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Date: 7/25/2023
BELCHERTOWN — Krispy’s opened its doors to Belchertown over one year ago and already has plans to become a franchise.
Owner Yianni Gertsios said, “This location is hopefully one of many. We are looking to franchise this concept out. It’s proven to be very successful; the food is very tasty. The design itself is easy to replicate so I think any smart investor that comes along and sees what we’ve done here will definitely want to jump on board. That is definitely the long term goal.”
Gertsios said he is passionate about the food industry and ready to take the next step with the restaurant.
He added, “It’s definitely a longer [process] but basically, we would find locations, open the store and either sell off a portion of it to someone to run or sell the whole thing off and then someone run the whole thing while they collect everything and only pay us a small percentage like franchise fees and stuff. It’s not too difficult to franchise out but it is a little more on the expensive side.”
Community members became concerned upon seeing that Krispy’s was listed for sale, but Gertsios calmed everyone down by saying that the restaurant is there to stay no matter who runs it.
He said, “People were worried, but I reassured them, we are not going anywhere even if we ourselves do go somewhere the place itself will not be going anywhere. Krispy’s is here to stay.”
Krispy’s is located at 146 State St. and offers chicken, hamburgers, seafood, ice cream and more.
Krispy’s hosted a one year celebration on July 5 that included free ice cream to show gratitude to the community.
Gertsios said, “It went great. We had a lot of support from the community, a lot of kids came out. We had a bouncy house here; we had some outdoor games. Everyone had a good time. It’s definitely a huge milestone for me. This is my first restaurant, so this was definitely something I wanted to achieve at some point. I’m glad it happened with my first one. They usually say the first year is the toughest and we managed to make it through.”
Gertsios said the community has welcomed Krispy’s with open arms an continues to show their support and leave nothing but positive reviews.
“It’s been very, very overwhelmingly positive. The town loves us, we love the town, we love serving the town. Everyone that comes in here either says we have the best burger they’ve ever had, the best chicken sandwich they’ve ever had, there so happy we’re here. We are happy to be here,” he said.
Gertsios said that his passion for food along with the restaurant’s social media following helps with updating the menu and giving the community food specials they want to see.
“My favorite part for me is playing around with the menu, seeing what people want. We have a huge following on Facebook so I like asking people’s opinion there on what we should do for our next specials. I am a big foodie myself so it is putting things on the menu that I love that I can share with everyone in the town,” he said.
Gertsios runs the business with the help of his mother Phyllis.
He said, “Without my mother who is like my backbone, she’s the brains and I’m the brawn. I know how to work the store, she kind of helps with all the back end stuff because that is not my strong suit and without her, I definitely would not be where I am today so I thank her a thousand times over.”
With year one being in the books, Gertsios said he hopes that Krispy’s will continue to provide a place for Belchertown residents to enjoy.
He added, “Thanks to everyone in the community that has shown us nothing but love and support. We appreciate every last one of them. We thank everyone for a year of wonderful business and we hope for many more years to come.”