A series of happy accidents turned a would-be hockey goalie into the Philly cheese steak ambassador of
the Midwest, when Mr. Spots opened 35 years ago in Bowling Green.
“It was sort of fortuitous accidents that set me on this path,” said Jim Gavarone, owner of Mr. Spots,
which is celebrating 35 years in business. “We developed a good reputation early on.”
Gavarone credits his success to hard work, a great logo, a lot of luck and great food.
Gavarone was recruited out of his Philadelphia high school by Bowling Green State University to play
goalie on the hockey team. He was excited to become part of the team that had been so instrumental in
winning the Olympic gold medal just five years before.
During hockey tryouts he tore his hamstring, ending his ability to be a goalie.
Gavarone hung up the hockey stick to play lacrosse, where he became friends with Jim Kelley. The two
would eventually become business partners and start Mr. Spots, which also has a location in Ann Arbor,
Michigan.
“I saw there was no good food in town. I’d go back east and at home there was a pizza parlor on every
corner and sandwich shops everywhere. It just was lacking,” Gavarone said. “I saw a need. At the time,
nobody but nobody was selling chicken wings, 1985 and 86. Selling chicken wings was just unheard of, and
the steak sandwich not really established as a fast food item in the area. Me and my partner saw a need
and thought we’d give it a shot.”
Gavarone was still a student and living in the dorms when he got the call from his buddy.
“(Kelley) was a salesman in the Youngstown area, not having a very good time, and he decided he was not
going to be a salesman,” Gavarone said.
They were going to name the restaurant after themselves, Jim’s Steaks, but that name was already taken in
Philadelphia. They had to think of something new.
“We didn’t want to be accused of stealing a name. But I had a cat named Spot, so we called it Mr. Spots,
just because. How I got Spot was an interesting story,” Gavarone said.
Gavarone had a saltwater fish tank and was getting supplies. A woman at the pet store handed him a
kitten.
Gavarone didn’t want a cat. He was living on-campus, in a residence hall. But the woman told him if he
didn’t take the calico cat, it would be fed to a snake owned by a fraternity.
“Rats were $3 a piece, but the kittens were free. These guys were taking the kittens and feeding them to
their snake,” Gavarone said.
“I had this cat hidden in the dorm. It was right before Thanksgiving break, so I drove the cat back to
Philadelphia with me. I drove with it for 20 hours, so it was my cat then,” Gavarone said of the cat
that became his inspiration for the restaurant name and logo. “I doodled that on the back of a napkin.
We were flying by the seat of our pants. Neither of us had ever worked in a restaurant.”
In addition to the big Mr. Spots painting at the entrance of the current location, there is also the
fleet of delivery cars with the logo. One of the old Chevette’s car hoods, with a logo, is mounted to
the wall next to the cash register.
The guys built the original restaurant themselves. They did all their own carpentry, purchased freezers
from Sears and bought used equipment where they could find it.
“It would not go down today. They would never have let us do it,” Gavarone said of the modern building
codes. They lived upstairs from that location and it was just the two guys, working constantly.
“The landlords, they were shocked that we made it at all,” Gavarone said.
They opened up the original store around the corner from the current Main Street location on Feb. 17,
1986.
On their opening day there was a line down the street. They had no idea how to plan ahead. They ran out
of food after just a few hours on that first day. Immediately they were victims of their own success.

They eventually brought in the Amaroso rolls, which are still shipped in from Philadelphia. They modified
menu names, because Midwesterners didn’t take to calling the cheese steak a “steak’n Whiz,” like at
Pat’s in Philadelphia with Cheez Whiz covered sandwiches.
“The fries were an accident, but we found out people loved them,” Gavarone said. “The wings, I’ve got
people all over the country asking for them.”
He’s in the process of marketing their hot sauces. The recipes are his own, developed over years.
Kelley remained friends with Gavarone after getting married and leaving the restaurant in 1992. He passed
away from cancer on Feb. 15.
Gavarone is married to State Sen. Theresa Gavarone, R-Bowling Green. They live in Bowling Green and have
three children. Their son, the youngest, is a student at BGSU.
Jim does have some advice for budding entrepreneurs.
“Make sure you have a business plan. Make sure you have an idea what things cost. People didn’t
understand wings. They wanted breasts and thighs,” Gavarone said. “That first day, my mom asked if I
knew how to make these things. She was very concerned. We didn’t know what we were doing at all.”
Today, guys like Tom Brady have mentioned Mr. Spots. The superstar quarterback got hooked on their food
while playing at the University of Michigan.