Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
The Cheeze Melt opens in Coventry Mall
Restaurant focuses on grilled cheese specialties
NORTH COVENTRY » When it comes to comfort food, a grilled cheese sandwich is likely at the top of many people’s list. Quick and relatively simple to make, they’re easy to eat and can be made in a variety of ways.
And of course — grilled cheese sandwiches are delicious.
Gary Coppola has opened The Cheeze Melt in the food court at the Coventry Mall in North Coventry — a sandwich shop specializing in grilled cheese. In the process, he is achieving his goal of owning his own business.
The Cheeze Melt opened Sept. 4 in the front corner of the food court after several months of development. Open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., The Cheeze Melt serves breakfast sandwiches all day, and offers seven specialty grilled lunch/ dinner sandwiches, soup, fresh made potato chips, fresh baked cookies, French fries and funnel fries, (funnel cake in fry form).
On opening day, the new sandwich shop served about 120 customers. Since then, an
“I’m not a trained chef, but being a single parent, I have been cooking for a long time. I came up with some of the recipes, others I have been making for a long time.” — Gary Coppola, president/ owner, The Cheeze Melt
average of 100 customers each day visit the shop, according to Coppola, who is president and owner of The Cheeze Melt. His partner in the business is Susanna Koppany, vice president.
“So far we have been well received. The first day was kind of crazy. That first day people had to wait a bit, but we took care of them. Things are steady now,” Coppola said.
Customer service is a focus of The Cheeze Melt, and making customers feel cared for.
“Getting to know people, welcome them and engage with them is important for a restaurant,” Koppany said.
The food at The Cheeze Melt
is made to order. Customers are greeted and their name taken when they order.
“We ask them to take a seat and we’ll call them when the order is ready,” Coppola said.
“We’re much more personal. This is quick service but more an upscale casual,” Koppany added.
For Coppola, the endeavor is the next chapter in his professional life. In April, he retired from his job as general manager of Journal Register Offset in Exton, a newspaper printing facility for Digital First Media newspapers, including this newspaper.
In all, Coppola spent 40 years in the newspaper industry – starting while still in high school in Yonkers, N.Y.
“I’m not a trained chef, but being a single parent, I have been cooking for a long time,” he said, adding that he is the father of four sons. “I came up with some of the recipes, others I have been making for a long time. My bagel melt I have been making for the boys since they were little.”
Coppola’s family has been involved in the food industry for about 75 years, and he admits that if he hadn’t gone into the newspaper industry, he would likely have done the same.
Koppany, a sales and marketing professional, said her family also has a food industry background.
“This has been different than some of my other experiences,” Koppany said, adding that she has played a background role before. “This is very hands on — there are long hours for a new business. But we’re supporting each other and making sure everything is covered and done.”
Coppola said he remembers the exact moment when he and Koppany made the decision to start the business. Last November, he said he had his grandchildren at the mall to see Santa. Sitting in the food court, he said, almost every table was taken.
“This spot was dark, and had been empty for a couple of years,” he said. That day, the only food option available for his then 2½ and 1½ year old grandchildren was pizza.
“We stared at this space — and decided we needed to put something in here. It took us a few more days to come up with the idea of a grilled cheese sandwich shop.”
He said he and Koppany felt that the mall would be a good location. The Cheeze Melt offers a different food option than is typically found in mall food courts. In addition, Coppola said he was aware Community Health and Dental Care would be opening a new facility in Coventry Mall, and clients would be looking for a dining option.
While franchised grilled cheese shops have been popping up around the country, The Cheeze Melt is not a franchise.
“Since we weren’t a franchise — we had to do it all ourselves. It was a challenge to me but a challenge I enjoyed,” Coppola said.
Once they had the idea, Coppola said he presented a business plan to the management of Coventry Mall. Within a day, he had a lease offer from Penn-Mark Management Co., which owns the mall.
Once BB&T Bank confirmed the financing, Coppola said it was on to, “full out design, blueprints and construction.”
Everything needed to be decided and designed, he said — the logo, the color scheme, the name, the menu, financing.
“We wanted to incorporate his( Gary’ s) background in the news business,” Koppany added. “We use newspaper on the trays — as a liner — and the cups are newspaper related. It seems to be something people like.”
The Cheeze Melt uses Boar’s Head meats and cheeses. In addition, Coppola said they sell Hope’s Cookies, made by an area company.
“What we’re striving for is a local flair and good quality,” he said.
Customers have their choice of one of the allday breakfast sandwiches or one of the seven specialty sandwiches. Coppola said the Diablo Melt (roasted turkey, 3-pepper Colby Jack cheese, red pepper spread on sourdough) has been popular. Or, they can choose their own combination of bread (six options), cheese (six options) and meat (seven options).
Coppola said The Cheeze Melt offers call ahead ordering, and he anticipates offering in-mall delivery for mall employees. The Cheeze Melt currently has seven full- and part-time employees, and Coppola said he anticipates hiring a couple of additional employees.
While he does cook when needed, the goal, according to Coppola is to get to a point where he and Koppany can be the faces of The Cheeze Melt, greeting customers, getting to know them and making sure they have a great dining experience.
For more information visit www.thecheezemelt.com or www.facebook.com/thecheezemelt/