Serving up freshly baked potatoes, wings, fries and more, Baked or Fried is a new local restaurant located on Northgate set to open on Nov. 1.
Lee Perrone started his first ‘Potato Shack’ in 1998 and in 2010 sold the locations in College Station. The location on Northgate was unsuccessful and closed down in the summer of 2017. Perrone rebranded in 2016 to “Baked or Fried” at the Bryan location and is moving into the Northgate store, where Bryan Pierce is the general manager.
Perrone’s first store on Harvey Road was made possible through the help of his grandmother, who was located in Bryan.
“I graduated from school and I had this idea,” Perrone said. “My grandma helped me get a loan to open the first location.”
Pierce said Potato Shack was Perrone’s dream since 1998 when he first began his business.
“It’s been his dream, his baby,” Pierce said. “[He] worked hard to establish it.”
Pierce was a teacher and said that similar to the educational system, this is a businesses of putting people first.
“This is my first venture with it,” Pierce said. “I bought in and now it’s both of our dream to build this business, build the brand. With my experience in education, it’s people who are important, and customer service is number one.”
The foundation of their business methods focus on customer service before anything else.
“We want to make people happy and make sure they receive great service, so that’s where I come in to pick that area up and try to push it and help lead employees,” Pierce said.
For Pierce, being part of the local community is a necessity for this store. They are using what they can from the area, such as the local soda options rather than brand name options.
“I’ve taught a lot of the kids who are now adults, so I’m really tied to the community,” Pierce said. “We love the people of Bryan-College Station.”
Although the first locations caused grief for Perrone, he has become persistent in continuing onward.
“At first it was a little pipe dream, and now it’s become more of a ‘How big can we get now,’” Perrone said. “I had a couple of setbacks with Potato Shack that made me sell two locations in College Station, but now we’re getting back to how far can we go with a potato.”
Their mutual goal is to try and make new combinations and concepts with a potato base, of course both in baked and fried forms. Both Perrone and Pierce hope this store will become an Aggie tradition.
“The excitement is back,” Pierce said. “I’m excited to see what we can do.”
Perrone has come back to his location on Northgate for a second chance on his business aspirations.
“I had a dream 20 years ago, and I never finished it,” Perrone said. “This is my second chance at that dream.”