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38 • FOODSERVICE EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES • MAY 2017 Before that could happen, though, Jerry had some housekeeping to do. "To make this business grow, we had to get out of those other businesses," Jerry says. He jokingly adds, "We are working harder than we ever were since Brad joined the company." Today the business consists of Johnson-Lancaster and Associates, the dealership that handles contract work, design- build projects and chain business; Kitchenrestock.com, the company's e-commerce platform, and JLA Equipment Distributors, its distribution business. "Our bread and butter is the contract work and we expanded into these other areas," says Brad Lancaster, who serves as the dealership's president. "If we are not growing, we are dying. So we are going to try to do new things and innovate within the marketplace." In addition, the company has two salespeople, Jimmy Fisher and Gina Vitagliano that report directly to Brad Lancaster. Fisher and Vitagliano have their own books of business that do not fall as neatly into the dealer's chain or contract business seg- ments. There's a lot of resupply work, for example, among their clients, which include some contract feeders. In contrast, the projects tend to drive the contract and chain side of the business. "Everyone wants the restaurant chain that's growing 25 to 50 stores a year, but those opportunities can come and go," Brad Lancaster says. "Some of these other businesses are consistent. We have developed those relationships and know their expectations." The company also has eight two-person installation crews that travel the country installing equipment on the company's projects. Stephen Lancaster, Brad's brother, works in this part of the business. "He's very mechanically inclined and knows how to put things together and fix things," Brad Lancaster says of his brother. "It's a tough business. Our installers are on the road 90 percent of the time." David Hammersley, vice president of sales for Johnson-Lancaster and Associates (right), reviews plans for a new project with Drew Locher, director of construction for Streamsong Resort. QUIET GIANTS