Fame Food Management | Dining Service History

The History of FAME - How It All Began

It was the spring of 1991, and Terry Tehrany was making some hard decisions. After spending his entire working life in the food service business, he saw the industry he loved changing, and he didn't particularly like what he saw.

In the good old days, the customer was king, and food service companies reacted quickly and creatively to their clients' requests. Even though they were large companies, the entrepreneurial can-do attitude hadn't replaced the corporate culture of rigid menus, bottom lines and management from afar.

Always a hands-on manager, as comfortable washing dishes as sitting in a board room, Tehrany wanted to take the "old" out of the "good old days." Realizing he couldn't accomplish that with his present employer, he took a very deep breath, resigned his executive position and started a brand new company he called FAME, an acronym for Food and Management Enterprises.

He immediately asked two long time friends and business associates to join the new enterprise. Ian Atherton, a nationally recognized expert in dining service operations and Louise Faucher, who brought extensive systems and human relations skills, became part of the core team.

Tehrany focused on business development. Atherton lined up purveyors, created menus and hired qualified staffers who understood and appreciated FAME's basic principles. Louise Faucher created policies and procedures, wrote sales proposals and supported her two partners in bringing in new accounts. Even her family pitched in as Faucher's daughter Carolann held down the home front.

After months of working all day and preparing proposals at night, they won their first account, a retirement community in Rhode Island. A few more followed and the fledgling company began to put down some roots.

One thing that never wavered during those early years was FAME's commitment to customer satisfaction. The Tehrany credo "everything for the customer" became the heart of the company philosophy. While quality, standards and guidelines are certainly in place and must be followed, the "everything for the customer" flexibility allows each location to match its customers' needs and wants.

Gradually, word began to spread about a young company with a different philosophy. It wasn't just the customers who experienced the difference, but so did FAME managers and associates. Most of them had years of food service experience before joining FAME, and several continued on when FAME took over an account from their previous employer. To a person, they enjoyed the new relationship. Comments like "I have the freedom to create," and "I never received this kind of support from my former employer" were heard constantly. Instances of Terry Tehrany walking in during lunch and ending up serving food and having fun with clients and staff are legend throughout the organization.

Well into their second decade, FAME's roots are settling deep. Their good reputation is growing, and from that one account in Rhode Island, FAME now serves major clients throughout the United States.

Throughout the turmoil and growth, not much has changed. Tehrany, Atherton and Faucher still worry more about the health of an associate's family than the bottom line. Maybe that's why their exciting adventure, called FAME, has been such a grand success.

FAME
591 North Avenue • Wakefield, MA 01880
(781) 224-2488 • Fax: (781) 224-0011
E-mail: terry@famefoodmanagement.com