I'm not big on tattoos. Yes, I'm of THAT generation—the one that saw tattoos as the result of a crusty sailor's night of drunken debauchery in a faraway port.
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Before Danielle Busby made history by delivering the only all-female quintuplets born in the U.S. who all survived, she got a smoothie makeover.
The once-troubled Roy Rogers Restaurants chain is in the middle of a turnaround as it works to double its portfolio within the next five years. Peter Plamondon was one of the insiders who helped launch Roy Rogers for Marriott, in the 1960s, and it grew to 650 units. He left in 1979 to become a franchisee of the brand he helped create, and his sons, Jim and Pete Jr., purchased the entire chain in 2002. They had plans to rejuvenate and re-franchise, but had to shelve those plans during the recession. Now, with credit flowing again, they have begun re-growing Roy Rogers, which is about to open its 49th location in Winchester, Virginia.
Their new foundation connects food-insecure Americans with donated restaurant meals. With their franchise in good hands—BRIX bought it last year—RedBrick's founders begin a nationwide rollout of 1F1R.com.
It's not far in miles from Washington Heights to Yonkers, headquarters of Rafael Alvarez's tax-prep brand. But he's traveled a very long way indeed, from Dominican Republic to NYC's mean streets to franchise success.
Many franchises are committed to attracting military veterans, but none more so than Jerry Flanagan. His J-Dog Junk Removal brand is available only to those who've served, and he's developing other concepts.
A CruiseOne franchisee discovers being a dad and running a business can be mutually exclusive goals. But he's making it work, despite art projects made out of, shall we say, unorthodox materials.
Pat Sajak, long-time host of ‘Wheel of Fortune,' has lent his celebrity to Great American Deals, a franchise that provides hyper-local promotions via a website. Can a game-show host who plays well in middle America, plus a CEO with a ‘silver tongue,' add luster to a fledgling daily-deals concept?
For two Franchise Times writers, Tom Kaiser and Beth Ewen, the quest was to visit five sandwich chains, buy two sandwiches at each, eat them and discuss. What could possibly go wrong, other than their waistbands?
Jersey Mike's tops Technomic's new list of fastest-growing sandwich chains, with U.S. sales up more than 30 percent. Eight more brands chalked up double-digit growth last year as well.