Franchise Today

Today, as CEO of Mongolian Concepts Restaurant Group, Gregg Majewski sits at the helm of  3 brands:  Ghengiss Grill, Flat Top Grills and BD’s Mongolian. But this restaurant and franchise executive checks the box for growing more than just this roster of brands, as straight out of college 20 plus years ago, Gregg went from the role of accounting apprentice, to Controller, from Controller to CFO, then from CFO to COO and ultimately straight to the top of the house as CEO of none other than Jimmy Johns.  Over the course of 5 years, he contributed to the growth of that iconic sandwich chain from 307 open and operating when he arrived, to more than 300 on his watch when he exited, 5 years later.  And, he's well on his way to doing it all over again with Mongolian Concepts.  Gregg Majewski, this week on Franchise Today.  .     

Chuck Bongiovanni is an accomplished, serial entrepreneur, with a knack for identifying challenges, facing them head on and creating win/win solutions for all stakeholders  As co-founder and CEO of Care Patrol, he and his wife Becky grew that brand to +/-150 units, before selling the brand to the Riverside Company.  To this day, Becky remains its President, while Chuck went on to create the next chapter in his life, as co-founder and CEO of Majestic Residences.  At Majestic Residences, they provide the highest possible quality of care to seniors who require low or higher levels of care, including memory-specific care, but they do so promoting dignity, self-esteem, and autonomy in how they go about doing it, caring for residents in the environment of smaller, residential care homes that they build or convert, in quiet, residential neighborhoods and communities, as opposed to most assisted living facilities, which are usually have much larger footprints and are more institutional in their nature.  Chuck Bongi

Jerry Flanagan is an Army Veteran and entrepreneur who, along with his wife Tracy, have created a national brand, dedicated to empowering Veterans through entrepreneurship. Rooted in the Military values of Respect, Integrity, and Trust, the JDog®️ Junk Removal & Hauling and JDog®️ Carpet Cleaning & Floor Care franchise systems have become a nationwide movement, creating business and employment opportunities for Veterans and Veteran families.  Jerry launched the JDog Junk Removal business in 2011. It was a two-person operation – Jerry hauled junk and Tracy managed the back office. As a Veteran, Jerry gained trust and credibility with customers quickly, and referrals came easy. Within a year, he had more business than one person could handle and began hiring local Veterans who embodied the brand’s values. Through Jerry’s vision and leadership, JDog has since grown to hundreds of locations, 90 percent of which are Veteran owned. To date, the company has created thousands of job opportunities across the

Providing personal and tailored support for franchisees in a rapidly growing system, co-founder and Slim Chickens CEO, Tom Gordon, is the driving leader behind the brand’s goal to have a 600-unit footprint by 2025, and unlike many brands that release large growth numbers, Gordon is leading the team in a manner that makes this goal more attainable with each passing day, month and quarter.  Gordon & co-founder Greg Smart concocted the idea for the fast-casual chicken concept in Greg Smart’s garage, focusing not on the cost of the food but the quality. Focusing solely on chicken, Slim Chickens has seen accelerated growth backed by a commitment to serve traditional Southern hospitality within its communities, while offering the convenience and affordability of fast casual. By developing successful, multi-unit franchisees within the system who are passionate about Slim Chickens, and providing them with top notch site selection and unparalleled franchise business support, delivered by a highly qualified execu

Leadership experience and building and guiding franchise brands, that’s what Mark Mele is all about.  A Certified Franchise Executive, Mark Mele is an accomplished corporate franchise sales and development strategist, whose vision and expertise in business performance, have propelled such notable franchise brands such as Retro Fitness, Kumon, Huntington Learning Centers Century 21, Country Inns & Suites by Carlson and now, Paris Baguette of North America.  Mele has achieved exciting company turnarounds and is recognized for his success in growing franchise brands. He has been featured on development, franchise operations, support and turn] arounds and he’s here today to tell us all about it.

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 R

It’s been just short of two years, since John Teza made a really big career move, leaving behind 20 years of restaurant franchising, to become the President and Chief Development Officer, at Hand and Stone Massage and Facial Spas.  Then, barely a year later, John stepped up once again, when Hand and Stone named him CEO.  As CEO, John is responsible for driving the company’s brand strategy and performance across its 500+ spas and clinics throughout the US and Canada. John is a passionate brand builder and is committed to Hand and Stone's mission to make high-quality spa, wellness, and beauty experiences more accessible, affordable, and professional for its clients and team members. He is also one of my best friends for life in franchising and he returns to Franchise Today, to tell us all about it.   

