Today we’d like to introduce you to John Cirpinski and Kevin Bozis.
John and Kevin, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
As far back as I can remember I have always been interested in food and flavor. As a young child, I went from helping my mother in the kitchen to assisting my grandfather at his butcher’s shop on 26th and Damen here in Chicago. With these experiences my passion for all things, flavor and food continued to grow. At the age of 15, I scored my first restaurant job on the South side of Chicago. I continued to work in local restaurants throughout my high school career.
As it soon had become time to start thinking of a college to attend: I decided on culinary school! My parents did not. They instead insisted I go to a university for anything else before attending culinary school… I did just that. While attending E.I.U. in Charleston Illinois I soon found a job at a nearby private country club. In a couple of years, I was Sous Chef and contemplating my next move… I decided to apply to Kendall College in Evanston Illinois for culinary arts.
Thankfully after some amounts of paperwork an essay and financial aid, I was accepted! While attending Kendall a friend and I started a catering business and were introduced to, The Spice House. We were hooked and never used grocery store spices again. It was about this time I noticed there were no culinary classes offered specifically on herbs and spices at my school. I would have to seek employment at The Spice House. This is where I met my business partners I have today.
John Cerpinski was actually my manager upon starting until he moved on and I became a manager. I was really hooked on the magic these fresh ground spices possessed and decided I wasn’t going back to the kitchen. I wanted to keep moving forward in the spice industry. As John was back and feeling the same way we decided to approach the owners of The Spice House, Tom and Patty Erd with an opportunity for the both of us. We were granted the opportunity to have our own stand-alone store while working under a licensing contract dba The Spice House.
After 10 years of doing just that in the lovely town of Geneva Illinois both parties decided to go their separate ways. We are very happy to have had the opportunity to be The Spice House but even more excited to have the opportunity to now be 360 Flavor and Spice located in the exact same space we have been for 10 here in beautiful Geneva Illinois. I am very excited to be able to carry more local products and create all-new original spice blends on a weekly basis.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I agree our challenges mainly come from our size… As big business gets bigger, it gets harder for small business to survive… Being able to get smaller quantities of herbs and spices to ensure their freshness at an affordable price has been our biggest hurdle to get over so far.
We like to grind our spices in-house in small batches on a weekly basis to ensure everything is always fresh. We don’t have a warehouse and limited on storage space at the store.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with 360 Flavor and Spice – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
360 Flavor and Spice is a source for Spices, Herbs, Spice Blends and Flavors of All Kinds. We bring in whole spices and grind them in small batches to ensure freshness and long shelf life. We also have created many spice blends to accompany every type of cooking. We have Peruvian Steak Rub if someone wants a great grilled steak with singular flavor, Memphis Rib Rub for a slow-smoked rack of ribs, and Blue Mountain Red Curry for a Jamaican-style vegetable curry. We also have all the individual spices for those who want to make their own rubs and blends.
What sets our company apart is the customer service our employees are expected to provide. We all love to cook and love to share our ideas. We pick up a great deal of knowledge from the foodie community as well. Our store has become a marketplace of ideas for tonight’s dinner, tomorrows lunch, next Saturday’s BBQ or the next wine dinner.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I feel like we are still going through a major change after separating from The Spice House and re-branding ourselves as 360 Flavor and Spice. I feel in the immediate future we will continue to build on creating more blends and bringing in more unique local products and flavors for our customer base.
After we are completely established as 360 Flavor and Spice, I wouldn’t mind opening more local shops. Also building on our web-based customer’s and giving them the best online experience at www.360flavorandspice.com will always be a priority now and in the future.
Pricing:
- Most spice jars run about $5.00 for about 1/2 Cup and stay fresh up to a year
- We have a Small Tube size $3.00 for those who want to try the blend.
Contact Info:
- Address: 577 S Third St STE 100 Geneva, IL 60134
- Website: www.360flavorandspice.com
- Phone: 6302621777
- Email: johncismwest@gmail.com
- Instagram: kevin@360flavorandspice.com
- Facebook: jake@360flavorandspice.com
Image Credit:
Bill Roberts
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