Big Chico Burger
In April 2003 Vicky Junco & Francisco Saez, husband and wife, came to the Butte College Small Business Development Center (SBDC) for assistance with obtaining financing to open a quality hamburger business in Chico, California. The Butte College SBDC business counselors (for marketing, financial analysis & projections, management, etc) all worked with Mrs. Junco & Mr. Saez to determine feasibility of the business, financials, marketing, and money needed for the start-up phase of the business with a goal of completing a business plan to obtain funding. During the preparation of the business plan, Butte College SBDC business counselors assisted Mrs. Junco & Mr. Saez with understanding the market profile and effectively analyzing the market opportunities for the business, preparing financial projections for anticipated loan funding for the business start-up process and to determine if the business would be a viable investment. Demographic and research information were also obtained and used from the Center for Economic Development in Chico, California, which assisted in the completion of the business plan and provided Mrs. Junco & Mr. Saez a true analysis of their target market.
In early 2005 they presented the completed business plan to the bank and were approved for a $382,000 initial construction loan to build the restaurant. The owners injected $140,000 of their own money, into the business start-up. In April of 2005 construction began across from Pleasant Valley High School in Chico, California. In July 2005 Vicky & Francisco’s Big Chico Burger – Home of the One Pounder opened for business. By December 2005, six months after the business opened, Big Chico Burger brought in over $168,000 in gross sales and by December 2006 sales had doubled to over $325,000. In February 2006, the owners received $575,000 in SBA loan to take over the construction loan, bank and city fees, equipment and working capital to complete the business start-up process. As of July 2007, Big Chico Burger had 10 employees.
Vicky Junco and Francisco Saez won “Best New Restaurant” in their first year of operation. They continue to work with the Butte College SBDC business counselors for one-on-one counseling and attend management and bookkeeping training in order to understand how to use their financial statements to manage their business effectively.
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