Franchise For Good is a 501(c)(3) organization, founded to guide the growth of nonprofit organizations by leveraging proven best practices of franchising. Franchise For Good is the official nonprofit division of Franworth®. As the only full-service agency in the nonprofit space offering a suite of flexible services, Franchise For Good is a pioneering philanthropic initiative that offers nonprofit organizations of all sizes an avenue for growth.

Today’s guest is Kevin Bazner, CEO of one of America’s historic, if not iconic and legendary restaurant franchise brands. Are you thinking McDonalds, Burger King or perhaps KFC… Nope, all three of those upstarts go no further back than the fifties. You’d have to travel back to before sliced bread was created in 1928 to get even close, to the birth of this brand, I’m talking America’s first restaurant franchise ever, A&W Restaurants.  I think to be statistically accurate, NATHAN’s Famous in Coney Island began doing business 3 years earlier than A&W, but A&W beat them to the punch by miles, in terms of franchising.   A fun fact or two about A&W: their name came from the first letters of each of the founders last names: Roy Allen and Frank Wright.  A&W was also home to the first drive-thru restaurant in America is also the birth place of the bacon cheeseburger. One last trivia tidbit, back in the late 1920s, the Marriotts, JW and Alice ran an A&W Restaurant Stand in Washington, DC, befor

One can only wonder what it might be like to be surrounded in business, by leaders the likes of David Barr, current and past member or chair of dozens of boards, of franchised Brands, and those of restaurant concepts, both on the zor and zee side, as well as being nothing less than past chair of the IFA Board itself.  And what must it be like to work side-by-side with FranWorth founder and CEO John Rotche, another serial entrepreneur, mentor, FranWorth Founder and CEO and let’s not forget Drew Breez, franchising entrepreneur extraordinaire and yes, we’re talking about the same Drew Breez that for years led the New Orleans Saints, taking them to the Super Bowl while himself, personally earning 2009 Superbowl MVP honors.    At Franworth, their mission is to help franchisors grow to their full potential. With over 450 years of combined franchise experience, Franworth was designed to multiply resources, engineered to steer strategy and accelerate growth. We partner with franchises in a variety of capacities; fr

Off for the holiday this week, but I present an encore of  the most fun I have ever had producing Franchise Today.  It features me on WSB Radio, talking about my favorite topic, (aside from franchising) CHICKEN WINGS!  Mark Arum hosts the wildly popular, Afternoon Drive on Atlanta’s News & Talk.  Well, tune in to listen what happened when I wound up on the air with him...It all took place 1 year ago.  .     

Today I welcome John Erlandson to Franchise Today. John is the Co-Founder, President, Board Member and an Investor, in Youth Athletes United, a recently created portfolio company, building a family of brands, all centered upon child enrichment, through youth sports. While the company itself, is fairly new, it was established out of the pairing of youth sports and activities brands Amazing Athletes and Soccer Stars.  Under its umbrella today and across all 5 of its core brands, Youth Athletes United boasts some 15 - 20 years of success and a total of 200+ locations.  Add to that, the nearly a quarter million children instructed by their programs, nationwide each year.  Youth Athletes United has earned trust in each community they touch. The brand’s overarching mission is to help the world understand that everyone is an athlete and ultimately impact the lives of over one million children. The high-energy and passionate John Erlandson, Co-Founder and President of Youth Athletes United, this week on Franchise To

This week I feature May's Rising Star in Franchising, Angela Healy, CEO at AvenueWest Corporate Housing and AvenueWest Franchising.    As some of you may know, I began my franchise career in residential real estate franchising, converting large, local brokerages , to brands such as ERA and PRUDENTIAL.  In those days, it was my job to convince high powered, independent real estate brokers that their world was changing and that while they could certainly dig in and ignore those changes, they would do better, to jump in with brands like ours, and protect themselves from the losses they would otherwise suffer, at the hands of RE/MAX, if they chose to remain independent. Well, since those days, the industry has morphed by umpteen orders of magnitude and the game continues to change.  Now comes Angela Healy, with a game-changing twist of her own.  With more than 25 years of industry experience, Angela Healy is the co-owner of AvenueWest, a Denver-based, managed Corporate Housing concept and of AvenueWest Global Fr

