We’re back with another newsletter - this time with a bit of history on KFC in Utah, as well as my podcast with Sean Thomas - the grandson of Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas.

Let’s dive in 🫡

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What’s on My Mind 🧠

KFC in Utah…

KFC has roughly 3,500 franchise locations in the U.S., but in Utah, it’s not quite the same.

Like any franchise, each location has to pay royalties to the franchisor. So in the case of KFC franchise owners, their royalties are paid to Yum! Brands, the ~$40 billion parent company of KFC.

Except…for the franchisees in Utah. The state is home to about 40 or so locations. They look like any other KFC, and their menu (from what I can tell) is largely the same.

But those locations don't answer to Yum! Brands.

Thanks to a deal dating back to 1964, they pay royalties to a company called Harman Management Corp. Turns out, the first Kentucky Fried Chicken didn’t open in Kentucky. It actually opened in Utah in the 1950's.

Side note: Utah Fried Chicken doesn’t really have the same ring to it.

The franchisee of location #1 was a gentleman named Pete Harman - a good friend of Colonel Sanders (the statue in the picture above is Pete Harman and Colonel Sanders at KFC #1).

Thanks to the success Pete had with his initial location, Colonel Sanders gained the confidence to franchise KFC nationally.

Fast forward to 1964 when the Colonel is getting acquired -

As a way of saying thank you for Pete’s important early contributions, the Colonel carved out the state of Utah in the sale of KFC.

So to this day, Harman Management Corp is not only a franchisee of KFC, with ~260 locations across 8 states, but they’re also exclusively -in the state of Utah - the franchisor of the brand.

It’s the only concept I know at international scale with a nuance like this.

If anyone out there knows anyone at Harman Mgmt, I’d appreciate an intro as I’d love to chat with them and learn more about their history!

Live on Empires 🎧

A New QSR Franchise Recently Launched

Sean Thomas is the grandson of legendary Wendy’s founder, Dave Thomas.

Along with the Venture Kitchen team, he’s a co-founder of Minnie Bird, which recently began franchising.

In our conversation, Sean shares what it was like growing up with Dave, and gives some inside baseball on Wendy’s origins.

We also discuss the journey building Minnie Bird, their early franchising success (3+ franchisees already), and their 3 core product pillars:

• Fried chicken

• Dirty soda

• Free ice cream!

Check out the conversation on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Watch

Listen

QSR Corner 🍔

Whataburger Adds $4 Value Menu
Low-priced options could attract diners in new markets and sustain sales in core trade areas.

Wendy’s Could Be…Going Private?
Nelson Peltz, who has been heavily involved in the fast-food chain for two decades, is moving closer to a purchase.

Starbucks Unicorn Frappucino Goes Viral
The chain spent months building anticipation for the drink, which was available for just two days and drove a 28.5% traffic bump compared to a typical Saturday.

California Pizza Kitchen is Deploying 1k Kiosks
A partnership with retail tech company T-ROC Global could help CPK reverse the steady erosion of its store base by reintroducing the brand to more consumers.

A&W is Betting on Bigger
The larger prototype format is designed to foster meaningful guest connections through hospitality and differentiate the brand from transactional QSR dining rooms.

Inside Dutch Bros’ Growth Strategy
From a strong leadership pipeline to healthy quarterly openings, the drive-thru coffee chain is seeing positive momentum across several parts of its business.

Best of the Rest 🧱

French Florist is Driving Sales With a Human Touch
The floral franchise is growing, with 20 units in nine states.

Buc-ee’s Debuts in Arkansas
The Texas retailer has reached its 14th state, with plans for opening in more than half a dozen others still underway.

Target’s Turnaround is Gaining Steam
The retailer saw a 7.2% year-over-year increase in food and beverage sales during the second quarter, helping to fuel single-digit advances in net and identical-store sales.

That’s it for today’s newsletter, if you enjoyed it, please forward to anyone else in your network who would benefit or find it interesting!

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Happy Monday! Today’s edition talks a bit about Cava, and teases out the upcoming podcast episode.

Let’s dive in 🫡

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With an upfront investment of less than 10% of a brick-and-mortar location and 2.5–4.9x higher return on invested capital, CloudKitchens helps brands grow with less risk and overhead.

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What’s on My Mind 🧠

Cava Keeps Winning

Cava posted an incredible Q2, bucking the trend of many other franchises & chains right now. The core stats to know:

• 9.7% SSS growth

• 5.3% traffic growth

• +17 new locations opened

And that’s after a Q1 where they again posted +9.7% on SSS, and + 6.8% in traffic. All in all, they are dominating right now.

Origins

CAVA began in 2006 as a full-service restaurant serving food inspired by the 3 founders Greek heritage. Current CEO Brett Schulman joined as a fourth partner, helping the struggling business become profitable through tighter financial controls, waste reduction, and supply-chain improvements.

Brett is the one who proposed adapting the concept into a fast-casual “walk-the-line” format. After a year of development and several months of fundraising, the first modern CAVA opened in Bethesda, Maryland, on January 18, 2011.

Why are They Crushing?

For one, you should this article by Rick Vanzura, as he just interviewed Brett and details it in a newsletter format.

But my simple quick take…

I’ve quoted this before from Todd Graves, which is that rule #1 for any restaurant chain in QSR or fast casual is to have a craveable product, and Cava’s mediterranean profile yields numerous craveable meals.

They occupy the sweet spot between craveability and health, giving consumers food they feel good eating both during and after the meal.

Beyond that - the walk-the-line format is familiar, but most importantly - the company has maintained compelling value. They’re delivering food at a price customers perceive as accessible for the quality and portion size.

They’ve also deliberately raised prices more slowly than inflation and many competitors, protecting that value proposition even as restaurant costs increased.

In an environment where many weren’t prepared for the onslaught of rising costs, Cava is taking market share at an accelerated pace, and execs believe they could reach 2,000 units in the future, up from their 480 today.

It’s already a massive company with an $8.3B market cap, but they’re just getting started…

Coming Soon on Empires 🎧

Multi-Unit Wendy’s Franchisee & Emerging Brand Founder

The next guest is a multi-unit Wendy’s owner, as well as founder their own QSR that is now franchising. Stay tuned!

QSR Corner 🍔

Domino’s Adds Personal Pizza
The Detroit-style pizza, dubbed the Domino, will help the brand capture meal occasions ranging from afternoon snacks to midnight meals.

McDonald’s Rolls Out Red Bull Energy Drinks
The addition could help boost traffic, particularly during the afternoon daypart.

Inspire Brands Debuts New Co-Brand
The first Buffalo Wild Wings Go, Jimmy John’s co-branded restaurant opened in Florida.

Burger King is the New #2 - How They Did It
Overhauled burger and updated restaurants help chain rebound from years of struggles

Pizza Hut’s Global CEO Resigns
Aaron Powell, who has been at the pizza chain since 2021, will leave his post following the close of its sale to LongRange Capital.

Best of the Rest 🧱

Casey’s is Acquiring 24 Stores
The deal will add Pak-A-Sak c-stores in the Texas Panhandle to Casey’s growing footprint as the Iowa retailer continues targeting rural markets across the state

Sunoco to Acquire Offen Petroleum for $600M
The deal expands Sunoco’s distribution footprint by over 800 retail stations as it ramps up its M&A activity.

