building a bigger chain: contents
Transcription
building a bigger chain: contents
BUILDING A BIGGER CHAIN: When Franchise Times set out to learn how to build a bigger multiunit operation, we went straight to the source: some of the nation’s largest and most successful restaurant franchisees, the top 200 of which are listed in our annual ranking in the pages that follow. We found approaches as varied as the people taking them, which should prove heartening to smaller operators who aspire to a bigger footprint—there is more than one way to reach the goal. CONTENTS Restaurant 200 overview ........ 43 Restaurant 200 rankings .........44 Restaurant 200 alpha list......... 52 Franchisee profiles: • GPS Hospitality ...................41 • Bridgeman Foods ...............44 • Falcon Holdings ................. 45 • Diversified Restaurant ........ 47 • Den-Tex Central .................48 • BMW Management ........... 49 • Restaurants Inc. 22 .............51 40 August 2015 GPS Hospitality From zero to 136 Burger Kings, and counting By Tom Kaiser T om Garrett is once again building something big. The former CEO of Arby’s and president of RTM Restaurant Group regrouped after leaving Arby’s in the wake of disappointing sales in early 2010 and went on to acquire 42 Burger King locations in the Atlanta metro area. In the two-and-a-half years since starting GPS Hospitality, Garrett, 53, has built it up to 136 BKs and counting, with ambitions of surpassing $600 million in annual sales and 400 units by 2018. GPS is staffed largely by Garrett’s personal friends made at previous jobs, and its office is fittingly located just 15 minutes away from Arby’s corporate headquarters in suburban Atlanta. After starting with funds out of his own pocket with some financing from Infinity Franchise Capital (now Pacific Premier), Garrett’s venture is now backed by two family offices that tell Garrett he can have access to as much capital as he needs. Eschewing the down sides of private equity, GPS Hospitality is setting a new trend for ambitious multi-unit franchisees who require help to grow, but refuse to give up control of their strategy or operations in exchange for capital. Big incentives Nestled in a deeply wooded corporate park in Sandy Springs, Georgia, GPS will soon outgrow its already expanded multi-tenant office space. Hanging in the lobby, a plaque of the company’s three-year goals was recently updated to reflect higher targets. A third plaque may be needed soon, as its 2015 numbers are coming in well ahead of projections. Garrett said the fast success comes from a culture that rewards employees for stepping up their leadership qualities and implementing an operational formula designed to expose money-making potential in stores their previ“We’ve got great systems and a great operating platform, so we can very quickly look at ous owners may have overlooked. When there’s no obvious growth to be had someone else’s numbers and understand what our results will be,” says Tom Garrett, GPS. in restaurants, he said, owners inevitably minimize costs, delay repairs and reduce raises and with their inputs.” Rather than “steamroll” the Such handsome compensation is part of promotions, sucking the motivation out of the existing staff out upon acquisition, Garrett’s Garrett’s “Top Right Leadership Model” that staff and dragging down customer satisfaction. team attempts something along the lines of a tracks all employees on a twin-axis chart “Our philosophy is exactly the opposite,” he revival—enticing staff members with the pos- of financial results and leadership traits. said. “We’ve got great systems and a great oper- sibilities of generous financial incentives that Rewarding the company’s best leaders and ating platform, so we can very quickly look at comprise 20 percent of the company’s sales operators is the intent, while also creating sosomeone else’s numbers and understand what growth. High-performing district or general called suction to encourage others to emulate our results will be managers can be handed the keys to a Camaro