff – Posted at 6:53 PM, May 07, 2020

 

OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — This week, area hospital workers were surprised with free lunches thanks to a joint effort by the Salvation Army.  It’s meant to salute those on the frontlines of this ongoing pandemic.

How the Salvation Army honored healthcare workers.

The Salvation Army says it’s part of a three-state campaign between South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska…and it’s called heart for our heroes.  The lunches were packed up by local restaurants and were delivered today.

”We have had such an outpouring of love and support,” said healthcare worker Janice Fonda. “I’m so grateful and all of our staff is to everyone, the Salvation Army, Blue Cross Blue Shield and all of the individuals and corporations and small businesses that have reached out to us. It’s just amazing. I have the best job in the world because I see all the good that’s happening”

Thursday wasn’t the only event. More lunches will be delivered Friday.

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Jan 22

Southern Indiana 5th grader reunites with first responders who helped save her life during basketball game

Jan 19, 2018 by Jessica Bard

Southern Indiana 5th grader reunites with first responders who helped save her life during basketball game.

Carly Fonda was playing in a Saturday basketball tournament just two weeks ago at Floyd Central High School when everything went wrong. The fifth grader had the game of her career, and her team was soon scheduled to be back out on the court for another one. “I felt pretty good through the first half,” she said. “And then, it was the third quarter, and I was not feeling very well.”

Carly asked her coach to come off the court. She couldn’t breathe. “He thought I was just messing around, and I fell out of my chair,” she said. Her heart suddenly stopped beating. “They were just like ‘She’s having a seizure,’” Carly remembers. “And then they checked my pulse, and I did not have one.”

A group of strangers in the crowd jumped into action. A nurse and a firefighter were among them, and they called for an AED shock to revive her. “I can’t thank them enough,” Carly said. “I don’t know what to do. We can’t find them, but I really just want to say thank you.”

Floyd Central High School is a public high school in the New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated School Corporation and is located in Southern Indiana, in Floyds Knobs, an unincorporated area in Floyd County, Indiana.

With mom and dad close by Friday, Carly was reunited with two of her guardian angels. “We always say her angels came out and took care of business,” said Beth Fonda, Carly’s mother. “So thank you all so much.” “You guys did not know me a lot, but you helped save my life,” Carly said to nurse Karrie Gricius and firefighter, James Richey. “I just can’t explain it.”

Carly and her family said they can’t express enough gratitude for everyone who helped save her life, which led to a diagnosis of a rare heart defect then open-heart surgery. It’s ”extremely [rare] from what I understand,” Gricius said. “It’s less than 10 percent that have this genetic anomaly, and the mortality rate is extremely high as well.”

Fonda is expected to make a full recovery, and eventually get back up to playing the game she loves. “Your incident actually is probably going to end up saving a lot more lives,” Richey told Carly. “There are several organizations that are actually purchasing AED’s that never had them because this was a big eye opener for them.”

Copyright 2018 WDRB Media. All rights reserved.

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Jun 01

Forensic exam shows Texas woman committed suicide in Cherokee County by burning herself

Updated: May 29, 2015, By Jordan Aubey, Reporter

News release by CheroShannon Fondakee County Sheriff’s Office—

The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office and Kansas Bureau of Investigation have been investigating the death of 35 year-old Shannon Fonda since her body was discovered near Scammon on March 23rd, 2015.

After identifying Ms. Fonda, investigators made contact with her family in Texas, and learned it was not uncommon for her to leave home without notice for periods of time.

During the course of the investigation, detectives conducted numerous interviews documenting Ms. Fonda’s departure from Midland, Texas on March 14, 2015.  Based upon those interviews, surveillance video from several establishments Ms. Fonda stopped at along the way and financial records, authorities know that Ms. Fonda was traveling alone and ran out of money leaving her stranded in Cherokee County.

An autopsy on Ms. Fonda was conducted in Kansas City and it was noted that while she had non-life threatening cuts, which were consistent with self-inflicted injuries, her death was caused by severe burns to 90 % of her body.

Crime Scene Investigators collected numerous items at the scene and DNA testing along with other forensic examinations were conducted.  All testing, including DNA analysis on the gas can at the scene, showed Ms. Fonda was the only one who handled the gas can.

As a result of the investigation, Ms. Fonda’s death is being ruled a suicide.