Michaels Debuts New Store Format at 3 Locations
The spaces include revamped department layouts, new personalization services and a self-checkout queue exclusive to rewards members.

That’s it for today’s newsletter, if you enjoyed it, please forward to anyone else in your network who would benefit or find it interesting!

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Happy Monday and welcome to another edition. Today’s newsletter gives some insights on the latest podcast with the Founder & CEO of Tint World, as well as some thoughts on the “Burger Wars”.

Let’s dive in 🫡

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With an upfront investment of less than 10% of a brick-and-mortar location and 2.5–4.9x higher return on invested capital, CloudKitchens helps brands grow with less risk and overhead.

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What’s on My Mind 🧠

McDonald’s is in a League of Their Own

A lot has been written since Burger King reported earnings late last week.

The headline:

• Burger King U.S. same store sales were up 8.5% in Q2

That’s following a 5.8% SSS bump in Q1.

Meanwhile, McDonald’s posted just 0.8% SSS for Q2, and Chris Kempczinski talked a lot about what they got wrong.

So if you’re taking a snapshot of the brands today, then it’s obvious Burger King has major momentum, while McDonald’s is stagnant and maybe taking a step backward.

That said, there are still no “burger wars”.

2025 AUV stats

Large % increases in SSS are easier to come by when your AUV is lagging behind the competition.

It’s worth remembering in 2025, 1 McDonald’s location did the revenue of ~2.5 Burger King units.

And when you look at systemwide sales in the U.S. for 2025, the gap is even bigger:

• Burger King: ~$11 billion systemwide sales

• McDonald’s: ~$55 billion systemwide sales

The brands are simply in different leagues.

And that’s not meant as shade toward Burger King, nor it’s franchisees.

Their performance this year is awesome to see, especially given the number of years they’ve been working towards this with the Reclaim the Flame campaign.

I even recently spoke to a 140+ unit owner on Empires about why things have come together this year for them.

So all in all, there is legitimate reason for Burger King to feel good about the current state of affairs.

But that said….it’s a long way to go before we have a real conversation about “winning” the burger wars at the national level!

Live on Empires 🎧

Building Tint World - Charles Bonfiglio

Charles Bonfiglio is the founder and CEO of Tint World.

Before that, he was a Meineke franchisee as early as 1983.

In our conversation, he shares how he went from:

➡️ Growing up in his father’s Brooklyn clothing factory
➡️ Becoming one of Meineke’s top franchisees
➡️ Building Tint World into a national brand

Today, Tint World has more than 150 locations, and recently nabbed a 20x EBITDA investment from Susquehanna Growth Equity.

Charles is now aiming for 500 units open within the next five years.

This is an awesome story of success, and frankly I came away thinking Charles is one of the most underrated entrepreneurs in franchising.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes…

“I bought a one-way plane ticket, took two suitcases of everything I had, and flew down to Florida by myself. The first couple of nights, I slept in the rental car”

“A lot of franchisees misconceive marketing as an expense, not an investment for ROI”

“I was scared. I thought they were going to crush me and take my business away”

“It costs you nothing to be nice to people, and it comes back tenfold if you do the right thing”

“I thought I sucked at sales. But I really wasn’t selling. I was showing and telling. I would never sell. I would always tell”

Check out the conversation on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts!

Listen

Watch on YouTube

QSR Corner 🍔

Bain Capital is Acquiring Gong Cha
The private equity firm will assume control of a 2,200-unit global chain, with at least 240 stores in the U.S.

Franchisee Takes over Mr Gatti’s
Longtime franchisee G. Brint Ryan acquired the remaining ownership in the pizza chain. The transaction also begins CEO Jim Phillips’ planned retirement after more than a decade

Burger King Rises While Popeyes Falters
Burger King’s revival has gained momentum in recent months, Popeyes has continued to struggle despite its turnaround efforts.

7Brew launched a Mobile App
The new app could aid the coffee brand’s growth by driving sales and raising the quality and volume of consumer data it collects.

Salad and Go Closes 70 Stores
The struggling chain filed for bankruptcy protection, and Dutch Bros is buying all the real estate and related assets.

Wendy’s Franchisees See Traffic Decline After Cutting Breakfast
The brand is trying to find ways to improve the daypart, which now represents roughly 5% of sales compared to 8% in Q2 2020.

Best of the Rest 🧱

Inside Buc-ee’s Numerous Trademark Lawsuits
A callout from comedian John Oliver gas thrust Buc-ee’s legal strategy into the spotlight.

Spirit Halloween is Acquiring Hot Topic
Hot Topic and its subsidiaries will continue to operate independently and will maintain their headquarters in California.

Private Equity Firm Tries Buying 100+ J.C. Penney’s
Onyx Partners is offering $934 million for the properties.

Tourism Economics Boosts Hotel Segment
After hotels outperformed expectations in H1, due in part to the World Cup, the pair now projects higher RevPAR growth for full-year 2026 as well as 2027.

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. Changes Name
The rebrand to Neighborhood Intelligence underscores the company’s ambitions to move beyond retail and into home services.

That’s it for today’s newsletter, if you enjoyed it, please forward to anyone else in your network who would benefit or find it interesting!

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Today’s newsletter covers the struggling pizza sector, and why it’s uniquely positioned relative to other restaurant categories.

Let’s dive in 🫡

🚨 P.S. for Austin TX Restaurant Franchisees 🚨

If you’re a franchisee (or have locations) in Austin TX, the awesome people at Picnic are throwing an event next week! If you want to boost your catering $$$ (and enjoy an open-fire cookout, whole-hog roast, and more), respond to this email and I’ll send you the details!

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Leading QSR and fast-casual brands - including Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, Goop Kitchen, and more - trust CloudKitchens to expand into new markets faster and at a fraction of the cost of traditional real estate.

With an upfront investment of less than 10% of a brick-and-mortar location and 2.5–4.9x higher return on invested capital, CloudKitchens helps brands grow with less risk and overhead.

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What’s on My Mind 🧠

Why Pizza is Hurting

Domino’s just announced Q2 same-store-sales. Despite growing their order count, sales rose just 0.1%…..thanks to selling cheaper pizzas.

Zooming out, pizza was the only category to experience negative sales in 2025. Papa John’s and Pizza Hut are closing hundreds of locations, while the fast casual segment is shrinking:

None of the build your own fast casual concepts have worked out. None of them have delivered great unit level economics where franchisees specifically have been able to say that they were successful.

-Harsh Ghai on Empires

The sector is hurting for a few core reasons, but it makes sense that primarily only Domino’s (2025 SSS were up 4.8%) is weathering the storm.

“Our brand has never been stronger, and our competition has never been weaker”

-Russell Weiner, Domino’s CEO

Third Party Delivery

The rise of 3PD platforms like DoorDash, UberEats, and so on, has given every restaurant the tech & operating stack that enabled Domino’s to dominate in pizza.

