Economy Won't Stop Hungry Entrepreneurs

Former nurse Sabrina Starr doesn't think it's crazy to leave a proven profession she knows and to start a pizza shop in Douglasville, even in an unstable economy.

"I feel like it's more secure," she said while sitting amid the new stainless-steel kitchen and pizza machines that will move at a hot and heavy pace Thursday when Hungry Howie's holds its grand opening.

New employees trained in the background while Sabrina sat down with Douglasville Patch in the new restaurant in front of at 2987 Chapel Hill Rd.

"We're not constantly asking ourselves, 'What would happen if we got laid off our job?' We wanted something of our own to fall back on."

Sabrina and her husband, Preston, have so much confidence in themselves and the Hungry Howie's product, touted as the originator of the flavored-crust pizza, that they expect their hands-on pizza franchise to be more stable than any 9-to-5 company job.

"Hungry Howie's franchises are owner-operated, so we have full control," she said. "We're not in a situation with a full-time job where we're unsecure with layoffs and uncertainty. We're not constantly asking ourselves, 'What would happen if we got laid off our job?' We wanted something of our own to fall back on."

Even before the recession, two of every three new restaurants failed within three years, according to a 2008 article in The New York Times titled "Love Food? Think Twice Before Jumping In." That’s the same failure rate as for small businesses in general.

“It’s very easy to fail if you know what you’re doing, and even easier if you don’t,” Linda Lipsky, the president of Linda Lipsky Restaurant Consultants, said in the article. She added that when she taught a course called “So You Want to Open a Restaurant” at Temple University, she tried to scare off two-thirds of the would-be restaurant owners by warning that they could lose their homes, their life savings and the rights to their own names.

But entering the restaurant business was hardly a snap decision for the Starrs. Sabrina said she and her husband thought about such a venture for more than 10 years.

Preston lived in Florida down the street from a Hungry Howie's and "loved the product," she said. "They are all over the place in Florida."

Two years ago the couple visited Preston's favorite pizza place in Florida. "On the drive home we had two hours to talk about it," Sabrina said. "We've always talked about owning our own business. Finally, we said, 'Why not? Let's go for it.'

"Of course, it's a risk. Any time you open your own business, it's a risk. But I'm not afraid to take a risk."

Sabrina, a lifelong Georgia resident, grew up in Albany and has lived in the Atlanta area for 10 years, the past six in Villa Rica.

Once a registered nurse, she had a baby and decided to spend a few years raising her son. Rather than go back to nursing, she decided to open a franchise with her husband.

"Really, it's all about the taste," she said. "It's delicious. It's fresh, and it's something everyone can afford. Once that pizza touches your mouth, you always come back for more.”

It’s the first location on the west side of Atlanta, Sabrina said, and "we think Douglasville is a great market.”

Founded in 1973, Madison Heights, MI-based Hungry Howie’s Pizza & Subs has more than 500 locations in 24 states. The menu includes oven-baked subs, chicken wings and tenders, bread, and salads. Crust flavors are original, buttered cheese, garlic herb, ranch, Cajun, butter, onion and sesame.

Come back to Douglasville Patch for more details about the Hungry Howie's grand opening.

This article is part of "Dispatches: The Changing American Dream," our ongoing series about how people in Douglasville are adapting to the challenges of life in the 21st century. You can find more Dispatches from across the country at The Huffington Post.