Steve Mensing, Editor
♦ Amidst Downtown Salisbury’s sea of vacancies and blight stands a beacon for the way back: Hap’s Grill, the Chili Dog King of North Carolina. Hap’s Grill stands as the most successful business and popular eatery on all of Main Street and for that matter all of Salisbury. Hap’s Grill knows the secrets of successful business that ought to serve as a guidepost for businesses that not only want to survive, but thrive in corpse-like Salisbury.
• Meet a need (fast-serve tasty chili dogs and cheeseburgers ).
• Position your business well (between Salisbury’s busiest location: the courthouse and the Downtown’s flat-lined Main Street)
• Have your food made to order in a jiff–no waiting even with people packing the doorway.
• Undersell every other eatery.
• Have a no frills outdoor eating area well suited for people in a rush to get back to work before the boss notices their absence.
• Provide friendly and helpful service. Hap’s staff gets to know customers on a first name basis almost immediately. “Hey Steve–you want a Cheerwine with those 3 chili dogs?”
• Hap’s handpicked staff are wellknown for their hand-eye coordination and fast-twitch muscles for speed in operating the grill, serving customers, and working the cash register. These guys would make high-grades at a NFL Combine geared toward fast food. No La-La land hang-time for slow-moving and confused staff who get orders wrong and leave food out of the bag. Not happening at Hap’s!
• Keeps the menu “Vince Lombardi” simple so people know immediately what to order when they step up to the counter.
Hap’s Grill gets a Rowan Free Press “5 stars” for both dining and being a well-run and organized business.
We are certain if any school staff or administrators happen to drift uptown from the coming Central Office they might make it as far as Hap’s. Perhaps a Hap’s Grill II might be a good choice to be planted near the 500 block of N. Main.
Go Hap’s!