Prior to DoorDash, if you wanted delivery, pizza shops were typically the only game in town. Now, you have a virtual food court on your phone that functions the same way:

1. Enter your order via mobile app

2. Receive status updates / follow the “progress bar”

3. Delivery driver shows up to deliver the food

But now that every restaurant can deliver like a pizza chain, pizza chains have to compete…like every other restaurant.

Mom & Pops

Pizza has one of the densest sectors of mom & pop operators (relative to chains & franchises), and they’re able to differentiate meaningfully on quality & experience.

Especially where I live in the NYC area, getting a pizza from a chain versus my favorite independent is a night & day difference in experience. But you can’t say the same about every other category.

7th St Burger is a damn good burger. A Jersey Mike’s Italian sub may not be the same as my local deli who still wakes up at 4am to make their mozz…but it’s still pretty damn good.

This simply isn’t the case with pizza!

CPG

Every restaurant has faced rising costs across COGS & labor since covid, but in the case of pizza restaurants, customers have had an easy, cheaper alternative to turn to: the frozen pizza aisle at their grocery store.

As a result, frozen pizza sales are surging, and I’m not surprised.

While I believe there’s nothing like opening up a fresh pizza box on a Friday night (regardless of where it’s from), the end product of a solid frozen pizza versus a chain pizza is sadly in the same ballpark of quality.

Yet again, just another nuance of this pizza sector that has made things more difficult.

—

I think emerging pizza franchises will have to approach expansion differently given the new landscape. The way Prince St. Pizza is growing is one example of a brand doing it differently, and that is working.

Overall, so long as convenience reigns supreme, Domino’s will continue taking marketshare in this struggling sector!

Coming Soon on Empires 🎧

Building Tint World

The next episode of Empires will be with the founder & CEO of Tint World (150+ locations). He acquired the original 6 locations in 2006, has scaled it for 2 decades, and recently took on a private equity partner to grow the concept to 500+ locations nationwide.

Stay tuned!

QSR Corner 🍔

Taco Bell Hit with Lawsuits
The franchisor, supplier Taylor Farms, and at least one franchisee face legal action from consumers in multiple states over alleged illness tied to lettuce.

Jersey Mike’s IPO Could Raise $1 Billion
The sandwich chain could secure the restaurant industry’s largest public offering of the past 20 years.

Biscuit Belly Acquires Maple Street Biscuit Company
The chain will close 16 of its locations after selling 35 to Biscuit Belly as part of a move for parent, Cracker Barrel, to improve profitability.

Domino’s Same-Store Sales Rise by Just 0.1%
Despite growing their order count, sales rose just 0.1% thanks to selling cheaper pizzas.

How Restaurants Can Win in Era of GLP-1s
As GLP-1 use reshapes consumer appetites, brands must rethink portions, value, menu strategy, and how their food is presented.

Best of the Rest 🧱

7-Eleven Names New CEO
Former beverage industry executive Mauricio Leyva will assume leadership of the country’s largest convenience retailer on Aug. 1.

Topgolf is getting into…Media?
The company is leveraging its venues, digital ecosystem, and millions of annual guests to create a new sponsorship business.

American Franchise Act Advances Through House Committee
Nearly a year after it was introduced in Congress, the American Franchise Act is advancing on Capitol Hill.

That’s it for today’s newsletter, if you enjoyed it, please forward to anyone else in your network who would benefit or find it interesting!

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I’m currently in a post World Cup haze (what a month it’s been!), but the newsletter content must go on.

Today’s edition gives some thought on a common thread I’ve seen in top franchisees, as well as the latest podcast that just went live minutes ago.

Let’s dive in 🫡

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Presented by CloudKitchens

Leading QSR and fast-casual brands - including Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, Goop Kitchen, and more - trust CloudKitchens to expand into new markets faster and at a fraction of the cost of traditional real estate.

With an upfront investment of less than 10% of a brick-and-mortar location and 2.5–4.9x higher return on invested capital, CloudKitchens helps brands grow with less risk and overhead.

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What’s on My Mind 🧠

Top Franchisees Go Deep (Not Wide)

I was speaking to a franchisee the other week who is considering raising capital to execute a roll-up.

He mentioned his plan was to get into 2-4 brands simultaneously and build out a large portfolio.

It gave me pause, because the more I study and learn individual franchisees’ stories, a pattern becomes clear:

Many of the most successful franchisees started with one brand and didn’t deviate from that for a very long time.

Raj Patel, who I interviewed at the end of 2025, repeatedly referred to Dunkin’ as his “engine” that makes all his investments in other brands possible.

Harsh Ghai, who recently came on the podcast, has been accumulating Burger King’s since the 1990s.

And even bigger than these two, are Shane McGuinness and Greg Flynn.

The 1st ever Planet Fitness franchisee, Shane McGuiness, built 114 locations over the course of a few decades.

He then sold all of his locations back to corporate for $800 million at the beginning of 2022.

One concept.

That’s it.

Meanwhile, Greg Flynn owns 7 restaurant brands today generating over $5 billion.

But it all started with an acquisition of 7 Applebee’s in 1999. And he didn’t stop building/acquiring Applebee’s for 11 years.

His next brand didn’t come until 2011, at which point Flynn had 450+ Applebee’s under his ownership.

Most people would’ve called it a day then & there, but Flynn obviously kept growing.

But the point is…his performance in Applebee’s enabled the rest of his success.

The playbook is simple:

1. Find your engine

2. Go deep

Easy to understand, but harder in practice to show up every day for 10+ years, execute, and avoid distractions.

Live on Empires 🎧

From Canes to The Coop

Eliot McDonald has worked at nearly all the big chicken tender concepts:

• Slim Chickens

• Raising Cane’s

• Layne’s Chicken Fingers

Eventually, he decided he had it what it took to do it himself. That’s why he founded The Coop, a chicken tender concept with 3 locations open, and 3 more that should be open by the end of the year.

In our conversation, Eliot takes us through his full journey as an entrepreneur - from a shift manager at Cane’s to founding The Coop.

We talk about why tender focused concepts can perform so well, the differences operationally between the concepts he’s worked at, and what he's doing differently at his own brand to win in this segment.

Watch/listen below, as well as check out some of my favorite quotes!

“I’ve seen some Cane’s that do $12 or 13 million”

“I’ll be upfront with you. It cost me $165,000 to open this store.”

“If Cane’s were to add spicy, I think it would break the internet. It’d make the McRib come back look like nothing.”

“Ninety percent of their locations are probably the best run operations in QSR, period.”

“One day I just woke up. I said, screw this. I’m starting my own brand.”

“It’s going to do 1.2 to 1.3 million the first year. It’ll net 250-ish off that.”

“I didn’t know that the store could do this. It was a $1,750 hour.”

Check out the conversation on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts!

Listen

Watch

QSR Corner 🍔

Taco Bell Traffic Declines
Diarrhea outbreak has resulted in a loss of traffic…

Jersey Mike’s IPO Could Raise $1B+
The sandwich chain could secure the restaurant industry’s largest public offering of the past 20 years.

McDonald’s Hires Nike Vet
Ugwechi Amadi will help the company bring its NEXT strategy to life and create new opportunities for growth.

Why Restaurant Chains are Reviving Value
A look at how QSR is all in on value offerings to win customers.

