Franchise Today

Brian Miller supports and enhances Patrice & Associates’ ongoing mission to connect the country’s most respected brands with the industry’s top culinary and managerial talent. His leadership sets the direction for their aggressive global growth.

Brian joined Patrice & Associates in May 2014 as an equity partner, with expertise in all aspects of the Patrice business model – staffing, recruiting & franchising. His extensive experience in franchise operations, development, strategic planning and marketing makes him a professional tour de force in the franchising industry. Brian has some 25 years in franchising and 16 years at a leading full-service staffing and recruiting industry franchisor, Snelling Staffing.

While it's been one hell of a year and a half for everyone, I can think of no one, that has had to face down, endure and push through more in both their personal and professional lives, than Gary Gardner and Therese Thilgen. Gary and Therese are the co-founders of the Franchise Update Media Group, publishers of: Franchise Update Magazine, The Multi-Unit Franchising Magazine and producers of two of franchising’s most legendary, annual events.  1) The Franchise Update Leadership and Development Conference and 2) The Multi-Unit Franchising Conference. In addition to the utter and complete shut downs of all things related to their business since the Pandemic, they also suffered the loss of their son Mikey.  Through their faith in God and the loving support of friends, family and the franchising community this amazing couple is back.  And they are back with not one, but two major, LIVE fall events.Gary Gardner, Chairman of the Board at Franchise Update Media Group, my guest this week on Franchise Today.  

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Nearly one year ago, I had Dave Pazgan on to talk about the birth of ZorForum as a new supplier in the franchising space, with the intention of creating and facilitating a community of peer groups, exclusively for emerging franchisors.  Little did I imagine then, that less than a year later, Zor Forum would itself morph into much more than just a supplier to franchising, but rather, into a franchise organization and concept itself.  A franchise concept that would be led by Dave, Graham Chapman of 919 Marketing Fame and yours truly. 

It's true, we are mere days away from sharing our newly minted disclosure documents with dozens of our franchising peers and professionals, many of whom have been waiting patiently for months, to learn more about our offering and how they might become involved in our program.  With this milestone approaching, I thought it would be cool to re-air my August 2020 interview with Dave, so that’s coming right up, this week on Franchise Today.

For over 30 years, Pizza Factory has stayed true to its roots. Hardworking owners and staff, family-friendly dining, and a high-quality product make them who they are. They take great pride in the smile that the first bite of their pizza brings to the faces of their guests and they strive to make everyone feel as if this is their hometown pizzeria.

Their motto says it all:  “We Toss’em, They’re Awesome” —hand-tossed pizzas that are simply the best. Each bubbly, cheesy pie is made with 100% real mozzarella cheese and their signature sauce.  It’s hard to say what makes it so delicious: the dough, the sauce, or is it the fresh toppings? Or is it all of the above.  Mary jane RIva, Pizza Factory CEO "and" multi-unit franchisee, is here to discuss all of that and more. 

Mary Jane Riva became president and chief executive of the Oakhurst, Calif.-based Pizza Factory in September 2012, after she and her husband, Bob Riva, acquired the Pizza Factory Inc. franchising system from founders Daniel and Carol Wheeler and Ronald Willey.  But, she was a Pizza Factory franchisee, well before then. 

In fact, the Rivas have owned Pizza Factory restaurants as franchisees for nearly 33 years and continue to do so to this very day.  Always focused on unit level economics and franchisee success, Pizza Factory recently introduced a new, streamlined express model, to service the growing off-premise market segment, in addition to their larger foot print, dine-in restaurants.    QSR has already heralded the brand as the next big thing in pizza.  Mary Jane Riva, this week on Franchise Today.

Stan Friedman is passionate about franchising. Past leadership positions include C-Level roles at: Blimpie International, Wing Zone, Maggie Moos and Tutor Doctor. Years of franchise development and relationship experience are what uniquely prepared Stan for his present role at FRM Solutions, providing CRM tools to help franchisors manage relationships with their prospective and existing franchisees.  

Always an “outside the box” thinker, Stan has been a long-time proponent of diversity in franchising. That work began at Blimpie, when he created an Urban Expansion initiative heralded by the media and leaders of the public and private sectors and culminated in a White House visit, where he and BLIMPIE Founder Tony Conza, personally participated in the President’s “Conference for Community Empowerment.” Later that year, this initiative was celebrated as Blimpie International’s Innovation of the Year.

In further recognition of his work in diversity, Stan proudly accepted the IFA’s Ronald E. Harrison Diversity Award in 2011, an honor only bestowed six times previously, in IFA history.  More recently, Stan’s work in diversity has been focused on pro-athletes and their transitions from playbooks to Ops Manuals, as co-founder of PAFI, the Pro Athlete Franchise Initiative, a program created by he and 7 year NFL veteran, Michael Stone. 

Stan currently serves on the (IFA) Educational Foundation Board of Trustees and Leadership Council, is a past member of the Supplier Forum and is a founding member of IFA’s Diversity Institute Board.

This week we talk about non-traditional development, more specifically, on-campus opportunities for franchise development.  If you’ve ever considered moving your restaurant, beverage, retail, or financial service into the higher education channel, then Jim Gregory is your guy. His mission is to help improve “on-campus” retail operations and choices for college students.

