Former lieutenant colonel takes childhood dreams and turns them into Jimmy John’s franchises

Barbara Richardson identifies as a “rule follower” but not in the traditional sense. She is organized, diligent and able to take direction.

In college, she joined the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps intending to serve in the U.S. Air Force for four years upon graduation. Four turned into 21 years, with Richardson working her way up the ranks to serve as a lieutenant colonel. She and her family were stationed throughout the country and world, including stays in Denver, Washington, D.C., New Mexico and England.

When the family moved to Spokane, Richardson wanted to put down roots, she said. They often discussed dreams of opening a Dairy Queen around the dinner table.

“Because of the ice cream,” Richardson added. “I mean, what family wouldn’t want to own a Dairy Queen?”

Discussions like these inspired Richardson’s eldest daughter, Alex. At 17 years old, she ate dinner at Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches in Seattle and immediately printed out franchising information upon returning home. She persuaded her mother to begin a new career as a Jimmy John’s franchisee.

“I started asking questions at Jimmy John’s and the next minute I was writing checks,” Richardson said. “I don’t know how it went from zero to 60 but it did.”

Now Richardson owns three Jimmy John’s locations in the area, on Sullivan Road, Pines Road and Argonne Road. Her first on Sullivan recently celebrated its six-year anniversary.

Though one might expect the transition from military officer to restaurant owner to prove tough, Richardson said it was one of the easiest. Though she knew little about business six years ago, she lived in accordance with a personal philosophy: Go to work every day and good things will happen.

“Jimmy is heavy-handed and serious about his franchise owners,” she said. “To me, it was pretty simple. He told me exactly what to do and laid out his expectations.”

Despite Richardson’s optimism, fatigue plagued her first steps into the restaurant business. She, her two daughters and an assistant manager worked for three weeks without a day off when the first store opened. Alex would help close each night after her mother and sister, Nikki, worked during the day.

“My mom was so exhausted that she’d say, ‘I cannot deal with this right now. I’m barely keeping it together during the day,’ ” Alex said. “… I’d be telling her about all of the things happening at night and she’d say, ‘We just have to make it until tomorrow.’ ”

The business has remained a family affair. Alex, a recent University of Montana graduate with a degree in accounting, worked in the store during her summers at home and helped her mother with finances. Richardson’s husband, Ernie, often acts as a handyman when equipment breaks.

“My mom is fearless. She can do anything she sets her mind to,” Alex said.

“Together, we’re a bit of a dream team,” her mother added.

One of the family’s favorite Jimmy John’s memories: working together on Christmas Eve so employees could enjoy the holiday. They played cards until 5 p.m. when delivery orders flooded the store and drove them out into the snowy evening.

“It was one of those funny afternoons when it dumped about 4 inches,” Barbara said.

Richardson does her best to treat her employees like family, too, she said. She helped pay for an employee’s school books so she could work toward a physician’s assistant career. Another employee has worked for Richardson since she turned the key in the first store’s lock. Many receive manager training or work part time while pursuing undergraduate degrees.

“We want these kids to succeed,” Richardson said.

She too relied on a little help from her friend and mentor Ric Rocca, who opened the first Jimmy John’s store in Spokane, she said.

“He struggled to get the name out there and I sort of rode in on his coattails,” she said. “His famous saying is: We’re only making sandwiches. When I wanted to come unglued … he would look at me and say, ‘We’re only making sandwiches. Nobody is going to die.’ ”

Spokane and state organizations also aided Richardson. She took business classes with SCORE Spokane, received financial assistance from Washington Trust Bank and was offered a business loan for her military service from the state of Washington.

“Spokane is really pro-business,” Alex added. “I think it does a great job of lobbying for businesspeople and protecting our workers … I feel like Spokane has a lot of respect for small businesses and realizes they are the backbone of this community.”