Chipotle Expands To Mexico
International growth will be an important objective for the chain going forward.

Best of the Rest 🧱

Costco Opens 1st Standalone Gas Station
The new Mission Viejo station offers fuel at prices well below the Orange County average, creating a new competitive threat for nearby convenience retail operators.

How Casey’s is Outperforming The Industry
Executives and analysts credit a restaurant-style approach and steady execution for the retailer’s six straight years of inside same-store sales growth.

How Grocer’s are Making Price Cuts a Top Priority
Retailers have recently focused on creative loyalty strategies and lowering the cost of staple items to connect with financially stressed consumers.

That’s it for today’s newsletter, if you enjoyed it, please forward to anyone else in your network who would benefit or find it interesting!

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We’re back with another newsletter - this time discussing roll ups - and my latest interview with an operator of a brand I’ve been a fan of for a long time!

Let’s dive in 🫡

If you were forwarded this email, consider subscribing below.

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Presented by Restaurant Logistics

Restaurant Logistics partners with QSRs to handle all of their disputes and refunds across 3rd party delivery apps, and does so completely on performance (no set up fees, long-term contracts, or minimums).

Over 400+ QSR locations - including franchisees of Burger King, Popeyes, Church’s Chicken, and more - trust them to recover revenue for them, ensuring 99% uptimes across 3rd party delivery apps.

If you’re a restaurant operator and want to recover thousands of dollars in fees, AT NO COST, get in touch via the button below.

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What’s on My Mind 🧠

The Franchise Roll-Up Framework

For whatever reason, lately I’ve been getting more outreach from searchers looking to get into franchise ownership and execute a roll-up.

Perhaps it’s past podcasts I’ve done with:

• Michael Horowitz - who successfully entered & executed Wingstop

• Jon Smith - who was at 48 locations of Club Pilates when I interviewed him, and continues to grow

• Jack Foster & Jake McLaughlin - who have grown to 25+ Meinekes in two years, and are still building

Either way, searchers typically ask me for a framework of what to look for, so here is my simplified version of that:

(BTW: if you want to chat about this, either reply to this email or book a call here!)

1) Proven Unit Economics

You need a brand with hundreds of locations (ideally 500+) that demonstrably show consistent unit level economics in the ~20% EBITDA range and/or 3 year payback or less.

Top franchise brands in any sector are bringing those metrics to the table, so you’re settling for less if you pick a brand that doesn’t meet that benchmark.

Note: the number of locations within the brand is especially key, as you need a certain volume to be able to have enough internal M&A opportunity

2) Pre-Consolidation

The brand needs to have fragmented ownership. If you tried entering Club Pilates or Wingstop today, you’ll be competing with numerous groups who already have scale, reputation, and deal flow.

All of which would make it an uphill battle to execute a roll up.

You need to get there before others figure it out - which is what Nick Mindel did with Nothing Bundt Cakes about ~20 months ago

3) Aligned Leadership

"My number one rule is, I don't care what the brand is—if the leadership isn't right, I'm not investing” - Raj Patel, 100+ unit Dunkin’ Owner

You want to be up front about your intentions with the franchisor, as I have seen so many examples of brands doing all they can to skew M&A activity in the direction they want. This can be, but isn’t always, in your best interest as an aspiring large multi-unit operator.

It has to be taken on a case-by-case basis, but there are many scenarios when it benefits the franchisor to start consolidating ownership. Ultimately, the way to figure this out is to have open discussions with the brand before you sign a franchise agreement!

Live on Empires 🎧

Exploring Handel’s Ice Cream - Andrea Huerta

This was an amazing conversation with Andrea, who has a fascinating operating background. Her parents owned a McDonald’s as she grew up, so her first job was working there.

Eventually, she led the family in expanding a multi-unit portfolio of El Pollo Loco. It is there where she credits her operating prowess.

In that segment of her journey, we touch on how she successfully added kiosks to her units in a way that reduced total labor hours, but increased throughput, order accuracy, and average ticket size….all while maintaining a hospitable environment.

When it comes to Handel’s, we touch on all things related to the brand origin story, operating model, and her unit economics - which she believes is strongly correlated to the store format she chose to go with.

Watch/listen below, as well as check out some of my favorite quotes!

“They make the ice cream in-house, and I was like, ‘That’s why it’s so good.’”

“They’ve won every award. National Geographic has rated us best ice cream on the planet.

“By 9:00pm on a Saturday night for us, we’re running $1,000 to like 12, 13, $1,400 hours.”

“We projected ourselves out at about a million [in revenue], and I think we will be well above that for this year.”

“One of the things I love about Handel’s is that like it is a perfect job for teenagers, for students, or for someone who just wants kind of like a side gig. It’s easy work, it’s really easy to train, and, you know, the work itself is fun and joyful.”

Check out the conversation on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts!

Watch

Listen

QSR Corner 🍔

60 Unit Hardee’s Zee Files for Bankruptcy
Superior Star, which was formed in 2023, lost 32 units last year due to terminations or closures.

QSR Traffic Fell 4.4% in May
Captain Clutch has become an equity partner in the fast-casual salad chain, just weeks after winning the NBA Championship.

Papa Murphy’s Closing ~50 Stores
This move is part of a performance review of the parent company’s owned portfolio that identified 68 underperforming locations across multiple brands.

Taco Bell is Implementing AI
Through a partnership with Omilia, which has brought voice AI to nearly 900 U.S. restaurants, the Mexican chain will continue to add the tech across its domestic system.

Wonder Buys Another Chain
Wonder, the virtual food hall valued at ~$7 billion, acquired Mighty Quinn’s, an NYC based BBQ chain

Crumbl Hires new CTO
The dessert chain promoted Jacob Moncur to succeed CTO Bryce Redd, who spent more than eight years leading the chain’s tech strategy.

Best of the Rest 🧱

Men’s Wearhouse Files for IPO
Tailored Brands shuttered more than 400 locations in 2020 but is ready to replace them, starting with 20 this year and even more in 2027.

7-Eleven Sues Nike
Nike sneakers, which were originally expected to launch on July 11, feature orange, green and red stripes that resemble those used in several 7-Eleven trademarks.

Hotels End up With World Cup Boost
CoStar data through June 27 shows that hotels in U.S. host cities have averaged RevPAR gains “well above 20%,” surpassing the group’s initial projection of 13%

That’s it for today’s newsletter, if you enjoyed it, please forward to anyone else in your network who would benefit or find it interesting!

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Hope you all had a great 4th of July 🇺🇸🇺🇸.

We’re back to our regular scheduled newsletter, with today’s edition covering the upcoming Jersey Mike’s IPO, as well as my latest interview, with an absolute legend of a franchise owner!

Let’s dive in 🫡

P.S.

Check out my website for a library of all my content, as well as to get in touch if you’re interested in buying a franchise, and/or selling your locations.

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What’s on My Mind 🧠

Jersey Mike’s By The Numbers

Jersey Mike’s is officially on the verge of going public - after filing their registration statement with the SEC on Thursday.

They will list its stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “JMKE.”

This is a franchise that was founder-led for nearly 50 years. And in that time, it took 40 years to break 1,000+ locations open.

