In Denver, Colo. picky eaters and young children alike have the perfect restaurant choice, Chedd’s Grilled Gourmet Cheese. Sounds like a cold-day haven to me!
Dirk Bruley and his wife, Wendy, opened their first Chedd’s Gourmet Grilled Cheese restaurant in Denver’s Uptown neighborhood in the spring of 2003. Now, with two locations and four years of experience, the Wisconsin-themed grilled- cheese joint, with its 35 cheeses, 12 breads and various meats and vegetables, is looking to go national.
Bruley, a Wisconsin native, and business partner Jamie Jalazo are finalizing the approval that would allow Chedd’s to franchise in all 50 states. By franchising, the group hopes to join a long list of homegrown success stories. The International Franchise Association, which assists and advocates for franchisers and franchisees, has 50 Colorado- based members spanning various sectors.
The look and feel of Chedd’s Denver location is a motley assortment of inherited tables and plastic lawn chairs, as well as a lot of Wisconsin memorabilia, including plastic blocks of cheese, more than 100 wall-mounted ‘Sconsin license plates and a Cheesecyclopedia. But Bruley and Jalazo have designed logos, menus and uniforms – black-and-cheddar- orange shirts with checker-pattern collars. They also have a prototype of the diner table with a cheddar-orange surface that will be the standard in Chedd’s stores.