“The Haribo brand? That brand has had me hooked forever. They have everything. I’m addicted to the candy.”
—Eric Shomof, CEO, The Dolly Llama
In her monthly “Grab Bag” column, Editor in Chief Laura Michaels asks the tough questions—What superhero power would you most like to have? What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?—to show a side of franchising execs you don’t normally see.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a news broadcaster. Not necessarily a reporter, but like an anchor. I’ve always loved local news events. But I also wanted to be in the NBA—I loved playing basketball. The Lakers from the ‘90s, that was my team.
What’s a restaurant or food trend you wish you would have come up with?
The Subway sandwich/Chipotle concept. I think that’s genius. Going down the line, choosing what you order. That’s similar to what we do at Dolly Llama, choosing your own toppings. Just this build-your-own model.
What’s something you would seriously stockpile if you found out it wasn’t going to be sold anymore?
Old cars. Hear me out: So, there’s this whole thing with electric cars, it’s starting to scare me. What about old cars? I come from a family, we’re collectors of classic cars. They don’t build ‘em like that anymore and I just have that appreciation. I have a 1970 Pontiac GTO, black.
What are you freakishly good at (or bad at)?
I’m athletic, very athletic. I’m pretty good at all sports. I was an active boy growing up and it’s the same with my kids—basketball to football to soccer, everything. We love the active sports life.
If you could be a member of any TV show family, which would it be?
I’m going to give you a childhood answer: ‘Saved by the Bell.’ I’d be part of the crew. I’m a ‘90s kid.
What superhero power would you most like to have?
Flying. I’d just want to get places faster and it seems awesome. I have motion sickness flying so it’s even weird for me to say flying, but airplane flying is different than superhero flying.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
Candy. Sour candy, gummy bears. The Haribo brand? That brand has had me hooked forever. They have everything. I’m addicted to the candy. But I’m not a chocolate person.
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?
I’m not really an ocean guy, so like, mussels. Anything from the ocean is weird or gross to me. I have had cow tongue, which was delicious by the way.
With whom would you most like to spend a day?
I have a cousin who passed away a couple years ago from cancer, Adam. I’d want to spend the day with him. We grew up together, same age and were very close.
What chore do you absolutely hate doing?
Cleaning up dog poop. I had two dogs, they passed away (last year). One was 17, the other was 15 and they were small dogs. Long story short: Small poop wasn’t a big deal. Now we have a Goldendoodle who just keeps getting bigger and bigger. Oakley, he’s almost five months. And we take him for walks and I’m just like, man, his poops are huge.
What’s your favorite travel destination?
Tel Aviv. I’ve been there many times growing up, I have family there. It’s a very cool city. You have all different races, different types of people and everyone is just walking around and enjoying life. The food, just everything. It’s such an incredible place.