their success and come along for the ride. or Jeep to drive for three months, and more Based on the number of GPS employees who than $60,000 a year in bonuses for the very best in the company. GPS continued on 42 August 2015 41 GPS continued from 41 used the word “suction” during conversations about their roles at GPS, it seems Garrett’s philosophy and rewards are adequate motivation. Time to go Seated at a conference table with an intimidating eagle sculpture on the opposing wall, Garrett’s excitement builds while he explains his enthusiasm for mergers and acquisitions. That excitement is accompanied by relief for a man on the third leg of his career—a next act following his departure from Arby’s during the depths of the Great Recession. He characterized his 30 years with Arby’s, bot h t hrough the corporate off ice and RTM Restaurant Group (acquired by Atlanta-based Tria rc Cos. in 2005) as 25 great, three mediocre and two difficult years, admitting he left with unfinished business on the table including the short-lived combination with Wendy’s, undone when Roark Capital Group split Arby’s off in 2011. “When it was time to go, everybody knew it was time to go—and it was time for me,” Garrett said. “I woke up one day at 48 years old and said, ‘Hey, what am I going to do next?’” With a suddenly clear schedule, he drove his two young daughters to school, undertook some familial globe-trotting and formulated a plan to get back into restaurant franchising. “It really helped me clarify my goals, because I realized there are some things I’m really good at, and also some things I’m not that good at, quite frankly, because I don’t want to be good at them,” he said. 112 company’s door. It’s all about the potential. “I don’t have to screw you to do well,” he said. “If I can figure out how to help you meet your goal and me hit my goal, you walk away feeling really good.” Outside of Atlanta, GPS Hospitality’s turf now extends into the Midwest and MidAtlantic states. The strategy is grouping 20 or more stores in a territory to justify a director of operations in each market. As this issue went to press, GPS was finalizing the purchase of 60 additional Burger Kings in Michigan. During HBO’s highly publicized, anti-climactic fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao in May, Garrett was in Miami meeting w it h members of Burger King’s corporate team when he spotted The Burger King himself walking out right behind the fighters on the screen. He took it as a sign Burger King remains a part of American culture, and that its younger execs at owner 3G Capital Management know how to play a subtle branding game. “Over the years sometimes that’s been a little on the negative side, but it’s part of the conversation,” Garrett said, referencing shifts in Burger King’s public perception over the years. “You cannot ignore it and you cannot get away from it. I thought it was incredibly clever.” Another recent victory, the reintroduction of Burger King’s Chicken Fries, has led to increased foot traffic that’s skewed young. 3G’s reputation for fast decisions and bold moves has taken some franchisees by surprise since the 2010 acquisition of Burger King, but Garrett is impressed with their numbers-driven strategy, willingness to admit mistakes and quickly pivot, and marketing savvy he feels is connecting with a younger audience. “When I go to sleep at night, I don’t have to worry about whether they’re thinking about how to drive the business,” he said. “By the way, I’m also thinking about the same thing. We may not always agree on the tactics, but the goals are indelibly linked.” Garrett is also interested in other franchised food brands, as long as they’re outside of the burger category. GPS Hospitality 136 BK (in 2014) Tom Garrett, CEO ‘We’re operators’ On the “good list,” acquisitions and operations rose to the top of the list. After assisting Roark with its acquisition of Arby’s, he gathered a team to create GPS Hospitality that took fl ight with the purchase of 42 Atlanta-area Burger Kings. Garrett said many