In the last decade, they’ve tripled that amount, as well as increased their AUV from ~$824k to north of $1.3M. They’ve had 20 consecutive years of positive same-store sales growth, with a +3.2% gain in 2025.

Put simply, they’re heading into the IPO with insane momentum. Here are more stats to consider for the high-flying sandwich brand:

• AUV: $1.37 million

• Units Open: ~3,300

• Systemwide revenue: $4.3 billion

• Brand Net Income: $55 million

• EBITDA Margin: ~47 perecent

• Development Pipeline: 1,600+ units

• US Market Unit Target: 7,500

• International Unit Target: 15,000+

What a run for this brand and their franchisees!

Live on Empires 🎧

A Family Owned Empire - Harsh Ghai

This was an amazing conversation with Harsh, who has a wildly impressive portfolio:

• 140 Burger Kings

• 80 Taco Bells

• 45 Popeyes

My favorite part of it is that it’s entirely family-owned.

We dive deep on many topics particularly the Burger King comeback, why Taco Bell is so dominant, and the lessons he’s learned over the years. Harsh is very candid that while he’s had success, he gives us an honest take on investments that didnt pan out - particularly in the pizza sector.

A few quotes that stick out to me from our conversation:

“This is probably the most bullish that I have ever been on the brand in my history being in it."

"We're probably between five and six hundred million dollars in revenue today. I would say that we're well over fifty million dollars in EBITDA”

“Pizza is insanely competitive.…and I think it is the one category in fast casual QSR where unbranded restaurants are giving branded restaurants a run for their money. And with the branded restaurants, it’s all about price. And Domino’s is a decent product for for their price point, right?”

Check out the conversation on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts!

Listen

Watch

QSR Corner 🍔

Jersey Mike’s IPO
The filing marks the culmination of a transformative period for the company…

Knicks Star Invests in Just Salad
Captain Clutch has become an equity partner in the fast-casual salad chain, just weeks after winning the NBA Championship.

Tropical Smoothie’s Growth is Accelerating
The chain expects to open 175 units this year and has a pipeline of over 900 units to open after 2026.

Luckin’ Adds Kiosks to Locations in NYC
Known for requiring mobile ordering via their app, the fast-growing coffee chain has added a new ordering channel to its New York locations.

Restaurant Hiring is On the Upswing
Restaurants and bars added 48,000 jobs in May and have been on a hiring tear for months now

Best of the Rest 🧱

Club Pilates Franchisee Doubles Down
Operating 14 Club Pilates units in the New York City area, Saber Ammori has signed a 70-unit development deal.

Woof Gang Bakery Takes Minority Investment
Boston-based private equity firm Great Hill Partners invested in the franchise, that is majority owned by Garnett Station Partners

Kroger Makes $1.65 Billion Acquisition
Kroger’s acquisition of Giant Eagle expands their geographic reach and marks the first acquisition under recently appointed CEO Greg Foran

That’s it for today’s newsletter, if you enjoyed it, please forward to anyone else in your network who would benefit or find it interesting!

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Today’s newsletter includes some thoughts on my latest podcast interview - with CEO & Owner of a very underrated bagel franchise - as well as a quick note on operational simplicity feat. In-N-Out.

Let’s dive in 🫡

P.S.

If you’re a multi-unit franchise owner considering selling your business or raising capital, reach out to my team at FD Capital for valuation & sell-side services.

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You can hire accounting, sales, marketing, customer service, or operations pros for 70% less than local hires - in just days.

They work with numerous multi-unit franchisees and franchisors - enabling efficiency that frees up your best people to focus on the highest leverage work.

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What’s on My Mind 🧠

Keep it Simple

Since their inception 70+ years ago, only 5 items have been added to In-N-Out's 15 item menu:

• Lemonade

• Dr. Pepper

• Milkshakes

• Hot chocolate

• The famous "Double-Double"

They’re the epitome of keeping things simple, so they can execute with perfection.

On a related note, in my latest podcast conversation, my guest mentioned that the top 3 sandwiches at his bagel shops represent 51% of revenue.

But at one point, they had 32 sandwich options with 11 of them representing 91% of sales. Which means 21 EXTRA options were representing just 9% of sales.

Naturally, he trimmed the menu quite a bit…

I look at many businesses, restaurant or otherwise, that are offering so many services because they want to appeal to as many customers as possible.

But in that effort to appeal to the masses, you create inefficiencies in your business, and miss the opportunity to signal to your customers what you’re all about.

There’s probably some exceptions, but the vast majority of great franchises and chains started with an incredibly limited offering, and have either kept it, or very slowly added to it. Keep it simple!!

If you’re interested in diving deeper on why simple is better, I highly recommend listening to the Founders podcast episode on Sol Price (the man who invented the wholesale club model aka Costco’s model), where the host discusses the “intelligent loss of sales” theory.

Live on Empires 🎧

The Bagel Wars - H&H Bagels

Jay Rushin acquired H&H Bagels in 2014. He launched franchising in 2021, and today has 20 locations open and another ~100 units in development.

I came away from this conversation thinking this is a highly underrated brand relative to PopUp Bagels, the franchise that’s valued at over $300 million and has received a lot of media coverage due to their funding and buzzy Instagram.

But H&H appears to be a viable competitor and is also positioned much differently.

For one, as it stands today, they have the same amount of franchisees. Yet PopUp Bagels markets that they have 300+ units sold, whereas H&H says they only have 100+ units in development.

If you have the same number of franchisees, how many “units in development” you have is a function of either selling larger territories, or believing you can, believing markets can support a higher number of units.

The reality is, the only thing that matters is how many locations get open and how they perform, everything else is just noise.

For H&H, so far their average unit volume is north of $1.8 million (out of roughly 1,600 sq ft), with their top location posting revenue north of $3 million.

And they’re doing this with a menu and identity that looks very different than PopUp. No rotating menu of schmears, and no celebrity investors (Jay dumped his life savings to acquire this brand).

H&H is a “meal-based brand”, and that distinction left me wondering - how sustainable (on a nationwide basis) are the other bagel brands who are just offering bagels and spreads? Will they have to add more to their menus over time?

Overall, I really enjoyed this conversation with Jay, and I’ll be keen to follow the bagel wars - as H&H might be setting themselves up to win in the long run.

Listen

Watch

QSR Corner 🍔

KFC Rebrands
From a new store look to logo to more boneless chicken, the category giant wants to lead the segment it ignited.

Raising Cane’s Opens Another Flagship
It’s stadium-inspired destination in Inglewood is designed to capitalize on the area’s growing status as a sports and entertainment hub.

Yum! Brands Officially Sells Pizza Hut
The company will sell the chain to LongRange Capital and Yum China Holdings in two separate transactions following a months long review of strategic alternatives.

Chipotle is in Testing Mode
From a crispy chicken to renaming its group meals, Chipotle is considering various operational changes that could help drive sales and traffic.

Fast Food Took a Hit in May
Data from tracking firms found weak results last month, but restaurants are still winning the discretionary spending battle.

Best of the Rest 🧱

Dog Grooming Franchise Signs Multi-Unit Zee
MUMBO operator Patrick Greco, of The Joint and Massage Envy, Signs 30 Unit deal with Sparkle.

