Recent history hasn't been kind to Cousins Subs, which peaked at approximately 140 units, but shrank down to 100 units during a seven-year period to right-size the Wisconsin-based sandwich brand known for its “better bread.”
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The fourth generation of Michigan's Schostak family is taking over, trying new ideas while relying on the leadership of their elders and learning from some brutal franchise-life stories.
It took a whole lot of explaining, but Back Yard Burgers has attracted a new majority investor, Axum Capital Partners, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based private equity firm.
On June 6, rabble-rousing blogger Sean Kelly says he received a phone call from Craig Tractenberg, a prominent franchise attorney with Fox Rothschild in Philadelphia, who allegedly threatened to expose negative personal information about Kelly unless he deleted blistering criticism from anonymous franchisees about School of Rock's CEO Dzana Homan.
Jordan Meinster loves to play pickup basketball, except for all the things he hates about it. “It's too crowded, and there's no organization to it, and people are arguing about foul calls,” he says, drastically understating the cacophony of fouling and swearing at the typical neighborhood park. “It's an inefficient process.”
The dust is far from settled, but the Buffalo Wild Wings board is quite different than it was at its last shareholder meeting due to an aggressive activist investor campaign. The shakeup is one of a handful of activist attacks in franchising and part of a trend that is sure to accelerate, analysts say.
Each year, our sister publication, the Restaurant Finance Monitor, surveys the largest restaurant franchisees in the country and pores over publicly available data to prepare this exclusive listing: a ranking of the top 200 franchised restaurant owners in the United States.
Cinnabon isn't sweating the struggle of malls as it adds units and refreshes its design. President Joe Guith foresees a day of reckoning for overbuilt malls, but 'there will be centers that survive and we will be there.'
Profit remains the best reason brands should invest the time, effort and money it takes to bring their concepts into the most urban places in the country. A lot of people live under those sky-scraping rooftops.
Shipping containers are seeing a new life as pop-up shops, restaurants and destination retail. Subway, Taco Bell and Checkers are three franchises getting into the game. One advantage? They're easy to pick up and move.