units in that first batch were in disastrous shape with dirty restaurants and visibly de-motivated employees. “We are not financial buyers, we’re operators,” he said of his playbook. “We get very good financial results, so we’re able to go in and evaluate a situation, and very quickly see Replicating success the delta between the two. When we take someAfter his first acquisitions, GPS needed addithing that’s operating at a poor level and make tional financing to grow. Still smarting from it operate at a high level, that creates a lot of the recession, credit wasn’t yet free-flowing value for the enterprise and for all of its people.” and Burger King’s required remodels added Beyond a given store’s current metrics, a sizable financial commitment that comGarrett’s says his firm structures sales to give pounded Garrett’s difficulty in attracting sellers what they ask for, while fostering good- cash. will to bring more motivated sellers to the “Most people looked at it and said for these 42 August 2015 reasons we’re not interested,” he said. “It wasn’t that people didn’t believe the story, they didn’t believe it enough to lend money against it.” The story he references is his own, using the personal experience and that of his team— many of whom have had “bigger jobs” in the past—to beat the odds in the franchised fastfood space. Deep pockets His answer came during a hunting trip with an investment banker, who suggested he speak with some wealthy families with investment firms in the area, leading to the formal introduction between Garrett and Nonami Enterprises, the family office of Atlanta-based developer Tom Cousins. Nonami often co-invests with Cynosure Investments, another family office out of Salt Lake City, and both firms liked what they saw and signed on to fund GPS, with the explicit understanding they would allow Garrett to maintain nearly full control over the company and its direction. “The attraction of a family office is they are long-term investors, not under the pressures of private equity, so they’re in it as long as I want to be in it,” he said. Herbert Scruggs, managing director at Cynosure, said the company isn’t opposed to shorter-term plays, but that it prefers 10-, 15or 20-year investments “if we find people that we trust and are impressed by.” “It takes a special breed to run and staff these stores effectively, so that’s what drew them to us,” Scruggs said. “BK has a long history and we’re very keen on what the corporate ownership has been doing for the last few years, and we like Tom and his team’s approach—everything from their software to their ability to find and coach store managers.” He added his firm would consider similar deals, and feels the investment could be indicative of more family offices becoming involved with established franchised restaurant concepts. “We’re very open to doing it with others, but more importantly, we think Tom has a lot of runway and we’d love to back him for a lot of additional growth and we’ve encouraged him in that direction—not that he needed much encouragement,” he said. J.T. King, chief investment officer at Nonami, was attracted to the experience of Garrett and his team, and sees no reason why their early successes cannot be replicated on a much larger scale. “They really know how to execute,” he says. Acquisitions fuel growth for largest franchisees, topping $31B in sales By John Hamburger Back in 1992, we never anticipated seeing amortization) has replaced GAAP accounta billion-dollar franchisee. That year, Spartan ing (generally accepted accounting principles) ranchise Times began reporting on the Food Systems, a 500-unit franchisee of and adding back depreciation is more forgiving. rise of multi-unit restaurant franchisees Hardee’s, debuted at the top spot in our inau- Banks are even willing to cross state lines, and long before it became fashionable. In gural list with $550 million in revenue. In fact, many will lend nationally. 