Content area
Full text
ABSTRACT
The case study examines the decision of whether three business partners should sell a highly successful restaurant. Montegro's Italian Grille epitomizes the small business that began as a concept and culminated into a local institution. Financial valuations along with professional and personal considerations weigh heavily on what will potentially be a life-altering decision for the three partners and their long-time employees. The focus of the case centers on the owners' possible actions and the resulting implications. Students explore the decision calculus of the partners who feel compelled to consider other stakeholders, namely their family and staff, in making the important decision on whether to sell or not to sell. The situation described in the case is closely based on actual events. All names of the parties involved (including the restaurant name) have been altered considerably to safeguard anonymity.
THE CASE
It was a hot, sunny, mid-July morning in 2015. The sun had just breached the horizon of Florida's stunning Port of Miami. Mr. Dan Montegro was gazing out over the aqua blue water, enjoying a chef-prepared breakfast on the deck of a cruise ship. As he dined and awaited debarkation, Dan's mind reflected back on the restful 7-day cruise from which he, his family, and his friends were returning. His friend, Steve, reminded him to deactivate his cellular telephone's "airplane mode" setting. The disabling of electronic devices by virtually all passengers because of high roaming rates continues to be one of the distinguishing features of a cruise vacation. Rarely did one see another passenger using a cellular phone on the ship. After a week of being electronically disconnected, Dan suspected that a tsunami of text, email, and voice mail messages would start rolling in . . . and they did. As his family and friends were eagerly discussing booking their next cruise, Dan sorted through a week's worth of electronic communications. This was not so bad, he thought, as the task of deleting or addressing seemed to go swimmingly. Then, all of the sudden, Dan's face turned ghost white! His eyes were riveted on his wife's face with his jaw dropped. Not a sound was emanating from Dan. Donna, his now worried wife asked, "What's wrong Dan?! What did you read?" Dan turned...