Bricks & Minifigs Lawsuit Impacts the Whole System
A consignment dispute at a Bricks & Minifigs store in Oregon over a Lego collection allegedly valued at $200,000 went viral in recent weeks, showing how quickly an entire franchise system can feel the effects of decisions made by corporate.

That’s it for today’s newsletter, if you enjoyed it, please forward to anyone else in your network who would benefit or find it interesting!

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WEEKLY FRANCHISE NEWSLETTER:

Empires Weekly

Exploring the greatest brick & mortar businesses

By Patrick Buckley

Apologies for the late send here! A summer weekend filled with a Knicks championship, World Cup festivities, and friends wedding celebrations kept me plenty busy.

Today’s newsletter features my latest podcast with a longtime Subway owner, and some brief thoughts on the sandwich sector.

I’ll be back this week on Sunday as per the regular schedule!

Let’s dive in 🫡

P.S.

If you’re a multi-unit franchise owner considering selling your business, reach out to my team at FD Capital for valuation & sell-side services.

If you were forwarded this email, consider subscribing below.

Subscribe now

Presented by Sagan

Building a world class team has never been easier thanks to Sagan -

You can hire accounting, sales, marketing, customer service, or operations pros for 70% less than local hires - in just days.

They work with numerous multi-unit franchisees and franchisors - enabling efficiency that frees up your best people to focus on the highest leverage work.

Empires Subscribers can get VIP Access to their global talent network by filling out this form.

Have any questions? Just reply to this email to get in touch with me directly!

What’s on My Mind 🧠

Growth Isn’t Everything

Note: I put the Y-Axis on a logarithmic scale, as the line was hovering on the X-axis for nearly the whole chart when set to linear

Subway began franchising in 1974 when they had about 14 locations. Led by long-time CEO and co-founder Fred DeLuca, growth was the main goal, and grow they did.

By 1988, Subway already had ~2,200 locations globally (most were in the U.S. though), and ~$360M+ in systemwide revenue.

Those were the days when we’d open a Subway and there’s literally lines around the block.

That quote is from Bill Mathis, a longtime Subway franchisee who joined the brand in 1992 (more about him below).

Subway was truly the dominant sandwich chain for decades, and Bill backed that up with tangible examples.

Meanwhile, the remaining 3 franchises that make up the “Big 4” of the sandwich world today, were barely underway:

• Jersey Mike’s: didn’t begin franchising until 1987

• Jimmy John’s: only began franchising in 1993

• Firehouse Subs: was FOUNDED in 1994, and franchised a year later

There were of course others along the way in different regions (Clarks, Blimpies, etc.) and Quiznos had their own infamous rise & fall.

But despite Subway’s growth as a brand on a location basis, and major head start compared to the other brands with longevity….they have the weakest unit level economics today.

A good reminder that the leadership at the franchisor level, over a long enough timeline, can massively dictate the ceiling of your success.

Live on Empires 🎧

The Evolution of Subway

Bill Mathis joined Subway in 1992 as an employee and, by 2001, was a franchise owner himself.

At his peak, he owned four stores, but today he still has 3 locations, while he’s also a franchisee in Caribou Coffee.

Bill gives us an insider perspective on so many moments that are famous within the QSR landscape:

• The $5 footlong launch (and how it almost never happened)

• The sandwich wars with Quiznos (Coca-Cola helped Subway)

• The early days when their organic traffic was off the charts

• The Jared Fogle debacle and the decade of hardship that’s followed

• Why he’s still a franchisee and wants to remain with the brand

It was an awesome conversation - take a listen or watch below!

Listen

Watch

QSR Corner 🍔

Checking in on 7 Brew
The drive-thru coffee chain has reached 777 units so far and has more than 250 stores in its pipeline

Goop Kitchen is Booming
Gwyneth Paltrow’s gluten-free concept is crushing it in the fast casual category

Clover Food Lab Survives
The plant-based chain, which closed last week, has been saved by an investor

Cava has big 2026 Planned
The chain is hiring over 2,000 employees and will open 75 units this year

Zaxbys hires Waffle House Vet as CDO
Russell Holland, who has served as interim CDO since February, will support the chain’s aggressive growth as it expands past 1,000 units

Best of the Rest 🧱

Casey’s Sells 41 C-Stores
The sale means the regional convenience giant no longer operates in Mississippi

Sleep Number Files For Bankruptcy
The struggling retailer filed for bankruptcy while also inking a merger deal at the same time

Marriott acquires Italian Brand
Through a joint venture with the founders of Lefay, Marriott has brought the luxury wellness brand into its system

DoorDash Launches Conversational
The tool allows grocery shoppers to input a recipe link, photo from a cookbook or image of a shopping list and receive a shoppable cart of food items

That’s it for today’s newsletter, if you enjoyed it, please forward to anyone else in your network who would benefit or find it interesting!

Share Empires Newsletter

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WEEKLY FRANCHISE NEWSLETTER:

Empires Weekly

Exploring the greatest brick & mortar businesses

By Patrick Buckley

Today’s newsletter shares some thoughts on mature brands, and I also give a sneak preview of the next Empires episode coming out this week…

Let’s dive in 🫡

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Presented by FD Capital Group

FD Capital offers advisory services to multi-unit franchisees and franchisors looking to sell their business, and/or raise capital.

A few of our current engagements include:

• 7 unit QSR package

• 42 unit fast-casual package

• 5 unit QSR Package (+ unused licenses)

If you are considering selling or raising capital, reply to this email directly or get in touch via FDCapitalGroup.com.

What’s on My Mind 🧠

The Story Behind Yum! Brands Data

Rewind back to 2004…

If you were to become a franchisee of Taco Bell, or a franchisee of KFC, most would view each brand as a similar opportunity in terms of your potential upside.

If anything, KFC was probably the better bet.

Today, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Taco Bell is arguably the best QSR concept to own, commands multiples north of 10x EBITDA, and is in a category of their own.

Meanwhile, KFC’s U.S. system-wide sales are back to where they were in 2004, and their AUV is the lowest of the big chicken chains (just ~$1.3M)!

Zooming Out on Yum! Brands

When you zoom out on Yum! Brands, the global systemwide revenue looks as such (shoutout Chartr for this one):

Note: Habit Burger is excluded from the charts because they generate zero profit, and are frankly a rounding error in Yum! Brands’ business.

But the operating profit of each brand, which is what the pie chart you saw earlier represents, is the bigger story.

Here’s how it breaks down in pure numbers:

• KFC U.S: ~5%

• KFC International: ~45.5%

• Pizza Hut: ~11.5%

• Taco Bell: ~38%

Over 80% of operating profit is from just Taco Bell and KFC International!

The Point…

You can avoid disgruntled shareholders on earnings calls when the overall portfolio is growing, even if certain segments are declining to the point of irrelevancy.

In other words, the growth of Taco Bell and KFC International has come at the expense of KFC U.S. franchisees and Pizza Hut U.S. franchisees.

Both brans were once the top of their sector here, and now both are arguably amongst the lowest performers on a per unit basis.

For years, no one batted an eye, because Yum! as a whole was growing.