1992, FT’S sister publication, the Restaurant eight of the top 25 franchisees that year were Franchisors also don’t seem to mind that Finance Monitor, ranked 100 franchisees and Hardee’s franchisees. franchisees are getting larger and more influenby 1994, increased the ranking to include a The restaurant expansion game in the early tial. The big growth in the Top 200 franchisees total of 200 companies. ‘90s was all about new unit development. over the past five years has come about Each year since then, we’ve surveyed the Franchisees made money by building through refranchising and acquisitions, and that’s a direct result of financing largest restaurant franchisees in the country stores. Financing consisted of saleand asked them to open their books and report leasebacks, build-to-suits on new availability and franchisor attitude Research by their revenue and unit counts to us. Thankfully, locations, and three-to-five-year changes. Matt Haskin they’ve complied, and our ranking begins on term financing for the equipment. Franchisees have taken advan& Robert the next page. It was much harder for a franchitage of the low rates and financing Wolfe In 2014, the Top 200 franchisees in the see to make an acquisition as there accessibility to feather their nests United States generated $31 billion in revenue, were few lenders willing to finance with some big transactions. Shoukat an all-time record. Two franchisees topped restaurants across multiple states. Dhanani, a Burger King and Popeyes Refranchising was practiced sparingly, franchisee (No. 4), bought 255 restauthe billion-dollar mark—Flynn Restaurant Group, with $1.43 billion in sales from 470 too, and a franchisor was more likely to buy rants from Heartland Restaurants this past year. Applebee’s and 150 Taco Bell restaurants, and back a franchisee’s stores rather than let another MUY Brands, led by franchisee Jim Bodenstedt NPC International, at $1.18 billion in sales on franchisee add to its collection and have too (No. 8), picked up 70 corporate Wendy’s stores much influence in the system. So all in all, it in the Dallas market in a refranchising deal. 1,277 Pizza Huts and 143 Wendy’s. Interestingly enough, Flynn Restaurant wasn’t exactly a dealmaker’s environment. MUY also bought 54 Pizza Hut units from Franchise financing is much more sophisti- Border Foods, a Taco Bell and former Pizza Group’s 470 Applebee’s today are more than twice the number of Applebee’s restaurants that cated now, and most lenders have entire teams Hut franchisee. existed in the entire system in 1992. NPC, then dedicated to the space. Banks have replaced And Tacala became the largest franchisee in known as National Pizza Co., was the sixth finance companies and the financing is now the Taco Bell system in 2014 after it acquired largest franchisee in 1992, driving $200 mil- known as cash-flow lending. EBITDA (earn- Austaco. lion in sales from 368 Pizza Huts. Franchisees just keep getting bigger. ings before interest, taxes, depreciation and F Sponsored by: Wells Fargo Restaurant Finance provides financing to corporate restaurant brands, restaurant franchisees, experienced commercial real estate investors who own restaurant properties, private equity firms, and other investors in restaurant concepts. Our loan products include: syndicated corporate senior financing, fixed and floating rate term loans, acquisition facilities, sale-leaseback financing, bridge/development financing, working capital revolvers, and interest rate risk management. For more information, visit www.wellsfargo.com/restaurants. August 2015 43 FRANCHISE TIMES’ RESTAURANT 200: TOP 25 1 2 3 Flynn Restaurant Group, LLC San Francisco, CA $1,434,315,000 470 Applebee’s 150 Taco Bell NPC International, Inc. Overland Park, KS $1,179,897,000 1,277 Pizza Hut 143 Wendy’s Bridgeman Foods Louisville, KY $759,100,000 240 Wendy’s 125 Chili’s 4 5 7 Covelli Enterprises Warren, OH $570,700,000 259 Panera Bread 9 Dairy Queen 8 MUY! Companies San Antonio, TX $508,235,000 304 Pizza Hut 88 Wendy’s Dhanani Group Sugarland, TX $750,000,000 469 Burger King 125 Popeyes Summit Restaurant Group Richardson, TX $727,000,000 262 IHOP 119 