Billy Vick Equipment Company Serves Restaurateurs Coming and Going
Thursday, February 22nd, 2018
Whether someone is opening a new start up restaurant and needs equipment, closing their establishment or selling a few items, or needs financing to open their business, Billy Vick Restaurant Equipment Company has them covered in every way.
Who or what is Billy Vick Restaurant Equipment? It’s a market-leading company whose owners are Peggy Hajosy and Steven Jeffrey. She can be almost described as a “wonder woman” when it comes to competing in this male-dominated industry. Hajosy proactively services virtually all restaurant equipment requirements, expertly utilizing a unique range of sales and marketing tools: live auctions, eBay online store, Scratch & Dent options, liquidations, financing, technology and social media. Plus, she maintains 20,000 square feet of warehouse space with $500,000 of inventory.
All this she has accomplished starting with $100 in her pocket and no cash flow, and no prior experience in this highly competitive field.
Hajosy purchased the name “Billy Vick” from the person who had been in business since 1975. Among the long-term, Atlanta-area clients Billy Vick has served over the years include:
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Longhorn Steakhouse
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Ted’s Montana Grills
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Taco Mac’s
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Willy’s Mexican Grills
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Dugan’s
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Three Dollar Cafe
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J.R. Crickets
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Fellini’s Pizza
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This Is It BBQ
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Prime At Lenox
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Pano & Paul’s (Buckhead Life Group)
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South City Kitchen (Fifth Group)
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Old Town Bar & Grill
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La Parrilla Mexican
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Gondoliers Pizza
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Provino's Italian Restaurant
Hajosy maintained the Vick part of the company’s name for its long-term reputation in the area and its equity value, and then proceeded to turn the business into a rolling multi-million-dollar dynamo. Her use of common sense paved the way as she took advantage of readily available technology previously ignored by a generally passive industry and old school mindset and she offered great customer service—more than simply following up on phone inquiries, though she personally takes calls incessantly on nights and on weekends from day one to present.
She attributes her success to being aggressively passionate in her business and also never discounts the value of long days of hard work. She thrives with a just a few hours of sleep nightly, and has only taken two vacations since building the company starting in 2010. She calls herself a “survivor,” a perfectionist, and extremely passionate. “My brain never shuts down. I never take enough time off. I live, eat, and breathe this business.”
Tactically speaking, one of Hajosy’s first moves when she bought the company was to register for an auction license. She has conducted 500 events over the past eight years. For the last three years, she has utilized the eBay online store in order to spread her business throughout the country.
She has also applied technology to the used equipment in the Billy Vick warehouse here in Atlanta. Her certified technicians are trained to calibrate them to factory specifications.
Hajosy noticed the need for funding for first-time restaurant owners, so she acquired a separate commercial financing company. She partnered with equipment financing marketplace, LeaseQ, to offer funding to first-time restaurant owners. She has helped to finance over 80 startups or additional restaurants in both 2016 and 2017, and 10 already this year.
When she asks new customers how they learned of Billy Vick, their reply is: from advertising and referrals. Her favorite compliment came from a college professor, who, when he learned of her rags-to-riches story, wanted to use her as a case study to give his students a model of how to start and build a business as a woman.
While her successes are legendary in the restaurant equipment business, time has taken its toll and four years ago her son-in-law, Steven Jeffrey, formerly with Publix supermarkets, joined her as co-owner. She said, “I can’t do all of this without Steven. I’ve trained him from the top down. In the near short-term I will leave the business to him and my daughter and I will step away soon. I’m passionate about my company, and I am looking forward to my rainbow and dreams.
