Gourmet market and bakery Eatzi's opens its second Dallas location Friday..
“Yes, we are ready; we are so ready,” said Aline Corson, as she peered through the windows of the new location on Lovers Lane near the Dallas North Tollway.
Elis Droubi, the store's general manager, said he is "a little bit nervous and very excited."
“This has been a long time in coming for us," he said.
Droubi started as a stockboy for Eatzi's 13 years ago and then worked his way up to general manager of the company's newest location.
“It’s like getting to the major league," he said. "I’m finally here, now I’ve got to run with it."
The husband and new father has a lot riding on his shoulders. Past expansion efforts by the company have failed. At one time, there were nine Eatzi’s nationwide. But the original store on Oak Lawn in Dallas was the only one to survive.
“The last time, we expanded a little bit too fast," Droubi said. "We had a lot of upper management that took it away from what it was."
But Eatzi's is once again eying expansion. The company plans to eventually open 20 locations across Dallas and Fort Worth, Droubi said.
The new location on Lovers Lane looks similar the original store on Oak Lawn but is significantly smaller.
But employees will fill to-go containers with the same gourmet sandwiches, salads and sides its customers have come to crave.
“I love the bread," Carol Taylor said. "I shouldn’t be eating it -- I’m trying to diet -- but I love their bread."
The new Eatzi’s has hired several dozen new employees, but is still looking to fill between 15 to 20 positions. Store managers say they hope to help some of the people who lost their jobs in Tuesday's Greenville Avenue fire.
