Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 13 December 2002 — Page 23

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13,2002 ■ PAGE D1

INSIDE*D*SECTION*CLASSIFIED*REAL ESTATE

Brothers celebrate years of business with new location

By SHANNON WILUAMS Rtcorif MHor For over a decade, members of the community have enjoyed * ' Iby

the city's Westside, but now there is more good food and excellent service to come with the opening of the family’s third location. First came Marble’s Southern Cookery, 2310 Lafayette Road, with its down-home good soul food; a few years later there was Marble’s Super Sandwich, 4112 High School Road, which features gourmet-style burgers and sandwiches; and now there’s Cristan’s Super Sandwich Shoppe located at 2440 Lafayette Rd., which carries many of the same sandwiches as Marble’s Super Sandwich, only under a different name. It all started about 15 years ago when Lee Marble, the patriarch of the family, opened the soul food restaurant Sons Calvin and Darrell, both travellingtlieir own paths in life, would of course help out with the family business - but in 1991 they decided to venture out a bit and opened up Marble’s Super Sandwich. “When we first opened up, we worked two jobs each and tried to scrape up the money between the both of us to buy equipment” explains Darrell, who is the younger of the two. “We didn’t * a *3gMrBny loans, didn't hfcVi**any collaterdkr#nd we didn’t have a lot of knowledge as far as ownership of a business.” What the brothers did have was a hard work ethic and tre- ! mendous tenacity as well as lots of experience working in various restaurants throughout the city. i The success of Marble’s Sui per Sandwich was so great that ! the duo felt it was time to ex- ; pand...thusthebirthofCristan’s Super Sandwich. Calvin Marble explains the decision in naming die restaurant Cristan’s, rather than calling their second location Marble’s Super Sandwich. , “We call it Cristan’s because we wanted to commemorate the I death of our mother. She was one of the pioneers of this thing,

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(Above) Darrell Marble prepares one of many gourmet sandwiches offered at Crlstan's Super Sandwich Shoppe. (Below) Darrell and brother Calvin (right) pose outside the restaurant that opened a couple of months ago. (Photos/J. Cohen)

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(so) we used her name to give said Darrell. respect.” While they were steadfast One thing the brothers were about staying in the community, adamant about doing when dis- the brothers stressed that alcussing another restaurant was though they do focus on Blacks, staying within the community, they don’t exclude other cultures. “That was one of the main Currently, Calvin is over operathings we talked about. A lot of tions at Marble’s Super Sandwich times with African Americans, while Darrell runs Cristan’s Suthe first thing we want to do per Sandwich Shoppe. As to be when we have a product is go expected, the brothers have faced and offer it to someone else some difficulties as for as working rather than our own people. We with fomily, but nothing more were determined notto do that,” than basic sibling bickering.

“Family can be difficult,” said Darrell. Brother Calvin said, “We have our moments when we might disagree - they’re usually minor, but sometimes the Oittle) ones can really start to heat up.” At both Marble’s and Cristan’s, customers can expect to get great customer service as well as eat sandwiches made from the highest-grade mepts and cheeses. In addition to serving various burgers and-jstt&‘ wiches, they also offer ribs, seafood and an array of salads, all made with 100 percent natural fresh meats. After so many years in the business, the brothers credit their success to maintaining great customer service, staying hands-on and constantly educating themselves and nurturing their businesses. Calvin and Darrell are working on their dream of opening “quite a few of these stores” in addition to opening an upscale, Southern-style eatery with live entertainment and comedy. They say as second generation business owners, they hope to pass the tradition of entrepreneurship on to their children in the future.

War Wibi Iraq Will it drop a bomb on your retirement savings?

WMNS - During times of conflict, war is a possibility. It’s natural to think about how military action may affect retirement saving- particularly in light of the tough times the economy has had over the last few years. Many experts are depicting gloom over the stock market, the threat of war and the possible impact of war on the economy. Other experts feel that the economy is on the mend. This conflicting advice and information raises questions. Should investors keep up their level of retirement investing? Move investments into

cash? Research the trends? To help sort through these questions, look at this historical per-

spective.

From this chart we can see that the stock market is generally not negatively affected over the long-term by a military conflict. As such, staying true to the overriding principles of retirement investing is the most prudent approach to take. Think about investing for retirement as a long journey by car. Sometimes there are bumps in the road. Sometimes you need to drive through a passing storm. If you turn the car around every

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time a storm threatens, you will never reach your destination. Retirement investing is similar. It is a long-term goal, but one with storms and bumps along the way. Rene Campis, executive vice president, Retirement Financial Services at Delaware Investments, suggests that investors stay focused on overall goals. Following these principles can help: • Time is on your side. “The more time investors can keep money invested, the more time they have to ride out the ups and downs of the markets and less worry should be placed on market risk,” said Campis. • Dollar cost averaging is an invaluable tool. By investing in a salary deferral plan, investors benefit from dollar cost averaging. Regular, pre-set investing in retirement accounts will ensure that investors buy more shares when prices are low and less shares when prices are high. While temporary downturns don’t look good on a participant statement, it does mean that contributions will buy more

shares.

