Today we’d like to introduce you to Tony Marron.
Tony, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
In 2008 I got tired of eating at all the big chain food restaurants that served mediocre food. I have always had a passion for cooking so I decided to open Uncle Tony’s. It took 2 years to finally open our 1st location which was located in Porter, TX in 700 sq ft take out only restaurant, After 2 years of losing a lot of money, my wife and I realized that this was not gonna work out. She wanted me to close the restaurant completely but I knew if we had a better location with a dining room it would be better for us. We found a huge 3800 sq ft restaurant off hwy 59 & FM1314 also in Porter, TX opened May 8, 2012.
Business was doing great until I found out that the owner sold the property to Starbucks. I was ready to give up but my wife insisted that we find another location so we had to move again. Relocated to RC’s Pizza first location on FM1314 close to 242 in Conroe and opened in July 2013. Again business was great until the price of oil dropped and so did my business. After struggling for next 3 years we found our 4th location in Spring located at 314 Sawdust road former Lenny’s Sub. We bought our way out of our lease and set to open in October 2016. As we were doing our renovations the Fire Marshall would not give us permits to complete our restaurants and that kept us closed for 7 months all because shopping center was not in compliance. We finally opened in April 2017 and business is doing great,
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Over the last several years I would say cash flow has always been a struggle. You could have 3 great months and start planning a mini vacation only to lose all the profit in one bad month. Also each time I have relocated cost me anywhere from $35,000 to $50,000 money which I have always had to borrow or put on credit. Finding great employee’s and being short staffed has always been a challenge.
Uncle Tonys – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Uncle Tony’s is a locally owned and operated mom and pop restaurant that specializes in homemade Angus burgers among other things. We hand make all our patties every morning and season them so their is flavor throughout the whole patty. We use only quality ingredients so you will pay more then fast food. My philosophy has always been “if I wont eat it I wont serve it” so quality control is excellent here.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
My definition of success is when a customer eats one of my burgers and say that is the best burger I have ever eaten. The joy knowing I have a customer that appreciates my food and will always come back to eat. Hopefully one day I can have a few restaurants and franchises so I can enjoy life and not work as much.
Pricing:
- Homemade Angus burgers range from $6.99-$18
Contact Info:
- Address: 314 Sawdust Road Suite 108
- Website: www.uncletonys.biz
- Phone: 281-719-0916
- Email: uncletonys1@hotmail.com
- Instagram: uncletonysburgers
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncletonys1/
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