But it highlights the risks of mature brands:

Big systems are slower to make changes and adjust, and the franchisors have more levers to pull (ahem, DISTRACTIONS), like global growth, that can generate returns for them, but do little for you in the U.S.

This is why leadership matters so much at the brand level.

Declines at this scale don’t happen overnight. It’s numerous moments of inaction, and death by a thousand paper cuts.

Coming Soon on Empires 🎧

Multi-Decade Subway Owner 👀

New episode coming out this week!

Be on the lookout for a new episode with a multi-unit Subway owner who is also a leader of their franchisee council.

This is an awesome conversation where we go through the history of Subway and the recent challenges in the brand.

More to come….

Watch Recent Episodes

QSR Corner 🍔

Major Taco Bell franchisee Sells 44 Units
Ghai Restaurants (an upcoming podcast guest 👀) bought the Houston-area stores, doubling its Taco Bell footprint.

Innovation Meets Customer Satisfaction at Dave’s Hot Chicken
Despite order completion being high, Dave’s, like many chains, tested and then pulled back from drive-thru voice AI.

Chick-Fil-A Opens Ghost Kitchen in Miami
The chain joins a growing cohort of brands, including Pressed Juicery and Roti, to open inside ghost kitchen providers years after restaurants moved away from delivery-only channels.

Subway Offering Delivery From….Walmart?
The sandwich chain is the first restaurant to be integrated with Walmart’s Express Delivery and can be included with a grocery order or delivered on their own.

McDonald’s Announces > NEXT Plan
The plan focuses on improving food quality and taste, customer experiences, restaurant interiors and hospitality.

Best of the Rest 🧱

Dollar General Sales Soar
Customers continue to trade down at ‘accelerated’ rate

Costco Records Strong Results via Protein
The club retailer launched protein-focused private label items to tap into shifting consumer demands stemming from the popularity of GLP-1s.

Regional C-Stores are applying Pressure to QSR
Companies like Wawa, QuikTrip and Sheetz are pushing aggressively into new states and challenging incumbent players both small and large.

That’s it for today’s newsletter, if you enjoyed it, please forward to anyone else in your network who would benefit or find it interesting!

Share Empires Newsletter

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. Today’s newsletter takes a look at Roark Capital’s portfolio, as well as my recent podcast with the co-owner & CEO of Prince Street Pizza!

Let’s dive in 🫡

P.S.

If you’re a multi-unit franchise owner considering selling your business, reach out to my team at FD Capital for valuation & sell-side services.

If you were forwarded this email, consider subscribing below.

Subscribe now

What’s on My Mind 🧠

Changes are Coming to Roark Capital

Roark Capital began with an acquisition of Carvel in 2001, and has developed into the largest portfolio of franchise brands in the world.

In total, it spans over 110,000 locations globally, doing ~$100 billion in systemwide revenue.

The portfolio has 3x more locations than McDonald’s worldwide.

But…there will be some big changes coming, starting with their biggest platform, Inspire Brands.

Inspire Brands

Earlier this month, their largest platform - Inspire Brands - filed to go public.

With:

• 33,000+ locations

• $33.5 billion in systemwide sales

It’s shaping up to be massive IPO.

Dunkin' is carrying the portfolio (no surprises there), while the other brands have some question marks:

• Baskin Robbins has plateaued

• Sonic's AUVs are among the lowest in burgers

• Buffalo Wild Wings core concept hasn't seen positive growth in years - though their “Go” model is gaining traction

Regardless, this was always the plan for Inspire Brands - and I’ll be interested to see more data on these brands as the SEC filings come in. More to come here!

Driven Brands

At the end of March it was reported an activist investor, ADW Capital, was looking to push Roark into a sale of Driven Brands.

Roark took Driven Brands public in 2021, and still owns ~61% of the stock. The activist hedge fund is offering a 40% premium to their stock price to buy the company, which forces Roark to seriously consider it.

Now, given Roark Capital recently sold Nothing Bundt Cakes for ~$2 billion, and the Inspire Brands portfolio will be going public, and a potential transaction with Driven could occur…it would represent a lot of activity for a firm that frankly doesn’t transact much.

Roark Over the Years

Roark has raised 6 funds to date, starting with their 1st fund that closed in 2005 with a total of $413M raised.

From what I can gather, their most recent fund was a $4.6 billion flagship that closed in ~2022.

But as I said earlier, despite the massive ecosystem of brands they’ve invested in and/or own a majority of, there hasn’t been many exits or liquidity events.

Again, they’ve owned Carvel since 2001! Most PE firms flip their investments in 3-7 years.

I’m sure there’s continuation vehicles and other liquidity mechanisms being activated that are above my pay grade, but it’s still wild to see how long they’ve held certain investments (especially considering some of them may be past their prime).

Prior to the recent sale of Nothing Bundt Cakes, the most notable exits they’ve had were:

• Taking Wingstop public in 2015

• Selling their stake in Cheesecake Factory in 2021

• Selling FastSigns back in 2014

Maybe it’s fund-cycle pressure finally catching up (those early vehicles are two decades old now). Or maybe it’s just a coincidence of events, as Inspire in particular was always destined to go public.

Either way, given how sparse the activity has been over the years, 2026-2027 is shaping up to be the most active stretch in Roark’s history.

Live on Empires 🎧

Franchising an Iconic NYC Slice Shop

Lawrence Longo is the CEO and co-owner of Prince St Pizza.

Founded in 2012, they made their name in Manhattan with the spicy pepperoni slice that has gone viral across the country ever since they posted it on Instagram.

Lawrence started working with the founders of Prince St in 2018, and built location #2 in Los Angeles after a pop-up event went absolutely bonkers.

It was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. The line went nearly a mile long

He’s been scaling methodically with a handful of corporate owned stores across markets like Tempe, Toronto, and Chicago.

He’s also franchising the concept, but very selectively.

Product craftsmanship is of the utmost importance for this brand, so it’s a very different model than a Domino’s or a Little Caesars. This is why they’re only considering the biggest and best multi-unit operators in the country.

So far, they have two franchisees - Lawrence Kourie, one of the OG Dave’s Hot Chicken operators, and Raj Patel (former guest on Empires) who owns 100+ Dunkin’s, among other brands.

If you’re interested in learning about this brand, Lawrence’s journey as an entrepreneur, and how you can win today in the pizza category - take a listen below!

Listen to Empires

Watch on YouTube

QSR Corner 🍔

Dairy Queen Adds $150k Dev Incentive
The cash incentive and further rewards for multi-unit development, could help the brand grow its Grill & Chill concept.

Domino’s Robotics Partner Shuts Down
Picnic, a Seattle-based startup that raised more than $53 million to develop robots capable of putting human restaurant workers out of a job, has shut down.

Portillo’s Opens 1st Airport Unit
The nontraditional location signals ongoing investment in Texas, where Portillo’s had a disappointing 2025.

Wingstop Launches Loyalty Program
Club Wingstop’s exclusive perks and experiences could help improve guest frequency and same-store sales growth.

Best of the Rest 🧱

Caesars Acquired by Fertitta
The deal brings Caesars’ resort portfolio and digital gaming platform under the same roof as Fertitta’s Golden Nugget Hotels & Casinos and Landry’s restaurant brand.