• Diversify, diversify, diver-

sify. Retirement plans often offer a variety of investment options ranging from low to high risk. Review these options and risk tolerance. Investors should maintain an asset allocation plan that is right for them. This approach will help to weather the ups and downs of the market. Campis suggests investors stay focused on their long-term retirement plan objectives. By jumping in and out of the market investors can miss rapid movements on both the up and down sides. The bottom line is that retirement investments may be affected for a period of time by war, but by taking into account the historical perspective, investors are less likely to experience a long-term negative affect The most prudent action may well be to review asset allocation to ensure that you are well diversified, don’t try to time the market and keep investing toward your retirement goals. Ultimately, time is on your side. Distributed by Wealth Management News Service.

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Black Business Profile Information provided by buslnese ownara Name of Business: Williams and Bluitt Funeral Home Inc. Address: 2451 Dr. Andrew J. Brown Ave. (Martindale Avenue) Phone: (317)923-2381

Fax:

(317)923-6331 Web she: www.wflliamsandbluitt.com | Year Opened:

1962

Owner:

Nathan L. Bluitt Jr.

Number of employees:

4 fulltime, 10 part time Products/Services:

Funeral services, including pre-planning, nationwide shipping, notary service and financing to fit a family’s needs. Why did you start the business and how has it

grown?

To serve mankind in the capacity of a funeral director anfr mortician. I believe this is a God-given passion that was revealed to me in my early childhood. My father, Nathan L Bluitt Sr., founded Bluitt & Son Funeral Home of Kokomo, Ind., in 1957. This gave me the blueprint He was my role model and I watched him over the years as he displayed great passion and genuine concern as he serviced the families of Kokomo. As I grew in age, my desire to be a funeral director grew as well and soon I was working side by side with my father. Who does your business best serve and why? Williams and Bluitt Funeral Home serves the African-Ameri-can community almost exclusively simply because it has no choice. Unlike the majority funeral homes, a minority owned funeral home can only market to and serve its own community. The majority community only supports its own, while some of the minority, being used to going to the majority for goods and services, will patronize them when we have lost a loved one. Recently, at a dedication service for Marvin L Boatright, a preacher-fimeraldlrector cited this situation as a national concern, stating; “We help buy mansions we can only dean, yachts and cars well never ride in.” He went on to say that one of the common complaints is our facilities are not up to par as the majority community funeral homes. Our people should consider the fact that we, as consumers, because of our resources, spend less money but receive more service. Nevertheless, some still turn from their own. What are some obstacles you faced and how did you overcome them? One of the most common obstacles that minority businesses face is financing. Funds to purchase and market the business plus overhead expenses are very difficult to come by. After obtaining funding from NBD to purchase what was then Williams Funeral Home, I found myself in a seemingly foiling mode when I was informed that my mortgage with a five-year balloon payment was due and that I had to seek financing elsewhere or face foreclosure. The burden of marketing my business and out of pocket renovations made it impossible to service the loan in a timely manner. But with God to provide our needs and tenacity, I was able to overcome that obstacle. Significant business advances/achievements: In December of1992,1 purchased the assets and track name Williams Funeral Home from the founder, the late Richard E. Williams. The firm had serviced a total of 56 families for that year. This year, Williams and Bluitt Funeral Home Inc. will service over 300 families. The facility has undergone extensive remodeling and expansion including a chapel, which seats over 200 people to accommodate the families we are blessed to serve. Three brand new professional vehicles have been purchased in the last year to further enhance our service. We have recently purchased two vacant buildings immediately north of our facility to provide additional parking. How has your business grown? First and foremost this business has grown by the grace of God and as a result of implementing the principle of tithing into our business plans. We also practice putting money bade into the community by supporting numerous faith-based programs via radio and television. We also contribute to numerous charitable causes that benefit the African-American community. Last but not least, Williams and Bluitt Funeral Home Inc. gives the Indianapolis community a value funeral service, which equates to quality at very af-

fordable prices. Future goals:

We plan to buy the single building that remains northeast of our facility, which will be razed for additional parking. Also, an additional chapel wm be added to accommodate the projected growth in volume.

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When answering this question, I must experience, which has been over 30 yean and 20 as a funeral home owner, but I experienced and dedicated staff of