Applebee’s 9 10 6 Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc. Syracuse , NY $692,755,000 674 Burger King Sun Holdings, LLC Dallas, TX $460,000,000 185 Burger King 96 Popeyes Doherty Enterprises, Inc. Allendale, NJ $438,000,000 100 Applebee’s 36 Panera Bread 11 Boddie-Noell Enterprises Rocky Mount, NC $427,806,000 334 Hardee’s 12* WendPartners Cortland, NY $425,000,000 294 Wendy’s 13 14 15 SRAC Holdings, Inc. San Ramon, CA $414,689,000 287 Burger King 26 TGI Friday’s Tacala, LLC Birmingham, AL $410,412,000 265 Taco Bell 65 Sonic Drive-In K-Mac Enterprises Fort Smith, AR $392,388,000 233 Taco Bell 17 KFC 16 The Briad Group Livingston, NJ $377,050,000 65 Wendy’s 64 TGI Friday’s 17 RMH Franchise Corporation Atlanta, GA $345,000,000 139 Applebee’s 18 JIB Management, Inc. Fremont, CA $343,200,000 221 Jack in the Box 62 Denny’s 19 Harman Management Corporation Los Altos, CA $341,732,000 117 KFC 186 Yum! Multi * Denotes revenue estimate 3 Bridgeman Foods 240 Wendy’s; 125 Chili’s Troy Hanke, CFO Why these brands? It always comes down to the food. We’ve always liked the products of these two brands and felt like if we enjoyed them then other people would, too. The unit-level economics make pretty good sense, and casual dining provided some diversity to our portfolio. What’s the No. 1 attraction to a brand, and the No. 1 red flag? How long have they been successful and how sophisticated are their systems? We always try to be a good partner with the system, so we want to make sure the training and site selection of those systems are in place and have been proven for a long period of time. The concern would be the flip of that, if something has a limited number of stores and hasn’t quite proven itself out. Describe a turning point for your operation. The largest deal we’ve ever done was a 77-store acquisition of Chili’s in 2007. That’s provided a lot of cash flow to 44 August 2015 continue our growth. What’s been the worst day at your restaurant company? When you employ this many people, you reflect on unfortunate things that have happened to employees, but we’ve never really had a Black Friday. What’s one piece of advice for other owners? You’ve got to pick the right franchisor with good systems you’re comfortable going in and just following. You’re paying royalties so there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Then, just try to grow slowly. We see a lot of folks that go in too deep too quickly. What’s your “motto” for building a restaurant company? Our culture is built around an inverted pyramid. We have the customers at the top of the pyramid. And we truly put the executive team at the bottom of that pyramid. —Tom Kaiser 20 21 Pilot Travel Centers, LLC Knoxville, TN $324,983,000 204 Subway 110 Cinnabon 30 United States Beef Corp. Tulsa, OK $322,710,000 323 Arby’s 6 Taco Bueno 31 32 22 KBP Foods, Inc. Overland Park, KS $304,000,000 252 KFC 49 Taco Bell 33 23 24 25 D.L. Rogers Corp. N Richland Hills, TX $297,000,000 222 Sonic Drive-In Quality Dining, Inc. Mishawaka, IN $291,230,000 164 Burger King 48 Chili’s Cedar Enterprises, Inc. Columbus, OH $290,000,000 190 Wendy’s 34 35 27 28 29 Sizzling Platter, Inc. Murray, UT 162 Little Caesars 24 Dunkin’ Donuts ADF Companies Fairfield, NJ 290 Pizza Hut 16 Panera Bread Apple Gold Group Raleigh, NC 133 Applebee’s 6 Burger King Church’s Chicken is very simple. They cook it right in front of you. It’s one of the simplest systems I know. And as for Long John Silver’s, their training program for restaurant management is one of the best in the industry. And the restaurant manager is an important part of the business. They also have a great product. Fried fish is fried fish. What principles have made your restaurant business successful? Interfoods of America, Inc. Miami, FL 150 Popeyes 18 Burger King I am an immigrant to this country; I began working for Church’s Chicken as a dishwasher. I worked my way up into management and then marketing and then marketing management. And now I have over 200 restaurants. I’ve always had people come first. I tell