7-Eleven Completes 204 Store Integration
The locations, which the retailer bought in 2024 for $1 billion, now have 7-Eleven’s loyalty and technology platforms.

Kwik Trip is Heading to Nebraska
The regional C-store giant is continuing its expansion across the midwest.

That’s it for today’s newsletter, if you enjoyed it, please forward to anyone else in your network who would benefit or find it interesting!

Share Empires Newsletter

Empires Weekly

Exploring the greatest brick & mortar businesses

By Patrick Buckley

FOR MULTI-UNIT OWNERS WHO ARE SELLING:
https://www.fdcapitalgroup.com/

00:00 Intro
01:11 How Sean Avery Introduced Lawrence to Prince Street Pizza
02:33 How Instagram Made Prince Street Go Viral
05:12 Why the Spicy Spring Slice Became Iconic
06:32 The 2018 LA Pop-Up That Changed Everything
08:03 The Crazy History of Original Ray’s Pizza
10:40 How Prince Street Created Its Signature Pizza
12:16 The Truth About New York Water & Pizza
14:28 The Story Behind Off The Menu
17:13 Secret Menu Items & Viral Food Marketing
21:55 Why In-N-Out Calls It Animal Style
24:55 Dave’s Hot Chicken & Secret Menu Innovation
25:50 How the Prince Street LA Pop-Up Went Viral
30:11 Convincing The Founders To Expand Nationally
32:01 Lessons From Opening Restaurants With No Experience
34:31 Opening Prince Street During COVID
37:22 Why Frank Shut Down A Store Over Pepsi
39:57 Todd Graves’ Advice About “Craveable” Food
41:13 Expanding Prince Street Across America
45:28 Scaling Premium Pizza Without Losing Quality
48:46 Training Pizza Makers & Maintaining Standards
51:22 The New “Naughty Slice” & Hot Honey Trend
54:04 Pizza Wars, Haters & Restaurant Competition
56:11 Why Prince Street Only Works With Elite Operators
58:42 The Dave’s Hot Chicken Partnership
01:03:27 What Prince Street Looks For In Franchise Partners
01:06:24 The Home Alone Marketing Collaboration
01:09:02 Why Pizza Chains Are Struggling Today
01:12:49 Choosing The Right Locations For Growth
01:16:30 The Future Of Prince Street Pizza
01:17:38 Lawrence’s Biggest Influence & Final Thoughts

Hope everyone is enjoying their MDW 🇺🇸 . It’s been a rainy weekend in the northeast, so here I am typing away on my couch.

Today’s newsletter shares a bit of data on restaurant earnings from Q1, and what the takeaway is for operators out there.

I also give a sneak preview of the next Empires episode coming out this week…

Let’s dive in 🫡

P.S.

If you’re a multi-unit franchise owner considering selling your locations, reach out to my team at FD Capital for valuation & sell-side services.

If you were forwarded this email, consider subscribing below.

Subscribe now

What’s on My Mind 🧠

Only the Strong Can Thrive

It’s no secret restaurants have had a tough go in the last few years.

In Q1 of this year, the following brands reported [dramatic] same-store sales declines:

• Pizza Hut -4%

• Papa John's -6.4%

• Popeye's -6.5%

• Jack in the Box -6.7%

• Wendy's -7.8%

• Wingstop -8.7%

• Sweetgreen -12.8%

Slop Bowls

Slop bowls in particular have taken a lot of heat this year. As you can see above, Sweetgreen led the way with the steepest decline.

But I made the argument in February that it’s not a category problem, and Cava in particular is quite strong.

Well, Q1 results came in this week…

• Cava:

  • +9.7% same-store sales

  • +6.8% traffic growth !!

• Sweetgreen:

  • -12.8% same-store sales

  • -11.2% traffic growth

What Does this Mean?

I should start picking stocks That’s an 18% delta in traffic between two concepts with very similar positioning, and the same format.

Yet Cava is a complete narrative violation, not only for “slop bowl” concepts, but the restaurant industry in general.

They’re winning for 3 boring reasons:

1. 1st and foremost - they have a craveable product

2. They’ve stayed in their lane (1 cuisine, dialed in ops)

3. Their brand has demand pull (hence traffic growth)

I’d argue the 1 & 2 are what fuel #3 over time, but regardless, operators should take note -

Despite a soft consumer environment, the winners are the concepts with the tightest identity and most craveable core products.

Sweetgreen has a clear identity, but their salads leave a lot to be desired in the craveability category. And if you’re a disciple of Todd Graves like I am, you know craveability is rule #1.

And yes…..pricing, brand marketing, managing COGS, labor, etc. all matter too.

But without nailing the big 3, you’re competing with your arms tied behind your back.

Dutch Bros & Taco Bell are two other concepts that check all three boxes, and their Q1 results are top of the line too:

• Taco Bell +10%

• Dutch Bros +8.3%

The brands winning today have built to this point over years if not decades, and will take outsized marketshare as their weaker counterparts struggle.

Because in today’s macro, it’s unclear who survives, but only the strong will thrive.

Coming Soon on Empires 🎧

CEO / Owner of Iconic NYC Pizza Shop 🍕 👀

New episode coming out this week!!!

Be on the lookout for a new episode with an entrepreneur who became a partner at an iconic New York City pizza shop that’s now franchising.

This brand is well known in Manhattan, and has already signed a few of the top QSR operators (50-100+ unit owners!) in the country.

More to come….

Watch Recent Episodes

QSR Corner 🍔

Wendy’s Names Industry Vet as CEO
The CEO change comes days after a report that activist investors were exploring investor backing for a ​potential bid to take the fast-food chain private.

Taco Bell Testing Cold Brew
The chain will use its Live Más Cafés to pilot the beverages, which could see a wider national rollout.

Guzman Y Gomez Exits US
The Australia-based Mexican-themed casual fast food restaurant chain shut its Chicago locations effective immediately.

FAT Brands Transactions are Complete
A bankruptcy court approved the sale of various Fat Brands’ assets through a number of transactions.

Restaurant LTO’s are Booming
GLP-1s, international crises and consumer demand for novelty have made limited-time items an ever more important part of restaurant menu playbooks.

Starbucks Ditches AI Inventory System
The coffee giant is ending its computer vision inventory counting system in favor of traditional stock-keeping methods.

Best of the Rest 🧱

Ikea Franchisor is Cutting 850 Jobs
Inter Ikea Group said the reduction in workforce is necessary as it focuses on increasing sales growth, reducing prices and boosting traffic across channels.

Choice Hotel CEO Exits
The company has appointed Dominic Dragisich, chief growth and strategy officer, as interim CEO.

Buc-ee’s Opening in Arizona
The retailer known for megastores will open its first store in Arizona, which will be its 11th state of operation.

C-Stores not Immune to Pricing
Inflation and macroeconomic challenges are highlighting to consumers just how expensive some items are at c-stores compared to other retailers.

Breaking Down 7-Eleven
The retailer is ramping up franchising and wholesale conversions while still focusing on foodservice goals.

That’s it for today’s newsletter, if you enjoyed it, please forward to anyone else in your network who would benefit or find it interesting!

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