Residents of Yenagoa in Bayelsa State can now enjoy meals courtesy of Pepperoni Foods Limited, a fast growing restaurant chain in the Niger Delta region.
The branch is at Mbiama/Yenagoa Road in the state capital. It is the biggest of six outlets operated by by the firm in Rivers, Akwa, Ibom, Bayelsa and Cross River states.
It houses a fast service point, restaurant, bar and an photo studio. It is designed to accommodate warehousing facilities and catering training centre.
Speaking at the pre-opening ceremony, which coincided with the company’s yearly Children’s Day party, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr Eric Idogun, said: “The company gradually gained wide acceptance among various demographic strata and soon became the preferred restaurant in its locations. From beginning, our objective was very clear – to provide quality healthy food service to people in a warm and friendly environment. This vision has continued to drive Pepperoni, which is the reason the brand has remained consistent in its product offerings across locations.”
He explained that the third outlet is sited in Bayelsa because the state is considered ‘Pepperoni’s home’. He said Bayelsans welcomed him with open arms when he was in the state to open business in 2005, a disposition that made him see the area as home.
”Here in 2005, despite the absence of any record and collateral, the company took a risk and applied for funding from the state government under the Hospitality and Tourism Industry Funding Programme and received support for expansion from President Goodluck Jonathan when he was governor. The fund, alongside prudent and efficient management system, enabled the company to remodel and expand its operations in the state.
“It catapulted us to the enviable level we are today. As a result, we have been able to build a successful business; the company has been able to build six modern outlets across key Niger Delta states, making it one of the fastest growing and leading brand in the food service sector,” he said.
He noted that the outlet is crucial as it marks a major step in its vision towards establishing a catering school and farm to serve and raise entrepreneurs in the food and culinary industry.
He said the desire of the Pepperoni team is to groom business owners who recognise no limits in their skills/abilities and trust their ingenuity to take them to rare heights in the food industry.
“Our business is built around our customers as they are the reason we open our doors everyday. As an organisation, we have identified service excellence as a product of different factors. Capacity building at our outlets does not only focus on skills but world-class service delivery.
“As much as possible, we try not to create a marked segmentation in the type of clientele we attract. Our dining environment and experience is dynamic enough to serve individuals of different age and background. For instance, our new outlets have secluded dinning and bars for discerning customers. We believe that all customers, irrespective of class, should feel welcome and comfortable at any of our outlets,” he said.