people I’m not in the chicken business. Yes, I buy chickens and cook chickens and serve chickens. But I take care of people. I’m in the people business. Pacific Bells, Inc. Vancouver, WA 86 Taco Bell 25 Buffalo Wild Wings What advice would you give yourself when you were starting your business? Discipline. You have to have the right attitude and the discipline to make it in this business. Apple Investors Group Chino Hills, CA 85 Burger King 54 Applebee’s 37 DavCo Restaurants, Inc. Crofton, MD 150 Wendy’s 38* Fugate Enterprises Wichita, KS 172 Pizza Hut 72 Taco Bell Frisch’s Restaurants, Inc. Cincinnati, OH 95 Big Boy Falcon Holdings 165 Church’s Chicken; 45 Long John Silver’s Aslam Khan, CEO Why these brands? American West Restaurant Group Orange, CA 269 Pizza Hut Falcon Holdings, LLC Westlake, TX 165 Church’s Chicken 45 Long John Silver’s 39 36 Ampex Brands Dallas, TX 176 KFC 68 Long John Silver’s 36 $200-$280 MILLION 26* Pepper Dining, Inc. Charlotte, NC 103 Chili’s TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants Livonia, MI 66 Applebee’s 60 Burger King What’s your “motto” for building a restaurant company? People first. —Alexandra Norvet 40 Lund Brown Group Boulder, CO 210 Hardee’s 10 Carl’s Jr. $175-$200 MILLION 41* Rottinghaus Co. La Crosse, WI 397 Subway 42 MarLu Investment Group Elk Grove, CA 51 Arby’s 47 Church’s Chicken 43* Valenti Management Tampa, FL 122 Wendy’s 17 Chili’s 44 JRN, Inc. Columbia, TN 146 KFC 21 Yum! Multi 45 The Rose Group Newtown, PA 56 Applebee’s 8 Corner Bakery Cafe * Denotes revenue estimate August 2015 45 10-year snapshot of the Top 200 franchisees 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 Revenue* $31.0 $28.7 $26.3 $23.9 $23.2 $21.8 $21.3 $21.5 $19.9 $19.0 Units 23,177 21,831 20,331 18,408 17,887 16,715 16,489 16,915 16,030 15,501 * Revenue is in billions of dollars 46 47 Western Reserve Restaurant Mgmt Rochester, NY 112 Wendy’s 53 Carlisle Corporation Memphis, TN 77 Wendy’s 54 Wendy’s of Colorado Springs Colorado Springs, CO 111 Wendy’s 9 Golden Corral Servus! Jasper, IN 94 Long John Silver’s 35 Wendy’s 60 61 62 48* T-Bird Restaurant Group La Jolla, CA 63 Outback Steakhouse 49 Frauenshuh Hospitality Group Minneapolis, MN 160 Dairy Queen 55 50* Century Management, Inc. Memphis, TN 64 McDonald’s $150-$175 MILLION 52 T.L. Cannon Management Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 61 Applebee’s 63 56* Hamra Enterprises Springfield, MO 50 Panera Bread 35 Wendy’s 57 51* Caspers Company Tampa, FL 53 McDonald’s Meritage Hospitality Group Grand Rapids, MI 146 Wendy’s 58 59 Franchise Management, Inc. Houlton, ME 139 Pizza Hut 48 KFC Pizza Properties, Inc. El Paso, TX 48 Peter Piper Pizza 39 Burger King Apple-Metro, Inc. Harrison, NY 36 Applebee’s 1 Pizza Studio WKS Restaurant Group Lakewood, CA 59 El Pollo Loco 24 Denny’s 67 Potomac Family Dining Group Herndon, VA 69 Applebee’s 68 Parikh Network Edison, NJ 99 Popeyes Palo Alto, Inc. Denver, CO 91 Taco Bell 38 Pizza Hut PJ United Birmingham, AL 155 Papa John’s Restaurant Management Co. Wichita, KS 138 Pizza Hut 15 Long John Silver’s $140-$150 MILLION 64 SSCP Management, Inc. Dallas, TX 69 Applebee’s 65 Celebration Restaurant Group Celebration, FL 101 Pizza Hut 40 Taco Bell Metro Corral Partners Winter Park, FL 31 Golden Corral Border Foods Companies New Hope, MN 84 Taco Bell 3 Au Bon Pain 75 RPM Pizza, Inc. Gulfport, MS 139 Domino’s $130-$140 MILLION 69 70 71 72 66 74 73 Paradigm Investment Group, LLC San Diego, CA 104 Hardee’s 6 Jersey Mike’s Desert de Oro Foods, Inc. Kingman, AZ 81 Taco Bell 60 Pizza Hut Wisconsin Hospitality Group, LLC Waukesha, WI 82 Pizza Hut 36 Applebee’s Quality Restaurant Concepts, LLC Birmingham, AL 61 Applebee’s BurgerBusters, Inc. Virginia Beach, VA 86 Taco Bell 11 Pizza Hut $120-$130 MILLION 76 Diversified Restaurant Holdings Southfield, MI 42 Buffalo Wild Wings 77 The Jan Companies Cranston, RI 98 Burger King 4 Krispy Kreme 78 Cotti Foods Corp. Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 59 Taco Bell 39 Wendy’s 79 Pennant Foods, LLC Knoxville, TN 89 Wendy’s 80 Romulus Restaurant Group Phoenix, AZ 74 IHOP * Denotes revenue estimate 46 August 2015 81* Lemek, LLC Elkridge, MD 98 Panera Bread 82 DORO, Inc. Eau Claire, WI 103 Hardee’s 5 Taco John’s $110-$120 MILLION 83 84 85 86 87 91 92 93 America’s Pizza Company, LLC Lafayette, LA 129 Pizza Hut Southern Multifoods, Inc. Jacksonville, TX 67 Taco Bell 22 Yum! Multi Kazi Management VI, LLC St. Thomas, Virgin Islands 59 KFC 24 Burger King B & G Food Enterprises, LLC Morgan City, LA 69 Taco Bell 16 Yum! Multi Starboard Group Coral Springs, FL 79 Wendy’s 88 The Saxton Group Dallas, TX 60 McAlister’s Deli 89 McEssy Investment Co. Lake Forest, IL 46 McDonald’s Golden Gate Bell, LLC Pleasanton, CA 85 Taco Bell QK Holdings, LLC Holbrook, AZ 85 Denny’s 5 Del Taco $100-$110 MILLION 94* JEM Restaurant Group Charleston, SC 90 Pizza Hut 27 Taco Bell 95* R.E.E. Inc. Beaumont, TX 52 McDonald’s 96 Carolina Restaurant Group Charlotte, NC 67 Wendy’s 97 Luihn Four, Inc. Morrisville, NC 45 Taco Bell 10 KFC 98 99 90* Summit Restaurant Group, LLC Blue Springs, MO 117 Pizza Hut 15 Long John Silver’s TD Food Group, Inc. Honolulu, HI 44 Pizza Hut 38 Taco Bell Strang Corporation Cleveland, OH 39 Panera Bread 1 Noodles & Company Apple Sauce, Inc. Crestview Hills, KY 43 Applebee’s 100 Retzer Resources, Inc. Greenville, MS 45 McDonald’s 76 Diversified Restaurant Holdings 42 Buffalo Wild Wings (in 2014) Michael Ansley, CEO What’s the attraction of Buffalo Wild Wings? I’ve been a franchisee since 1996. It’s a very powerful brand. We like the fact that it’s a stable management team, I’ve known them a long time. I have faith in where the brand is headed. What about your latest acquisition, of 18 BWWs from A Sure Wing? I’ve known the franchisee for a long time. The same accounting firm does their numbers and ours, so we had a lot of faith in the numbers. There’s no other Buffalo Wild Wings franchisee in that market or any other corporate locations. We can control the market. Plus it’s a good sports town. They get into the St. Louis Cardinals, and then also the Blues, the NHL team. There’s stilll the Rams there at the moment, and the affinity for the Bears, and the university teams. We knew the director of operations at A Sure Wing, so we plan to keep him in place, and we kept the regional managers and the restaurant employees in place. There were some other opportunities there that were sizable. What’s the No. 1 thing you analyze, when deciding to buy? We really like it if we can get control of an entire market. And these stores, in St. Louis, were under-performing. We were doing $3 million at our stores, and they were doing $2.3 million a unit. We saw opportunities with advertising, incentives, maintenance, capital expenditure issues. Every deal is different. Some of them have really high revenue but maybe they’re not managing the bottom line so well. Others are managing the bottom line too well, or being short-sighted in investments in people. It’s a little bit of an art. What’s a red flag, that would cause you to walk away from a deal? The multiples are getting pretty high for all of us. Not just for Buffalo Wild Wings, but the whole restaurant space. A lot of it is the flow of money into the restaurant space. Deals are getting pretty expensive. The other thing is, there are a few operators that are really, really good operators. So not only are you paying a premium but there isn’t much opportunity there. We’re looking for an opportunity to drive revenue or the bottom line or both. What’s one lesson you’ve learned, to pass on to other owners? Developing people. Make sure you’ve thought that through, and use the dollars on recruiting, and then training them and keeping them happy, because turnover can kill you in this business. We unfortunately have grown a little too fast in the past. — Beth Ewen * Denotes revenue estimate August 2015 47 113 Den-Tex Central Inc. 74 Denny’s Dawn Lafreeda, president Why this brand? 102 PR Management Corporation Newton, MA 35 Panera Bread I started with Denny’s when I was 16, and luckily I got a chance at 23 with Denny’s to own my own restaurant. And they only continue to give me opportunities. 