THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA JOB MARKET: WHERE...

As firings go, Ray Perry hardly had time to cry in his coffee when he was suddenly dismissed two years ago as executive vice president of the Carl’s Jr. hamburger chain.

Other fast-food chains expressed an interest in hiring Perry, who had overseen the quick expansion of Anaheim-based Carl Karcher Enterprises. And he could afford to be picky, since he had amassed considerable retirement money and stock that could see him through unemployment.

But Perry didn’t want to move his family out of California.

Instead, he decided to improve his life from the, uh, grounds up by investing more than $250,000 to take control of a 15-unit franchised coffeehouse chain.

“There were many problems, but I saw the opportunity--the explosion of this industry,” says the 51-year-old chief of Tustin-based Kelly’s Coffee and Fudge Factory over a cup of company brew.

Since making his investment, Perry percolates with enthusiasm about the potential of the coffeehouse phenomenon that has swept south from Seattle.

But he acknowledges too the persistence of many of the problems that have stymied growth at Kelly’s.

“Within a year, I thought, we would have cash flow to the point where we are turning a profit. That hasn’t happened yet,” says Perry, who so far isn’t taking a salary.

The chain needs $2.5 million to build new stores for potential franchisees, but investors are hard to come by, Perry says. In the meantime, he blames the recession for the chain’s flagging momentum and himself for not scrutinizing Kelly’s more closely beforehand.

“If you’re going into business for yourself,” he warns, “you need to do a terrific job of due diligence. You really need to look hard at the company.”

But fixing problem restaurant companies is Perry’s specialty, and taking the reins at Kelly’s is a way to fulfill a dream: “to run something big,” the course he was on at Carl Karcher before being fired over disagreements with Chairman Carl Karcher and the late President Donald Karcher.

Now he labors 12 hours a day, six or seven days a week. “In a business you own, you do everything,” he says. “You are the marketing guy. You are the finance guy. I’ve even been the janitor.”

That’s reminiscent of his Carl’s Jr. days, when Perry wasn’t above giving impromptu lessons in swabbing a messy washroom.

Despite it all, Perry is still excited about Kelly’s. He plans to add fresh-baked breads to the menu to sell by the loaf and in sandwiches, figuring that will create a lunch business during what is now the slowest time of day for the coffee, candy and pastry chain.

His wife, Robbie, is marketing the company’s roasted coffee beans to other companies, and he hopes to start selling Kelly’s coffees from carts.

Sooner or later, he also hopes to start making some money.

Ray Perry: Age: 51 Experience: Executive vice president, fast food chain Capital Investment: $250,000 plus