Empires

Bill Mathis worked for Subway starting in 1992, and eventually became a franchise owner in 2001. He's owned as many as 4 stores, and gives us an inside look at the brand over the past few decades. We dive into everything and everything, including the impact of the $5 footlong promo, the sandwich wars with Quiznos, what Fred DeLuca was like, and how the transition under Roark Capital has been.

FOR MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISE OWNERS CONSIDERING SELLING: https://www.empirespod.com/for-multi-unit-owners

WEEKLY FRANCHISE NEWSLETTER:

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit empirespod.substack.com

Prince Street Pizza went from a single NYC slice shop to one of the most viral pizza brands in America. In this episode, Prince Street Pizza CEO & co-owner Lawrence Longo breaks down how the brand exploded through Instagram, celebrity co-signs, and its iconic Spicy Spring slice. He’s now leading the brand's expansion across the U.S. with a highly selective franchising strategy.JOIN OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER:

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

00:00 Intro01:11 How Sean Avery Introduced Lawrence to Prince Street Pizza02:33 How Instagram Made Prince Street Go Viral05:12 Why the Spicy Spring Slice Became Iconic06:32 The 2018 LA Pop-Up That Changed Everything08:03 The Crazy History of Original Ray’s Pizza10:40 How Prince Street Created Its Signature Pizza12:16 The Truth About New York Water & Pizza14:28 The Story Behind Off The Menu17:13 Secret Menu Items & Viral Food Marketing21:55 Why In-N-Out Calls It Animal Style24:55 Dave’s Hot Chicken & Secret Menu Innovation25:50 How the Prince Street LA Pop-Up Went Viral30:11 Convincing The Founders To Expand Nationally32:01 Lessons From Opening Restaurants With No Experience34:31 Opening Prince Street During COVID37:22 Why Frank Shut Down A Store Over Pepsi39:57 Todd Graves’ Advice About “Craveable” Food41:13 Expanding Prince Street Across America45:28 Scaling Premium Pizza Without Losing Quality48:46 Training Pizza Makers & Maintaining Standards51:22 The New “Naughty Slice” & Hot Honey Trend54:04 Pizza Wars, Haters & Restaurant Competition56:11 Why Prince Street Only Works With Elite Operators58:42 The Dave’s Hot Chicken Partnership01:03:27 What Prince Street Looks For In Franchise Partners01:06:24 The Home Alone Marketing Collaboration01:09:02 Why Pizza Chains Are Struggling Today01:12:49 Choosing The Right Locations For Growth01:16:30 The Future Of Prince Street Pizza01:17:38 Lawrence’s Biggest Influence & Final Thoughts

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit empirespod.substack.com

Kavrin McGuire operates 25 Jersey Mike’s locations alongside his father and brother.

In this conversation, we break down:• How Jersey Mike’s maintains product quality at scale• What it’s actually like operating a high-volume sandwich business• Why Peter Cancro built such intense loyalty among franchisees• The truth about the Blackstone acquisition rumors• How Kavrin’s family scaled through acquisitions + development• Why they bought the entire state of Minnesota for Mike’s Red Tacos

We also dive deep into staffing, operations, digital ordering, real estate strategy, small-town expansion, and what separates great restaurant operators from average ones.

SUBSCRIBE TO EMPIRES WEEKLY

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

CHAPTERS00:00 Intro00:54 How Kavrin’s family found Jersey Mike’s03:22 Learning restaurant ops from the ground up05:20 The reality of running a restaurant07:57 Why Jersey Mike’s ops are harder than Little Caesars11:10 Staffing a Jersey Mike’s lunch rush13:50 How Jersey Mike’s built its digital ordering system15:22 Why Jersey Mike’s became a breakout brand16:50 Peter Cancro’s obsession with sandwich quality20:26 Stories that explain why franchisees love Peter Cancro25:53 Kavrin’s role running 25 Jersey Mike’s27:31 Building a long-term leadership team29:26 Acquiring Jersey Mike’s locations31:58 Real estate strategy + buildout costs34:33 Can Jersey Mike’s work in small towns?37:17 Jersey Mike’s culture of giving42:31 Blackstone, Charlie Morrison & the future of Jersey Mike’s47:14 How much white space Jersey Mike’s still has50:59 Why they bought Mike’s Red Tacos54:38 Betting on birria tacos as the next big category57:17 Mike’s Red Tacos operations explained01:00:42 Comparing Mike’s Red Tacos vs Jersey Mike’s ops01:04:42 Long-term vision for both brands01:06:09 Final thoughts

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit empirespod.substack.com

Joe Pedatella is scaling one of the fastest-growing KidStrong empires in the country:

* 16 locations open

* 60+ in development

* And a goal of 100 long term

In this episode, he breaks down how he pre-sold 700 members before opening, built a culture that scales, and turned one gym into a multi-unit machine that is only just starting to hit it’s stride.

