Made From Scratch

As business at the Atrium boomed, the partners' dreams of huge success were unfolding right on schedule; next, they would test the Just Fresh concept in the 'burbs. Opened in 1996, "It was our first look at what a suburban unit would look like, and how it would act," says Montgomery.

By January 1997, the Atrium location had been going strong for nearly three years, the suburban model was flourishing and a second downtown location was off and running. The partners gathered in the midst of all the activity to discuss future expansion plans. The meeting was also the backdrop for a surprising disclosure by Robert III, who announced plans to leave Just Fresh and pursue a graduate degree. "When you first start a company, the amount of excitement and pressure you go through makes each team member very dependent on the others to succeed. When a part of [your team] leaves, there's some real emotion attached to it," says Montgomery.

"We were losing one of our comrades, and we were opening more restaurants," he continues. "Could we pull this off?" they asked themselves. The troops rallied. As they wished Robert III well, says Montgomery, "We found ourselves digging a little deeper and pushing on."

This article was originally published in the February 1999 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Made From Scratch.