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Mar 20

Distributor Profile: John Day Company

Thu, 03/19/2015 – 8:00am
Mike Hockett, Associate Editor

From left, John Day Co. Outside Sales Manager Steve Regan, President & CFO Nancy Kurtenbach, CEO John Fonda, and Inside Sales Manager & COO Duane Chamberlain.

From left, John Day Co. Outside Sales Manager Steve Regan, President & CFO Nancy Kurtenbach, CEO John Fonda, and Inside Sales Manager & COO Duane Chamberlain.

If there’s one word that describes what has allowed John Day Company to remain a successful, family-owned company for 106 years, it’s stability.

That comes from the Omaha, NE-based industrial and agricultural supplier’s management, where its top four members have a combined 144 years of experience with the company. CEO John Fonda, great grandson of founder John Day Sr., has been there for 35 years, 20 of those as president. Current president and CFO, Nancy Kurtenbach, has been there 29 years. COO and Inside Sales Manager Duane Chamberlain is 37 years in, while Outside Sales Manager Steve Regan is at 43 years.

That wealth of experience is what drives success at John Day today.

“It’s our level of technical support and our knowledge base,” says Kurtenbach. “We have a lot of long-term employees who have been in the business and the industry. Someone can call one of them and they won’t need a part number. We know our products. We know where to get products. There’s a lot of depth and resources there that really set us apart.”

“We’re 106 years old, and none of us look that age,” Fonda says with a laugh. “I think it’s given us a really strong base in our region. We’ve build a good reputation out here. Our customers know who the John Day Company is and we’re going to stand by the products that we sell.”

The Personal Touch

Being an independent company of around 100 employees, many have to wear multiple hats for JDC to provide its myriad of services besides just product supply. Given the rapid escalation of merger and acquisition activity in the market, the company says its stability is what has attracted new hires. “I think a lot of people – they work for someone who gets bought and they get laid off, and maybe hired back – I think our applicants see John Day Company as a very stable company, and family-oriented,” says Kurtenbach.

Part of the appeal of working at JDC is also its accessibility. With many employees taking on multiple roles, they get to see and touch and have a hand in many operations. That, and they can contact Nancy by just stopping by her office when need be. That’s a luxury most wholesale chains can’t offer. “They know who Nancy is as the president of the company. She’s there every day,” Fonda says. “If you’re working for XYZ and at a branch, you may never meet the president. Our employees have developed personal relationships with all of the management team over time, and it’s a value that they can talk to anybody at any time about pretty much any subject.”

A look inside John Day Co.'s industrial warehouse space.

A look inside John Day Co.’s industrial warehouse space.

Value-Added

John Day Company can technically be classified as a distributor, but that wouldn’t give justice to what the company is really about. JDC is just as invested, if not arguably more, in its value-added services. It’s those services – nearly two dozen that the company promotes – that make JDC stand out from other independents, as well as their wholesale competitors.

Some of JDC’s most well-known services include power tool repair, hose fabrication, bandsaw welding, chain sling fabrication, and tool regrind, along with a number of safety solution audits, inspections, and product training.

A look inside John Day Co.’s industrial warehouse space.
“We have continued to make ourselves known and unique enough in the marketplace to be different than the catalogue houses,” Fonda says. “When you see the large corporate-managed distributors, they have a huge amount of resources to decide one day they want to get into this, into that – things that 2-3 years later may not be the focus of where they’re going. I think the things we’re doing we believe are going to be long-term in nature for our customers. The things we continue to support were not built on a whim.”

JDC has been offering many of those services for 15 years or more. Step in the tool repair department and you’ll find specialist Jim Katzer at work on something, a service he has led for 10 years. In the re-grind room, JDC can drastically extend the life of something like a carbide steel gear cutting hob by sharpening it 16-20 times. Regan estimates a brand new high-quality hob can cost between $2,500-4,000 – whereas JDC charges only $250-300 per re-sharpen. That makes such a service extremely valuable.

Fonda says JDC initially got into power tool repairing when customers said it was taking 9 months for them to get some tools back that they sent for repairs to other sources. JDC does it within a month.

While he knows his customers appreciate those services, they still tend to be thankless jobs. “They really enjoyed that when it happened, and kind of forget it over time,” he says. “They just sort of expect it in the future. Then we have to meet those standards.”

