By Gregory J. Gilligan
Times-Dispatch Staff Writer

John A. Felico has picked up a lot of Italian recipes from his family over the years.

Felico, however, came up with his own recipe for success: combining luck, know-how, and a simple idea with the ability to be at the right place at the right time.

"I have always been hungry for success,” said Felico, the grandson of an Italian immigrant.

More than three years ago, Felico opened his first Dominic's of New York^® food kiosk in Richmond. Since then, the business has grown into 40 units across seven states with more planned to open this year.

His food carts, which sell a variety of sandwiches including its signature Italian sausage sandwich, operate mostly in front of Lowe's home improvement stores. There are seven Dominic's of New York^® locations in the Richmond area, including the chain's first mall location in The Shops at Willow Lawn.

Felico has taken the operation of the basic food cart to a new level. The carts offer a diverse menu and many of them have computerized cash registers, which provide detailed sales reports.

Felico also has established a budding national business. Sales should exceed $10 million this year, and the company is expected to post its first profit in 1998.

Later this week, Dominic's of New York^® packaged, uncooked Italian sausage will begin selling in the specialty meat departments of selected Ukrop's Super Markets Inc. stores. The move is not only a way to diversify the company's offerings but also a test to determine whether its products can be sold in a grocery store environment much as Bob Evans and Jimmy Dean sausages are.

Felico's ideas and concepts earned him a place earlier this year as one of 16 finalists in the Virginia Entrepreneur of the Year Award, which honors leaders of emerging companies.

"I have zero fear of failing," said Felico, the co-founder, president and chief operating officer of FoodNet Inc., the Richmond-based company that operates the Dominic's of New York^® chain.

"People are always telling me ways that I will fail in this venture, and I keep seeing ways that I can only succeed," he said.

Paul Scott, a minority investor in FoodNet who was instrumental in the early establishment of the company, said Felico has a drive to win.

"He is just like the Energizer Bunny," said Scott, who also owns an accounting firm on Long Island. "He doesn't give up and just keeps going and going."

John W. Vining, vice president for administration at Lowe's Cos. Inc. home improvements chain, agreed with Scott's assessment. He said Felico is persistent and tireless.

"He goes after what he wants to achieve, and he usually gets it," said Vining, who approved Felico's idea of putting a food kiosk in front of Lowe's.

Vining and others describe Felico as being a hard worker, ambitious, determined and enthusiastic.

They also say Felico is fearless and bold -- personality traits that some say can be either strengths or weaknesses.

'Very Impulsive'

"He is very impulsive," said Richard Kave, FoodNet's chief financial officer and one of Felico's business partners.

"When he gets an idea, he thinks it through in his mind and comes up with a way to do it and implement it," Kave said. "Often the process should have gone through more review. As a company, we are always running behind him trimming off the loose threads because he moves so quickly."

Felico, 33, even admits that he can be somewhat of a loose cannon.

"You have to be if you are going to be visionary," he said.

And he describes himself as an egomaniac. "What really gets me going is when someone says, 'That is John Felico' or 'John Felico has done this or that,' " he said.

He even jokes that he could one day replace country music star Jimmy Dean as the sausage king now that his Dominic's of New York^® sausages are being sold in some Ukrop's stores.

He's amazed

Kidding aside, though, Felico said he is amazed at how much he has achieved. He said much of it has to do with a strong desire to succeed.

Since graduating from high school 14 years ago, all Felico wanted to do was to get a job where he could make lots of money. But the job market was so tight in 1984 that he couldn't find one.

So he decided to do what he knew best -- sell Italian sausage sandwiches from a trailer at fairs and festivals in the New York City area. His father owned a food trailer, and Felico had worked with him during the summers since he was a boy.

Felico bought a trailer, and his business was robust during the summer festivals. But come fall, there were no festivals -- and no work.

To sustain himself in the off-season, he put a second trailer near the freight and maintenance shops at John F. Kennedy International Airport. He wanted to open more year-round trailers, but there were no more vending permits available.

While his food trailer businesses were flourishing, it wasn't good enough for Felico. He joined multi-level marketing organizations, such as Amway, in his effort to become rich.

Looking for more

"I was always looking for more opportunities," Felico said.

Even though he had the drive, Felico did miserably working with these organizations. It wasn't until 1994, when he was attending on organization's convention, that Felico realized how he could achieve success.

A man seated next to Felico told him that he had all the attributes to make it in the business world. The problem, the man said, was that Felico had never fully decided what he really wanted to do in life.

"I sat there and realized what he said was true," Felico said. "That was a really defining moment in my life. My wife and I walked around, and that is when we decided that we need to really make Dominic's of New York^® big."

In front of stores

About the same time, someone had suggested to Felico that the put food carts in front of retail stores where there would be enough of a draw to make the carts profitable.

After initially getting a couple of rejections from retailers, Felico finally got his lucky break when North Carolina-based Lowe's came calling. The home improvement retailer was looking for a food provider.

"People look at us and say that is so simple why didn't they think of it?" Felico said. "We just fell into it -- being at the right place at the right time."