James Kerby Dobbs: Inflight Catering Pioneer
Dobb's inflight catering operation become the largest in the United States and when it was acquired in 1999 by Gate Gourmet, it was the second largest in the world.
Already successful from owning the largest chain of Ford dealerships in the country, James Kerby Dobbs offered to help an airsick flight attendant serve meals on a 1941 airline flight . He found what he was helping serve made him sick to his stomach. At the time, he owned 60 Ford dealerships across the United States and was responsible for selling 15% of the Ford cars in the nation.
Figuring he could put together a better meal than what the airlines were serving, he got into the airport restaurant business first, buying the restaurant at his hometown airport of Memphis. Renaming it "Dobbs House", his airport restaurants proved popular and quickly spread to over 20 major airports. For many cities, Dobbs House was the best restaurant in town. The airport in this post is the old Lemmon Avenue Terminal at Dallas Love Field and you can see the Dobbs House entrance on the left of the landside facade.
In the postwar period, passenger aircraft not only carried more passengers, but flew faster, placing a premium on meal prep times aboard. With Dobbs House restaurants in just about every major airport, Dobbs started offering pre-packaged meals that shortened prep times, and with a reputation for quality food from his restaurants, Dobbs soon had contracts with 16 airlines to provide inflight catering. It was Dobbs who came up with the idea of partially cooking food items to speed preparation times but still allowing passengers to have freshly cooked meals aloft.
He was one of the first CEOs to offer incentive based pay to his employees.
Dobbs became the largest inflight catering operation in the United States and in 1999, the company was acquired by Europe-based Gate Gourmet. At the time of its acquisition, Dobbs was the second largest inflight catering operation in the world.
Not bad for a guy who started out as a car salesman!