Kurtenbach says a lot of the positive feedback the value-added services get aren’t so much from the end user, but from the managers of customers who want to see their associates do what they do best and have a resource to have tools repaired, or made. “A lot of manufacturers – the maintenance people like to do these things, but you see their upper management say, ‘no, you’re busy keeping our equipment up and running. Let’s outsource some of these services to John Day,’” she says. “I think the feedback we’re getting sometimes is at a higher level.”

What’s New?

Fonda and Kurtenbach emphasized that JDC always has a project on the table to increase the company’s efficiencies. Two years ago it purchased new software that was needed to move ahead in its e-content. JDC has a full e-commerce website and is in the process of revamping it to improve its content. “Customers who use it are giving us feedback. We realized there are areas for improvement and that’s why we’re tackling it,” says Chamberlain. Less than 5 percent of JDC’s sales came through e-commerce in 2014, but Chamberlain noted that would be a narrow definition of the company’s online orders since it doesn’t account for EDI sales, of which all of JDC’s integrated supply sites use.

Speaking of EDI, John Day is working on improving automation payables, aiming to allow invoices from vendors to come in EDI right through its ERP system. Kurtenbach says that will eventually help eliminate overhead in the accounts payable department, and make transactions more accurate.

On the CRM front, JDC finished implementing Android Tablets at the end of 2014 for its outside salespeople. The tablets can be operated audibly and transcribe spoken dialogue making it easy to update customer information and call reports. The devices and the CRM software speed up and simplify when the salesperson needs to pull up customer quotes, open orders, and product information.

Fighting the Independent Fight

The Omaha region certainly hasn’t been immune to the industrial distribution merger & acquisition landscape. Midwest Industrial Tool was acquired by DGI Supply in April 2011, and Fuchs Machinery was bought by Blackhawk Industrial one month later. Now, John Day is left as one of the few independents left in the area.

“At one point you’re used to competing with other independents that have a select group of suppliers, and some of those suppliers crossed over and some didn’t. So you each had some uniqueness back in the day,” says Fonda. “Somebody had Greenfield (Manufacturing), one would have 3M, one would have Norton. So we were the last of the Mohicans.”

Suddenly having to compete with DGI and Blackhawk made Fonda and JDC re-examine its role in the industrial business. Along with developing a management team, Kurtenbach took over Fonda’s role as president in June 2014. Fonda says his focus today is more on vendor relations and marketing in the area.

Overall, the focus for JDC, now more than ever, has been on how it can leverage its value-added services to set itself apart. “How does John Day Company now go into a marketplace when you have MSC, DGI, Grainger – those who have everything, and then ask how you are going to stand out?” Fonda says. “The new focus for us has to be to add value to the suppliers we determine are going to help make our future tomorrow.”

As one of the region’s last independent distributors, JDC has partnered closely with its top suppliers. Fonda said JDC has been determining what key suppliers it wants to market with, and hopes customers can see the difference between a company like John Day as opposed to a large wholesaler.

“I think, really, the suppliers do see us as a business partner,” Kurtenbach says. “Even on the customer side, they are more open to working with us and our suppliers because of the long-term relationships.”

Kurtenbach notes how at larger companies, there are still a lot of local employees who have always been there, but buyouts have deteriorated the relationships with customers that John Day maintains. A lot of the business relationships JDC currently has go back 50 or 60 years – the same companies John’s dad and grandfather worked with.

So has Fonda and John Day Company been approached to be acquired? Indeed. Fonda said some of the wholesalers who have contacted JDC are ones mentioned above. But given the history of JDC, he has no intention of giving in. Fonda says he relishes the unique opportunities that being an independent offers – like flexibility, having resources in-house and always ready, and not being tied down to having to work with someone in different locations for different projects.

“We’ve always been a family-owned business,” Fonda says. “We have a hundred associates, and my dad used to always say you could take that times four, so there’s 400 people out there we’re feeding. And we have a good legacy in this marketplace of 106 years.”

Fonda also has some words of wisdom for independent distributors who may be in the same boat as JDC.

“You can’t be looking over your shoulder at what everyone else is doing,” he says. “You see the capabilities that the major players have today – they certainly outweigh what you can do. So you have to figure out what you can be good at, what is your core business, and what you are able to have your people focus on. And then you have to run your own race.”

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