Jeremiah’s Italian Ice Franchisee, Daryl Cappiello, Shares Insight About Opening a Franchise Restaurant with His Son and Fellow Franchisee
Daryl and Anthony Cappiello are a father and son duo who opened Jeremiah’s Italian Ice of Deerfield Beach in Florida in February of 2022. Daryl has spent most of his career within the food and restaurant industry, which has spanned nearly 43 years. Daryl got his start working with General Mills Restaurant Group, working his way up to general manager of a popular Mexican restaurant, Casa Gallardo, and then becoming a franchisee of a large pizza franchise. After 20 years, the day he decided to hang up his pizza apron to retire, was the same day fate led him to one of Jeremiah’s Discovery Days! Daryl fell in love with the Italian ice concept and the positive energy the company had and decided to take on the next chapter of his food industry journey with his son. They opened the delicious frozen treat eatery at a family-friendly destination in Deerfield Beach.
Insights on Working with Family
After working with my son Anthony for nearly a year now, I think there are a few pieces of insight that I can share to ensure everyone is successful and is able to have a balanced life of work and quality family time. One of the biggest things that I have learned over the years working with individuals and now working with my son is to establish how you want your business to run or be classified. Do you want to run a “family business” or do you want to run a business? Having these conversations at the beginning before generating a consistent revenue stream will lead to less of a headache down the line and can ensure that you both have the same intentions with the business. I also think it is important to decide what business you both want to get into. As they say, do what you love and you will never work a day in your life.
Getting into a business where you can both play to your strengths is crucial as it will give you a chance for individual success as well as the success of the business. I think this is important and can tie into my next piece of advice which would be to establish both your personal and professional relationships. I know that for my son and when we step through the door, we become business partners. We hold each other accountable for mistakes and praise one another when it is due. We talk business during business hours and do not let these conversations run into our personal lives as they can jeopardize our relationship. The minute we leave, we are family and I know that I will love him no matter what. Having these relationships is key because I know we both want to be successful and not let our business get in the way of our personal relationships.
How to Balance Work and Life
One of the biggest pieces of advice that I would share would be to spend time with one another outside of the business setting. I know it may be difficult to avoid talking about the business when you are together but having those moments when you are a family and nothing else is special. No matter what, Anthony is my son and he will always be my son and nothing will ever come between that. One thing that I have found that has helped us is to play a sport together or spend time enjoying a hobby. When we can drop what we are doing pertaining to the business and enjoy something that makes us both happy, we are able to spend quality time together as father and son and not business partners. We are able to have conversations about life and I can be there for him as a father.
My last piece of advice on how to balance both work and life would be to be there for one another. We are family and family comes first before anything, so if a problem arises both within the business or within our personal lives, we are there for each other through thick and thin. I love Anthony and I think we make a great team. I want the best for him and no matter what happens, I will always be his father and I will always love him.
I think one of the best things that I have learned throughout this journey is to pick a brand that suits your lifestyle and your needs. When I was first introduced to Jeremiah’s, I was blown away with their energy, their great product, and the care that they treat their customers and employees with. I am so grateful to be able to bring this fantastic growing brand to the Deerfield Beach community and be able to serve new friends and family a deliciously irresistible treat. I cannot wait for what the future holds for me, Anthony, and the entire community.
