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Wilmette man. Business owner. Meathead
Jednorowicz owns, operates five Meatheads restaurants
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May 18, 2011 | 02:26 AM
Tom Jednorowicz is a meathead. It says so right on the job title of his business card.
No surprise, perhaps, given that the Wilmette resident is co-founder of Meatheads Burgers and Fries, a high-end burger and fries joint with five locations around the state, including the mall at the corner of Willow and Waukegan roads in Northbrook.
Jednorowicz doesn't know yet whether it has the chops to become the In-N-Out Burger of the Midwest, but given his track record, that's certainly possible.
His executive career as an "early-stage concept guy" spans 14 years in developing and executing large-scale retail expansions, and he was instrumental in directing the explosive growth of Einstein Bros. Bagels and Potbelly Sandwich Works.
Jednorowicz "woke up one morning and resigned" from Potbelly, and shortly thereafter started looking for a new challenge.
"I have always been a proponent of offering food that appeals to as broad a spectrum of the population as possible and I wanted to do something on my own," he said.
He and real estate developer Doug Reichl teamed up and the first Meatheads opened in Bloomington, Ill. in 2007. The concept is located between the fast/casual and casual dining segments of the market, said Jednorowicz, who received an MBA from the University of Connecticut in 1992.
The food is high quality, with the service "knocked down a peg," meaning you order at the counter so there's no need to tip.
There are no loose ends at Meatheads, as befits the successful, detail-oriented businessman.
That starts with the product. Charlie Braggs, an alumnus of Ambria, helped develop the menu, which is limited as a means to produce affordable, fine dining-quality food.
The burger is 100 percent ground chuck, and contains no trimmings or filler. The process of cooking fresh cut fries is continually tweaked to account for changes in the molecular makeup of a potato as it ages.
But that is just the beginning.
"The way we approached Meatheads, it is more than just food to me, it is the experience," Jednorowicz said. "We focus on being family friendly, and trying to provide the casual dining experience in a more convenient way."
That means curved booths that are perfect for mom, dad and a couple of kids; iconic photos on the walls that evoke local memories; scrupulously clean facilities and a three-day music track in which every song "is there for a reason."
Jednorowicz recalls a recent "meathead moment" in which a mother and daughter were sitting listening to a song, the daughter was going to a prom, and the mother told her that was a song that had been played at her prom 25 years ago.
Giving back to the community is not just a slogan at Meatheads, said Jednorowicz: "It is as important a part of the business model as the quality of our food and the attentiveness of our service."
To that end, Meatheads has hosted more than 70 events since October, including one for the Northfield Community Nursery School, in which it gives back 10 percent of sales to designated groups.
The Wilmette Baseball Association has implemented a Meathead of the Game program to award kids for the "Meathead characteristics" of hard work and determination. There are reading programs, school assembly presentations and a "random acts of kindness" donations.
22nd Century Media's Athlete of the Month is also sponsored by Meatheads.
"By taking care of the community and being instrumental in their lives that behavior gets reciprocated and it earns loyalty and allegiance," said Jednorowicz, who has lived in Wilmette since 2002.
He and his wife Kerrily have two daughters, attending Harper and Highcrest, respectively.
Looking forward five years, Jednorowicz can see owning and operating 20 to 25 Meatheads around the state, certainly a downshift from his Potbelly and Einstein Bros. days.
"The reality is that to do something that has integrity, from a business model standpoint it can only grow so fast and maintain the caliber of the product and level of service," said Jedronowicz, who has used his own assets to fund and grow the business. "This is a marathon, not a sprint. It is about opening one profitable restaurant at a time."
For those who wonder whether the name Meatheads comes from Archie Bunker's nickname for his son-in-law in the famous '70s sitcom "All in the Family," the answer is "no."
Jednorowicz hired a branding company to produce a name, and when their ideas proved "awful," he contacted friends for help. One of them, a comedian in New York City, came up with "meatheads."
"As soon as we saw it we said this is it!" he said.
Thus was born the first of many "meathead moments," and Jednorowicz' business title.
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