His company, On Campus Brands, takes a data-centric approach to on-campus retail development. His extensive database of on-campus outlets helps target those campuses where certain brands have the greatest opportunity to succeed. His years of expertise in adapting concepts to the unique needs of the on-campus market save months, if not years, of costly trial and error, for his clients. And his connectivity to the communities of campus dining management and college auxiliary services put those brands in front of the right decision makers.  

Prior to founding On Campus Brands,  Jim was responsible for the non-traditional channel at Steak n Shake restaurants. But his experience in non-traditional restaurant and retail services stretches all the way back to 1990. In fact, it was Jim that conceived the vision of bringing superior brand offerings to college campuses: brands that resonate with students and complement the unique cultures of their schools; brands that are committed to grow and support their operations in higher education. So, he spent a few months signing up "charter" clients, building the first on-campus retail database, and gathering a network of his favorite ops, design and construction folks. By then it was Fall Semester 2016 and time to go to school!

Jerrod Sessler is a retired NASCAR driver, a Stage 4 Cancer survivor, a franchisor a franchisee, and best-selling author.  He tends to dream big and then fulfill those dreams.  If he continues that trend, in 2022, he will become the Representative from Washington State's 4th District, to the United States House of Representatives.  

Immediately following high school and before attending college to earn an engineering degree, Jerrod Sessler served as a petty-officer in the United States Navy where he learned to put country and neighbor first. Ten years later, Jerrod and his wife were shocked by the news that he had stage IV cancer. Given a five percent chance to live, Jerrod switched to a plant-based diet and has been healthy ever since.

In 2004, Jerrod started HomeTask, a home service business that leverages the franchise business model to meet the home service repair needs of individuals throughout the US and Canada.  With veteran discounts for franchisees, Jerrod has been able to support veterans who have dedicated their lives and risked their futures to make America great again.His commitment to the gospel of Christ has stirred in him a passion for sharing that unlimited hope and joy with others. It has also grounded Jerrod and pushed him to be a better husband and father. Jerrod and his wife Nikki have been married for 25 years and are the proud parents of three grown children.

Mark Arum hosts the wildly popular, Afternoon Drive on Atlanta’s News & Talk.  Last week, I became his BFF.  All it took, was for me to to catch him talking about one of my favorite topics on hi show… Chicken Wings.  Yes, as you may know, since 2006, I have been the “Chairman of the National Buffalo Wing Hall of Flame.  (that’s flame as in HEAT!)  No hate mail, please. 

Each year at the National Buffalo Wing Festival, I bestow honors upon those who have made contributions to the wing’s ascent to the center of the plate.  Past inductees have included the founders of Wing Stop, Wing Zone and Buffalo Wild Wings.  In 2011, I even inducted Bill Murray, for actually inspiring the creation of the Festival, which resulted from the role he played in the 2001 movie, OSMOSIS JONES.

So, I’ve said all this, to say that when I heard Mark Arum ranting about Wing Stop opening next door to his favorite wingery, the American Deli in Atlanta, I was glued to his program and he got my call.  I hope you’ll enjoy this non-traditional episode of Franchise Today, as much as I’ve enjoyed producing it. It will be available for download, Wednesday June 2nd, @ noon EDT.

Tom Wells has only been in the franchise/private equity space for about eight or nine years, but a finer collection of mentors, guides and partners would have been difficult for him to assemble.  I'm talking the likes of: Mike Rotundo, Scott Pressly and Charles Watson, as his mentors.  The guidance provided by this group over the years, has helped to elevate Tom's core competencies in franchising, to a similar level that his BS in Finance at Boston College and MBA in Business, from Chicago’s Booth School have provided for him, in finance and enterprise.  Add eight or more years of Southeast Franchise Forum and IFA programming to the mix and today, Tom Wells stands toe-to-toe, with the best of the best in the franchise private equity space.  And, better still, he’s here right now, to tell us all about it.

In 1968, a group of Big Boy restaurant franchisees opened up RoBee's House of Beef in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Marriott acquired the restaurant with plans to expand it nationwide, however Arby's sued the chain for trademark infringement. Needing to change the name, Bob Wain, the founder of Big Boy's and a member of Marriott's Board, reached out to Roy Rogers, who at the time, happened to want to get into the chain restaurant business. And, so a deal was made.  In exchange for the use of his name and likeness, Roy Rogers would receive a licensing fee as well as payment for personal appearances at the restaurants.

The fast-food chain was booming and Roy Rogers locations were popping up everywhere, with more than 600 operating restaurants.  But, in 1990, all of that changed, when Marriott’s strategy shifted and they decided to focus solely on hotels.  As a result, they sold Roy Rogers to Imasco, which was then the parent company of Hardee's. Over time, Imasco began converting Roy Roger's Restaurants into Hardee's locations and what they didn't convert, they sold to competing brands, like Wendy's, McDonald's, and Boston Market. In the end, only about 50 Roy Rogers locations were saved.

Well, fast forward the tape and today the family of the man that actually helped pioneer the Roy Rogers Restaurant brand for Marriott in the first place, who themselves became early stage franchisees, now own the Roy Rogers Restaurant brand and are doubling down on the franchise expansion of  the brand, based on the strength of it's name, reputation and cache.  Not even a pandemic, will prevent Roy Rogers from riding again. 

Here to tell us all about it, the guy that the Plamondon family has placed back in the saddle, to redevelop and build out the franchise network, Gregg Koffler, VP of Franchise Development.