Local Heroes: Pommes Frites
Through the Fire
At Main Street Hub, we’re passionate about telling the stories of local businesses. In this series, you’ll meet some of our customers who are the local heroes of their communities and the reason we work hard every day to help local businesses thrive.
Manhattan’s favorite Belgian fry shop Pommes Frites first joined the Main Street Hub community in the beginning of 2012. Five years later, their story is one that everyone at Main Street Hub wants to share.
After traveling through Europe, co-owner of Pommes Frites Suzanne Levinson had a dream to open a shop that sold authentic Belgian frites. She realized that dream in 1997, and when they signed up with Main Street Hub in 2012, Pommes Frites was already causing a stir, topping lists as a street-food staple in Manhattan. The unique late-night spot was garnering fandom among locals and tourists alike, serving up tasty, double-fried Belgian frites in traditional paper cones with over 30 special dipping sauces: mayo, curry, peanut-satay — whatever fans’ hearts desired.
For three years, we helped them build relationships with their loyal community of fans online as they gained status as a beloved gem in the East Village.
Then, on March 26, 2015, tragedy struck. The 18-year-old fry shop burned to the ground when a gas explosion that started in the restaurant next door ripped through the entire building.
Hear Pommes Frites’ story from their dedicated Main Street Hub Team:
The fire destroyed nearby buildings, apartments, and businesses — leaving two people dead, 22 injured, some critically, and many homeless. The seven customers and employees who were working at Pommes Frites were unharmed.
After the fire, co-owner Omer Shorshi told the Huffington Post that he felt lucky. Any other day, he would have been working out of the office in the basement, but that day, he happened to be home taking care of his son.
Omer and Suzanne were grateful to be alive, but were completely devastated — everything they had been working for years to create was gone in an instant. They didn’t know what to do next, or how they could possibly start all over again.
From the beginning of our partnership with Pommes Frites, it was clear to our team at Main Street Hub that we were dealing with a neighborhood favorite. But, back in 2012, their avid fry enthusiasts were posting on a Facebook page that the restaurant couldn’t access, leaving posts unliked and questions unanswered.
Senior Content Operations Project Coordinator Jennifer Yee, who was Pommes Frites’ Platform Specialist at the time, remembers working hard with the team to solve this problem and get access for the owners. First, Jennifer tried setting up a new page for them, but she knew they needed to get access to that original page to interact with all the fans who were already there.
Finally, she had a breakthrough and was able to claim their original Facebook page, making it possible for Pommes Frites to engage with the fans who had been talking to no one for years.
This paved the way for our Content Team to start conversations with their audience. Copywriter Andrew Shoemaker who was one of the original Community Managers on the account, remembers their enthusiastic fanbase.
“They have a passionate community of diehard fans, the kind of community most businesses dream of creating, and they earned it by focusing on two things: making a quality product and by serving it with a smile,” says Andrew.
“I was devastated for them when the fire put them out of business, as were many people around the country .”
Andrew says he felt a “responsibility to the business” and did his part that day to keep people informed through Pommes Frites’ social channels. “I also cared deeply about them as a fan myself,” he says. “Managing their community during that crisis was one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my tenure at Main Street Hub.”
That day, posted on their Facebook page was heartbreaking update:
We want to thank everyone who has shared their concern for our well-being. Our staff and our customers are safe. However, our main concern is for those who were injured. This is a terrible tragedy, and our hearts go out to them and their families.
Due to the severe damage to our building, we are closed for the foreseeable future. We hope to re-open someday soon and will keep you updated when we have news to share.
After the smoke cleared, the owners bravely started the long and hard process of rebuilding — suspending our services while they got back on their feet.
Suzanne told the NY Times through tears that even though the community had helped them raised $26,000 in the aftermath to help them start over again, it was hard to lift their spirits: always on their minds are the two young men who lost their lives that day in March.
When the pair was finally ready to reopen, they immediately turned to Main Street Hub. They knew they needed us back as partners while Pommes Frites was reborn in the West Village.
Ahead of their official opening, they re-signed with us on May 19, 2016.
“Although they had to close their doors temporarily after the fire, I knew they’d be back.”
“It took them a little longer than I expected, but they’re serving frites again and back with Main Street Hub! I’m overjoyed for them,” says Andrew.
Our Customer Success Team was able to reassure them that our services would be just as excellent as the years before, and our Content Team was poised and ready to take over responding to the outpouring of love from their community — engaging with people who were thrilled that their favorite shop would be back.
Omer set up their account again ahead of their grand re-opening with Manager, Account Management Greg Vendetti. Greg says that he was proud that Main Street Hub could play a role in their rebuilding process.
“The team at Pommes Frites had been through so much in making sure they opened back up that coming back on board with us seemed like a milestone. Now, they could be able to get the word out to their huge customer base. The first conversation I had with them, I could almost hear the smile on their faces.”
We also helped them promote their soft opening before their official re-open. “Their soft-opening was so cool to be part of,” says Greg. “As they sent pictures of customers lining up around the block, and seeing their loyal following being so active online, it was absolutely clear that their social media was a main component of the Pommes Frites culture.
“The fact that they continue to trust Main Street Hub to grow this part of their business is truly a testament to our service and values.”
Pommes Frites officially reopened on May 26, 2016, in their new location on Macdougal Street, complete with new tables with holes for holding paper cones of fries, and a new hope for the road ahead. And, we were right there with them.
“I love this customer. People are just so excited to have them back,” says Senior Community Manager Yusef Roach who is currently working on behalf of Pommes Frites. “I love their commitment to doing one product very well and their attention to variety — they have so many sauces. They definitely pay attention to their presence online and are clearly appreciative of those that support them.”
Since their second sign-up with us, we’ve been proudly telling their story.
We’re helping them realize their dreams while they give their fans what dreams are made of — to quote one Yelper, “delicious double-fried potatoes of pure bliss.”
We’re continuing to celebrate our local business customers — the local heroes of their towns, neighborhoods, and communities.
We take running their social media, reputation management, and email marketing off their plate so they can get back to doing what they love. Don’t miss our next installment of Local Heroes!
