Tasty Transition

The before-school routine for young Brian Emrich, growing up in Sarasota, was one part tiring, one part unique slice of Americana.

Emrich would tag along with his grandparents, Levi and Amanda Yoder, to help open the family-run restaurant business, Yoder's. They left the house at 2 a.m. Levi Yoder did prep work in the kitchen, while Amanda Yoder baked pies nearby. Young Emrich slept on a cot in an office until 6 a.m. Then he ate breakfast at the counter with customers, many of whom were friends with the Yoders. Levi Yoder drove his grandson to school by 7:30 a.m.

More than three decades later, Emrich, 38, continues to hit the counter at Yoder's. Only now he's a manager, one of a dozen family members through three generations to currently work or have worked for the operation in some capacity. Says Emrich: “This is something that's always been a part of me.”

The business, which turns 40 next year, is markedly different from the one Emrich ate breakfast at in kindergarten. It's in a new and much larger location, for one, in the Pinecraft neighborhood in Sarasota, on Bahia Vista. It's grown to include a gift shop, produce store and deli, a multimillion-dollar expansion that's taken place in gradual steps since 2007. It's even been featured on national TV shows, such as “Man v. Food” with Adam Richman.

And there's this: Now named Yoder's Amish Village, the business has 140 employees and does $8 million a year in sales — a figure that's doubled in the last six years. A solid-sized slice of those sales comes from Yoder's famous pies, from Key Lime to Double Crust Apple to Peanut Butter Cream. “We have been blessed,” Brian Emrich says.

Emrich's father, Todd Emrich, who is married to Levi and Amanda Yoder's daughter, Mary Lou Emrich, is the CEO of Yoder's Amish Village. He co-owns the business with his wife and his sister-in-law, Anna Marie Yoder. Levi Yoder died in 1999. Amanda Yoder, who worked into her 80s, signing paychecks every week and baking pies, died in 2012.

Amanda Yoder, says Todd Emrich, also made a point to have a leadership structure with one executive at the helm who has final say on decisions. Yoder, who was that leader until she died, was aware that family businesses that struggle, even fail, can often point to infighting in the place of strong management. So she spoke with Emrich about taking over the business before she died. “You need someone who has clear vision,” Emrich says.

Todd Emrich, like his mother-in-law, is aware of family businesses that struggle with leadership issues. But he says the family has handled decision-making and who does what surprisingly well. One reason, he says, is their faith.

Another reason is the closeness the family shares is an ally. Todd Emrich, for example, shares an office with his son and a house with his wife. The downside to that is they talk about business nearly all the time. Todd Emrich says he calls family meetings for big decisions, such as investments in new business lines or menu changes.

The changes over the last decade, while a boon for business, also represent the company's greatest challenge: to balance the traditional Amish side of the business, the meat-and-potatoes vibe, with rapid shifts in hospitality, from gluten-free menu items to utilizing social media. It's the kind of growing-pains challenge that confronts many multigenerational businesses.

“We believe you have to stay ahead of the curve and you have to embrace change,” says Todd Emrich, 64. “We plan to be in business for a long time.”

Trend watchers
The company's sometimes-rabid customer base certainly hopes so. Yoder's gets so busy during peak times from January through April that the popular take-out window has closed for parts of some nights so the staff can catch up on orders.

Yoder's fever also travels overseas, courtesy of Brits who love Amish comfort food, says Todd Emrich. The business, he says, gets a stream of English customers, many who come down from Disney World just for lunch — and a slice of pie.

Last Thanksgiving was yet another fan highlight: Yoder's sold 6,652 homemade pies in the three days before the holiday. That's roughly $100,000 worth of crust, cream and fillings. Brian Emrich recalls hearing a good month was 25 pie sales when Levi and Amanda Yoder first opened the business in 1975.

Other menu items have come and gone in the last decade, to keep up with industry changes. Some of those moves have backfired. Like the time, says Todd Emrich, about five years ago when the company added little pictures of hearts next to healthier menu items. Many chains had done that, in lockstep with consumer eating habits.

But at Yoder's, the items with the hearts, like ones with turkey or grilled chicken and vegetables, stopped selling. Customers, says Emrich, “thought if it was healthy they didn't want it.”

Yoder's took the hearts off the menu a year later. Yet Emrich says he regularly hears feedback from customers who want healthier choices. Yoder's aims to do that without sacrificing its niche. “We can't be everything to everyone,” Emrich says, “but we can't ignore trends.”

Another trend Yoder's hasn't ignored is social media and mobile technology. The firm is redoing its website for the third time in the last few years, so it can be more user friendly and interactive. That project, says Emrich, will cost at least $25,000. Yoder's is also working with a company on developing a smartphone order app.

Trust factor
While Todd and Brian Emrich seek to modernize Yoder's, they also proudly talk about the company's history.

That dates back to 1968, when Levi and Amanda Yoder, along with their four children, moved from Indiana to Sarasota. Six years later they opened a restaurant in downtown Sarasota. The couple — he was a carpenter, she cleaned homes — used $15,000 in savings they had from selling a small family farm in Indiana to open the eatery. They studied the offerings at another restaurant in town called Kissin Cousins to come up with menu prices.

“It was a perfect match,” Todd Emrich says. “Levi loved people and Amanda loved to cook.”

The couple moved the restaurant to the bigger location on Bahia Vista in 1984. Todd Emrich says Levi Yoder looked at the property with a friend, a commercial real estate broker who listed it on an auction. Yoder, family lore has it, went with the friend for something to do. He came home with the ownership papers — a fact Amanda Yoder wasn't too happy about.

Todd Emrich joined the business a few years after it moved to the new location. Now he has begun to think about succession planning. He would like to see his children take over the business someday. That would be Brian Emrich and his younger sister, Chelsea Emrich, who has helped run the gift shop. Chelsea Emrich recently enrolled in Charis Bible College in Woodland Park, Colo., where she will major in business.

Todd Emrich says there are some negatives to being in a family business, namely everything is always business talk. He recalls one time his son's birthday celebration quickly went from blowing out candles to talking about food inventory. But the trust factor in a family business, he says, far outweighs those issues.

“I can't imagine doing this without family,” Emrich says. “I'm always in awe of how restaurateurs can do it without their family.”

Executive Summary
Company. Yoder's Amish Village Industry. Hospitality Key. Sales at family-run business, founded in 1975, have doubled in the last six years.

Family Tree
Yoder's Amish Village, in operation since 1975, currently has nine relatives who work there. The company, which includes a restaurant, a gift shop, produce store and deli, has about 140 employees.
Family members who work there include:

Amos Yoder: A host, whose late brother, Levi Yoder, founded the business in 1975;

Anna Marie Yoder: Co-owner, Levi and Amanda Yoder's daughter;

Mary Lou Emrich: Co-owner, Levi and Amanda Yoder's daughter;

Todd Emrich: Co-owner and CEO, Mary Lou Emrich's husband;

Mary Yoder: A baker, is married to Levi and Amanda's son, Harold Yoder.

Steve Hochstetler: Head pie baker, Mary Lou Emrich's cousin;

Chelsea Emrich: Gift shop manager, Todd and Mary Lou Emrich's daughter;

Brian Emrich: Village manager, Todd and Mary Lou Emrich's son;

Shannon Emrich: Marketing director, Brian Emrich's wife.