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Today we’d like to introduce you to Blaire Bobo.
Hi Blaire, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My husband, Taylor Bobo and I both attended Louisiana State University where Rotolo’s Pizzeria originated. We both have fond memories of late nights visiting Rotolo’s and taking advantage of the then-popular Calzone Wednesday deal.
A couple of years after we were married, work relocated us from South Louisiana to North Louisiana, and were intrigued when a Rotolo’s opened in Shreveport. We soon learned they were franchising and soon after met with Mitch Rotolo and began our journey investing in Rotolo’s. We were relocated to Memphis for my husband’s job during the pandemic and left our home state and our existing Rotolo’s Craft & Crust franchise locations in Ruston & Alexandria.
After getting settled in East Memphis, we realized there wasn’t anything comparable to Rotolo’s in our area. We soon began exploring the idea of bringing the first Rotolo’s to Tennessee. While my husband maintains his job with Buckman Laboratories, my job along with a great management team, is to operate our Rotolo’s Craft & Crust locations.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The restaurant industry is not somewhere I ever imagined myself being involved in. Honestly, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into when we decided to invest in our first location.
I am still learning every day how to improve our business and how to be a better employer. Staffing is always a huge challenge. The pandemic brought on the biggest challenges the restaurant industry has ever seen. That was a truly difficult time, especially with a move thrown in the mix as well. As we have continued to expand, we find new challenges with every opening, in turn helping us to improve in different areas.
When we first invested with Rotolo’s, the franchise was still “Rotolo’s Pizzeria”, it has since rebranded and become “Rotolo’s Craft & Crust”. The menu and kitchen have grown and improved significantly since, but the sauce and original pizzas remain the same.
Rotolo’s has been quite a journey for us, but while we have had many challenges, it has been very exciting and rewarding to see the progress the brand has made and how much Rotolo’s has grown. We are very lucky to have so much support from our corporate office and their staff. Truly, we could not succeed without the support they offer. While the brand has grown, so has the support team which has been essential in our ability to operate locations in different states.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Rotolo’s Craft & Crust is a Full Service Restaurant. We are located at 681 S. White Station Rd in East Memphis and 1337 W. Poplar Ave in Collierville. We have also recently begun construction in Silo Square in Southaven for an additional location which is projected to open late this summer. We operate two locations in Alexandria & Ruston, LA.
Rotolo’s is a Louisiana-based franchise that was started in 1996 off of LSU’s campus. The franchise specializes in pizzas and a large variety of craft beers (we offer 32 craft beers on tap in both Collierville & Memphis locations). However, the menu is extensive and offers many other options such as a variety of appetizers, wings, pastas, salads, burgers, and other handhelds.
We make three different types of crust in-house and offer specialty pizzas, Detroit pizzas, thin crust, and deep dish pizzas as well as a full bar and an excellent wine menu. Rotolo’s is also known for its family-friendly environment. While we are family-friendly, we also maintain a casual, sports bar environment and often host musicians for live music, offer Tuesday Trivia, etc.
We love surprises, fun facts, and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Nothing surprising or out of the ordinary I can think of off the top of my head! My husband, Taylor, and I have three children: Hudson, Charlie, & Lucy.
We spend most of our nonwork-related time bouncing the kids from school to many sports and extracurricular activities. My husband enjoys hunting and golf and I enjoy running, tennis, and reading.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rotolos.com
Image Credits
https://christenjonesphotography.shootproof.com/about