Today’s conversation is with Greg Cook.  Many of you know Greg fro his 10 years at the IFA, running all things marketing. Well, today he has parlayed all of that experience and more, as he heads up Silvercrest Technology and Marketing, as President and CEO.  Among our topics of conversation today, are just how much the lines have fuzzed between the disciplines of marketing and technology and what the recipe calls for in today's post COVID world of franchise marketing.   Silvercrest was founded in 2011 to fill a growing need for franchisees to access marketing and media efficiently.  The agency is dedicated to delivering brand solutions for franchised and multi-unit organizations utilizing a combination of proprietary technology, customer data, marketing needs, and media buying, harnessed in one sophisticated yet simple platform.  Greg Cook joins us today to discuss his recipe for successful franchise and multi-unit level marketing.

Pete First has been with BrightStar care for nearly 4 years, beginning his journey there, as Vice President of Franchise Development for BrightStar Care.  During his tenure, Pete has grown that brand’s nationwide presence to 365 locations and has expanded the brand into new territories and markets. Today, as Chief Development Officer of BrightStar Holdings Group, Pete is responsible for recruiting new franchise owners to all three of their brands: BrightStar Care, BrightStar Senior Living®, and BrightStar® Care Homes™.

This week we are joined by WOWorks CEO Kelly Roddy, to discuss his instance of one of the hottest, trends in franchising, rollups. Roll-ups are formed when a company is created, usually backed by private equity, to group multiple, compatible brands under a single umbrella, such that they may all leverage back-end economies of scale.  It's simply smart business.for so many reasons. Kelly is a veteran of FOCUS Brands, an early pioneer in roll-ups, where he served as President of Shlotzky’s, .   WOWorks was formed in 2020 to help guests pursue their passions and live their best lives by serving healthy, nutritious, and flavorful food, delivered with first-rate hospitality. WOWorks’ portfolio consists of: Saladworks, the nation’s leading fast-casual salad brand; Frutta Bowls, a unique restaurant franchise serving a variety of superfood bowls, fresh fruit smoothies, oatmeal bowls, and more; Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh, a popular Mediterranean restaurant concept; and most recently, The Simple Greek, which offers

Matthew Gourgeot, a true advocate and champion for small business in America.  Today, he heads Corporate and Business Development at Thryv, where he is responsible for leading their franchise division and developing the company’s strategic corporate partnerships.  Traded on the NASDAQ, THRYV is the provider of software that supports more than 40,000 loc al businesses and nearly 500,000 users, across the continent.  What they have created is a fully integrated, end-to-end B2C customer experience platform, empowering small businesses to reach more customers, stay better organized, get paid faster and generate more online reviews.  Utilizing Thryv's platform, small businesses can manage their customers anytime, anywhere and from any device.  

Acceler8Success Group was formed mid-2020, building upon Acceler8Success principles and methods, all proven successful, since 2014. Between them, Founder and CEO Paul Segreto and Erik Premont, President, possess nearly six decades of practical, hands-on experience in the fields of:  - Entrepreneur & Leadership Coaching - Business Accelerator Consulting - Small Business & Franchise Consulting - Restaurant & Hospitality Consulting - International Business Development Consulting - Fractional C-level Management - Commercial Development Management - Business & Product Brokerage - Financial Modeling & Analysis - Commercial Real Estate Advisory - Design & Construction Advisory - Board Advisory Widely recognized as industry leaders & experts, Acceler8Success Group's leadership have extensive experience as entrepreneurs in small business & restaurants, as senior-level executives within nationally recognized brands, and as franchisees within successful franchise systems.  P

I'm back next week to kick-off a great line-up of guests for this Spring Season.  C-ya then.-Stan

Best Life Brands is a family of companies focused on the well being of clients at any stage of life and includes - ComForCare, At Your Side, premier franchised providers of in-home caregiving and private-duty nursing services, CarePatrol, the nation’s largest franchised senior placement organization, Boost Home Health Care and Blue Moon Estate Sales, the leading estate sales franchise in the U.S.  As CEO, JJ Sorrenti oversees the strategic growth of Best Life Brands. A franchising and retailing expert, J.J.has led multiple companies to award-winning results over the past 25 years. Formerly president of Safeguard Business Systems, a division of Deluxe Corporation, his experience also included serving as CEO and board member of Hollywood Tans, CEO of Huntington Learning Centers, and Senior Vice President and General Manager at General Nutrition Centers. JJ is also involved with the International Franchise Association (IFA) and sits on the board of trustees for the IFA Education Foundation.