Considering buying a franchise? www.empirespod.com/buy-a-franchise

For multi-unit franchisees selling their locations: www.fdcapitalgroup.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit empirespod.substack.com

Area 2 Farms, a venture backed start up, is trying to bring (vertical) farms into every town across America. They've learned from past mistakes of other vertical farm startups, and have changed the model, which they are now franchising...

Considering buying a franchise? https://www.empirespod.com/buy-a-franchiseSubscribe to our weekly newsletter: https://empirespod.substack.com/For multi-unit franchisees selling their locations: https://www.fdcapitalgroup.com/

CHAPTERS

0:00 Intro

0:55 What’s Broken with Food Distribution

2:43 Franchises in Disguise?

4:50 Why “Progress” Crushed Food Quality

7:22 The Machine of Food Distribution

8:50 Starting as a Government Spy

11:19 Pentagon’s Domino’s Pizza Tracker

11:50 What he learned from Hacking Countries

13:23 Becoming a Founder

14:43 Selling His Startup to Cloudfare

15:50 Starting Area 2 Farms

17:35 Why other Vertical Farms Failed

20:35 Why Area 2 is Different

23:09 Moving the Plants, Not Air

24:55 Live Look at Area 2’s Tech

25:57 The 3 Key Innovations

27:22 Location #1

28:50 The Farm Business Model

31:58 Do Customers like it?

32:52 Area 2 vs Grocery Stores

37:47 Turning Farms into a Business

39:46 Franchising the Farm

43:00 Area 2 Farms’ Unit Economics

46:30 The Target Franchise Owner

48:49 Franchise Launch Update

50:36 Is Energy Usage a Concern?

52:05 The Energy Myth in Vertical Farming

53:22 How the Model Evolves Over Time

55:08 Avoiding “Menu Creep” & Staying Focused

56:52 New Revenue Streams: Seedlings, Pumpkin Patches & More

58:10 What Franchisees Actually Need to Learn

1:02:31 Labor Model & Serving 400 Customers per Farm

1:04:10 Systems, SOPs & Avoiding Crop Failure

1:06:00 Why Farming Is the Original Franchise Model

1:07:53 The Mission Behind Area 2 Farms

1:09:00 Convenience vs Community

1:10:53 Real Estate Strategy (Why Gas Stations Work)

1:12:09 Making Each Location Feel Local

1:15:22 What Success Looks Like in 10–20 Years

1:18:00 Closing Thoughts

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit empirespod.substack.com

Nothing Bundt Cakes was recently acquired for $2 billion dollars. Founded in 1997, the brand has quietly built one of the greatest franchises of all time. I explore how they did it, and what their unique X-factor is that has created such consistent success….

Listen to the full conversation with Nick (coming out next week): https://www.youtube.com/@EmpiresPod Subscribe to my weekly newsletter:

Considering buying a franchise? https://www.empirespod.com/buy-a-franchise

For multi-unit franchisees selling their locations: https://www.fdcapitalgroup.com/

CHAPTERS

0:00 - Intro0:49 - The Founders1:27 - What’s a Bundt Cake?2:23 - Launching Nothing Bundt Cakes3:04 - Launching Franchising3:58 - Early Growth4:19 - The Craig Moore Era5:12 - Basics of the Model6:17 - Craig’s Impact7:31 - Selling the Business8:11 - The LLCP Era10:00 - Roark Capital Enters11:01 - Roark’s Insane Portfolio11:33 - Current Unit Economics12:20 - Why Do Bundt Cakes Dominate?13:15 - Reason #1: Narrow Menu X Variety15:02 - Reason #2: Simple Cost of Goods16:13 - Reason #3: Labor Model17:37 - Economic Durability18:39 - Reason #4: The X Factor20:25 - The Most Reliable “Edge”21:26 - The Magic of Bundt Cakes22:00 - Why Competitors Fail23:18 - Will KKR Ruin the Brand?

NOTE:The material used in this video is meant to be used for educational purposes and fall within the guidelines of fair use. For all inquiries, questions, and complaints, please get in touch by filling out the contact form by clicking this link: https://www.empirespod.com/about#about-footer

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit empirespod.substack.com

Brandon Hurst went from - in his own words - “a broke college student” working overnight shifts, to becoming one of the top-performing Chick-fil-A operators in the country, now running multiple locations that generate tens of millions in revenue.

In this conversation, Brandon breaks down the real Chick-fil-A business model, why the $10K buy-in is misunderstood, and how profit-sharing actually works behind the scenes. He explains why Chick-fil-A operators don’t build equity like traditional franchisees, and why that tradeoff has major benefits.

We also dive into what it takes to get selected (it’s harder than getting into Harvard), the reality of running a restaurant with 80+ employees, and how Brandon built systems to scale leadership across multiple locations.

He shares how he turned cash flow into investments, built a real estate portfolio, and more.

Plus, we go deep on:

• The biggest myths about Chick-fil-A franchising


• How COVID accelerated his growth (including 60%+ digital sales)


• Why culture, not systems, is the real moat


• His “LOVE” philosophy for building teams and developing future leaders

This is a masterclass on modern franchising, leadership, and building wealth through cash flow - not just exits!

