|
Wireless Toyz to open second local
site
FLINT TOWNSHIP
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Friday, April 29, 2005By Rhonda
S. Sanders
rsanders@flintjournal.com •
810.766.6374
FLINT TWP. - Another Wireless
Toyz is in the 'hood, with more stores coming soon to nearby
areas.
The cellular superstore expects to
open its second Genesee County location Monday at 3243 Miller
Road, in a new building shared with a Starbucks coffee shop that
opened in late March and a Quiznos Sub that opened April 16.
Wireless Toyz opened its first area
location in 2002 at 11833 S. Saginaw Road in Grand Blanc, said
Dennis Jaboro, territory developer for the Farmington Hills-based
chain. A third store is set to open this summer in Fenton in the
former A&W building at N. Leroy Street and North Road, he said.
Other sites are being scouted in
the Flint, Grand Blanc, Burton and the Davison area, Jaboro said.
The 1,500-square-foot multiple
carrier superstore is owned by Steven Jaboro and Taymoor Yousif,
both of Waterford. It will have six employees.
Wireless Toyz offers one-stop
shopping for cellphone and satellite service, representing
multiple carriers, including AT&T, Nextel, Sprint, T-Mobile,
Verizon, Dish Network, DirecTV and some regional operators.
Founded in 1995 as a wireless pager
provider, Wireless Toyz has evolved into a $9-million-a-year
business with 33 stores in Michigan and 80 nationwide.
In addition, about half of 200
signed franchises are expected to open by the end of this year,
Jaboro said. The company's goal is to have 250 stores by the end
of 2007.
As somewhat of a trend indicator
for young entrepreneurs, the new local Wireless Toyz store has
something in common with its neighbor. The owners went to high
school with Matthew Bordes of Auburn Hills, who owns the newly
opened Quiznos sandwich shop with his brother, David of Plymouth.
At 24, Matthew Bordes is the
youngest Quiznos franchise owner in Michigan, he said. His brother
is eight years older.
It's their first business, but the
brothers have had the idea on a back burner for years, said
Matthew Bordes, a graduate of Central Michigan University, where
he majored in entrepreneurship and management.
The brothers selected Quiznos as
their first venture because it offered a high-quality product at a
good price, said Matthew Bordes, who formerly managed a Quiznos
and also helped launch other area shops, including one that opened
last month at Court Center Plaza across the street from Courtland
Center in Burton.
So far, business at the new,
1,500-square-foot Quiznos in Flint Township has been slow, but
Matthew Bordes said he hopes business will pick up as customers
realize it is open.
"I feel Flint is on the rise," he
said.
He said he received 200
applications from people interested in working at the store,
interviewed 70, hired 12 and maintains a list of people he would
like to hire if he could.
A grand opening ceremony is planned
for 4 p.m. May 6.
|
