Suzanne Flynn, along with her husband Bryan Flynn, co-own the restaurant. They decided to manage the Muncie location because of its proximity to their home in Fishers and their desire to open a second store.
“We knew a lot of Ball State grads as well as current students, and we have a lot of students working [at the Muncie location] and are still hiring more students,” Suzanne said.
For the store’s VIP night, Suzanne invited the presidents of every fraternity and sorority on campus to help them get involved with the brand. Suzanne hopes to help them fundraise as well as get involved with other campus groups “however they can.”
“The more we can [get involved], the better," Suzanne said. “We’d really like to be a part of the Ball State experience.”
Being customer-focused is another goal for the Flynns. Both Bryan and Suzanne plan to work in the store frequently to avoid the store being “faceless,” compared to larger chains.
Suzanne’s phone number is printed on the business cards in both of her stores and she responds to every email. She said she plans to call customers a week after they order to make sure everything went well because “maintaining things is not enough.”
“This is all we do, we don’t have other jobs," she said. "I think that’s nice because it gives us an opportunity to really be involved in the communities that we serve because we live and work there."
Alec Macchione, a junior accounting and finance major, worked at the Flynns' Noblesville location and is now the marketing coordinator for the Muncie location. By seeing how the inside of a business works from a marketing perspective, Macchione said he hopes to gain experiences that he couldn’t get in a traditional classroom, such as dealing with different people around the community.
"Right now, it's all about getting my team together and deciding what we plan on doing for the rest of the semester and for the time after that," Macchione said. "It's pretty much getting everyone together and coming up with new ways towards Ball State and Muncie."
Suzanne said it's “important to nurture” her employees and work with them to get experience and build their resumes.
Jordon Felder, a senior communications major, has eaten HotBox in Broad Ripple and visited the Village location on Jan. 12.
"It's really nice in here, and it looks like a fresh new hangout spot," Felder said. "I can see a lot of people coming in. I'll be here pretty often."
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