Get In Touch

Follow/Subscribe to Brandon

Grab Your FREE Guide “The 5 Seasons of Leadership”  

Follow Brandon on Instagram

Connect with Brandon on LinkedIn

Learn More About Brandon Here

 

Interested in buying a franchise? https://www.empirespod.com/buy-a-franchise 

 

Are you a multi-unit owner considering selling your business? https://www.fdcapitalgroup.com/

Subscribe to our newsletter: https://empirespod.substack.com/

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit empirespod.substack.com

Orhan Veli’s story sounds like a movie.

At age 6, he watched the Soviet Union collapse overnight: chaos, violence, and uncertainty took over.

His family fled with nothing.

Within months, his father built a small business…until the mafia burned it down and demanded payment.

They eventually escaped to the United States with just $25,000.

From there:

• Roofing jobs in Florida
  
  


• Delivering pizzas
  
  


• Living in a small apartment with no English
  
  

Fast forward 20 years…

Orhan now owns 12 restaurant locations generating over $12M in revenue.

But it didn’t come easy:

• Borrowing money from family to buy the first store
  
  


• Working 7 days a week, open to close
  
  


• Firing his entire staff two weeks into his second location
  
  


• Nearly going under during the 2008 financial crisis
  
  

In this episode, we break down:

• How he scaled from 1 to 11 locations
  
  


• Why he doubled down when others were selling
  
  


• The real economics behind fast-casual franchises
  
  


• And the mindset required to build an empire from nothing
  
  

This is one of the craziest operator stories we’ve ever recorded.

Get in Touch

Interested in buying a franchise? https://www.empirespod.com/buy-a-franchise 

 

Are you a multi-unit owner considering selling your business? https://www.fdcapitalgroup.com/

Subscribe to our newsletter: https://empirespod.substack.com/

Follow Orhan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/orhan-veli-24116315/ 

 

⏱️ Chapters 

00:00 From the Soviet Collapse to Chaos
06:00 Building a Business in the Wild West of Capitalism
12:00 Escaping to America with $25K
18:00 Starting Over: Roofing, Pizza Delivery, and Survival
24:00 Learning to Hustle: First Jobs & College Years
30:00 Turning Down Wall Street for Entrepreneurship
36:00 Buying the First Restaurant (All-In with Family Money)
42:00 Early Struggles: Long Hours, Debt, and Doubt
48:00 Scaling to Multiple Locations + Near Collapse in 2008
54:00 The Saladworks Bet & Aggressive Expansion Strategy
60:00 Building an 11-Unit Empire + What Comes Next

 

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit empirespod.substack.com

Get in Touch

Interested in buying a franchise? https://www.empirespod.com/buy-a-franchise 

 

Are you a multi-unit owner considering selling your business? https://www.fdcapitalgroup.com/  

 

📝 Episode Description 

Wingstop started as a tiny wing shop in Dallas in 1994.

Today, it’s a $5+ billion global franchise empire with over 3,000 locations, and one of the most profitable unit economic models in the restaurant industry.

But Wingstop’s success wasn’t driven by a massive menu or flashy innovation. Instead, it came from something much simpler.

Focus.

Founder Antonio Swad built the brand around a radical idea for the time: a takeout-first restaurant with a tiny footprint and a menu built almost entirely around chicken wings.

That simplicity created one of the most scalable franchise models in the industry.

In this episode, we break down:

• The unconventional origin story of Wingstop
  • Why Antonio Swad tested wings in his living room before launching the concept
  • The private equity deal that transformed the company
  • How the Troy Aikman partnership helped build the brand nationally
  • Why Wingstop’s franchise economics became legendary
  • The technology bet that positioned the brand perfectly for the pandemic
  • And how Wingstop is now chasing $3M per store in sales

Wingstop didn’t win by being the biggest.

It won by being the most focused.

 

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit empirespod.substack.com

Get in Touch

Interested in buying a franchise? https://www.empirespod.com/buy-a-franchise 

 

Are you a multi-unit owner considering selling your business? https://www.fdcapitalgroup.com/ 

 

Get in touch with Darren:

https://110-ventures.com/ 

https://leapbrands.io/

 

📝 Episode Description 

Darren Spicer started as a barista at Dutch Bros.

Years later, after the company shut down its franchise program, he built his own drive-thru coffee chain from scratch, scaling it to 20 locations before selling it back to Dutch Bros in a $20M deal.

In this episode, Darren breaks down:

• How he went from employee to founder
  • The 80% pay cut he took to start Clutch Coffee
  • The real economics of drive-thru coffee
  • What it’s like managing 400+ hourly employees
  • Why site selection can make or break a chain
  • Growing 40% during COVID
  • The mistake that cost them $10K per month
  • And how the Dutch Bros acquisition actually came together

This is a full-cycle brick-and-mortar story, from barista to exit.

If you’re building (or thinking about building) a physical retail or franchise business, this episode is a masterclass in culture, real estate, and scaling the right way.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit empirespod.substack.com