ICON LLC         ICON was founded on March 8, 1999 by restaurateurs Rich Melman and Gerard Centioli along with their long time general counsel Michael Fox. The three are the sole members and managers of the company.           Rich Melman is a Chicago native and second-generation restaurateur. Rich learned the restaurant business from his father, Morrie Melman. His first restaurant job was at Ricky's - his father's restaurant in Chicago.           Gerard Centioli is a Seattle native and second-generation restaurateur. Gerard learned the restaurant business from his father, Gill Centioli. His first restaurant job was in at KFC - his father's franchise in Seattle.           Michael Fox is a Chicago native and corporate attorney. He has represented ICON since its establishment in 1999, Richard throughout his business career, and Gerard since he first joined with Richard in 1984.           The trio founded ICON for the expressed purpose of forming partnerships with bona fide foodservice icons. Icon status is reserved for concepts that (i) are indisputably best in class (ii) have names synonymous with their featured product and (iii) have stood the test of time.           The first ICON partnership is with Joe's Stone Crab. Joe and Jennie Weiss opened Joe's Stone Crab restaurant in Miami Beach, Florida in 1913. Joe's Stone Crab has served the finest stone crab for over eighty years. ICON and the Joe's founding family established Joe's Stone Crab Development Company for the development of the concept outside of the original Miami market.           The first ICON venture, Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab, opened in Chicago, Illinois, on October 19, 2000. A poll of readers of Chicago Magazine named it "Best New Restaurant of the Year."           The second ICON partnership is with Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. Vernon Rudolph opened the first Krispy Kreme doughnut store in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on July 13, 1937. Krispy Kreme has served the finest doughnuts for over sixty years. ICON established KremeWorks USA, LLC in a joint venture with Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc., the franchiser of the concept. They established KremeWorks Canada, LP for the development of the concept in the province of British Columbia.           The second ICON venture, a Krispy Kreme Doughnut store opened in Issaquah, Washington on October 30, 2001. Our second store in Spokane, Washington will open in June of this year.           The selection of Joe's Stone Crab and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts as the first two ICON concepts is reflective of a steadfast "commitment to excellence." The founders believe that the difference between excellent and good, between the best and the rest, is found in the detail. Gerard Centioli frequently references his favorite Rich Melman quote to emphasize the importance of detail to ICON. "You can't be 1000% better than your competition, but you can be 1% better in a thousand different ways."
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