103 RGT Management, Inc. Memphis, TN 55 Taco Bell 30 KFC What would make you interested in investing in another brand? I have one brand but I know it well. I know it inside and out. Sometimes you say, ‘How much does a gal need?’ I’m not saying I’d never look into another concept but life is pretty good with Denny’s. Describe a turning point in your operation. 104 Friendly Franchisees Corporation La Palma, CA 72 Carl’s Jr. Dawn Lafreeda It was when I bought out my partner in 1998. Then it made sense to build more of an infrastructure to accommodate growth. But that growth came in stages. There have been times when the economy and the environment of Denny’s corporate allowed for growth, and there have been times when the economy’s been slow and the money wasn’t as available. What’s one piece of advice for other owners? I think you have to believe in the product. I would say being your own boss is the only way to go, and I would recommend franchising over owning your own concept. With a franchise, you have a proven track record and information that would not be available to you if you designed your own concept. What’s your motto or business philosophy? Always be fair and do the right thing. I always try to be fair to my employees, my customers, and my franchisor. Also don’t be afraid to take risks. Sometimes you have to jump off a cliff for an opportunity. Do your due diligence, but don’t overthink it. —Alexandra Norvet 101* Neighborhood Hospitality/ Woodland Group, Inc. Hazard, KY 41 Applebee’s 16 Wendy’s $90-$100 MILLION 105 Treadwell Enterprises, Inc. Springfield, MO 84 KFC 2 Taco Bell 106* American Franchise Capital, LLC Greenwich, CT 33 Applebee’s 28 Taco Bell 107 Stine Enterprises, Inc. Phoenix, AZ 70 Jack in the Box 3 Qdoba Mexican Grill 108 Platinum Corral, LLC Jacksonville, NC 26 Golden Corral 109 Hielan Restaurant Group Lewisville, TX 43 Chili’s 110 Daland Corporation Wichita, KS 107 Pizza Hut 48 August 2015 111 Stanton & Associates, Inc. Jackson, MI 67 Wendy’s 112 GPS Hospitality, LLC Atlanta, GA 136 Burger King 113 Den-Tex Central, Inc. San Antonio, TX 74 Denny’s $80-$90 MILLION 114 Benton Properties, Inc. Springdale, AR 64 Sonic 115 Hospitality Restaurant Group, Inc. Traverse City, MI 42 Taco Bell 26 Pizza Hut 116* United Restaurant Group, L.P. Glen Allen, VA 29 TGI Friday’s 117* The Bistro Group Cincinnati, OH 27 TGI Friday’s 5 McAlister’s Deli 118 OCAT, Inc. Modesto, CA 52 Taco Bell 119 High Plains Pizza Liberal, KS 83 Pizza Hut $70-$80 MILLION 120 AJP Enterprises Fife, WA 47 Jack in the Box 1 Jimmy John’s * Denotes revenue estimate 121 Rucker Restaurant Holdings, LLC Austin, TX 60 Jack in the Box 122 Hallrich, Inc. Stow, OH 102 Pizza Hut 123* Breads of the World, LLC Columbus, OH 36 Panera Bread 124* Original Bread, Inc. Wichita, KS 35 Panera Bread 127* Schuster Enterprises, Inc. Columbus, GA 63 Burger King 125 FourCrown, Inc. Oakdale, MN 58 Wendy’s 128* Ultimate Challenge, LLC Willmar, MN 100 Domino’s 126 KC Bell, Inc. Wichita, KS 58 Taco Bell 5 Freddy’s 129 Howley Bread Group, Ltd. Westlake, OH 28 Panera Bread 130* The RC Group, LLC Annapolis, MD 43 Taco Bell 9 Yum! Multi 131 Fowler Foods, Inc. Jonesboro, AR 52 KFC 15 Yum! Multi 132 Oerther Foods, Inc. Orlando, FL 24 McDonald’s 133* Las-Cal Corporation Las Vegas, NV 64 Taco Bell * Denotes revenue estimate 162 BMW Management 22 Sizzler Gary Myers, president What’s attractive to you about Sizzler? We just opened the new-generation prototype that we’ve been building for a few years. It has all the bells and whistles you can imagine. It has the wow factor. We developed it starting in 2006. We went underneath the radar, because the franchisor, every time we turned around, would say no. They didn’t want to further the concept. Sizzler became very mundane, and we took it and went just the opposite of mundane and made it bigger than life. What does your franchisor think now? They love what we do. We pay some of the biggest royalties. We exceed expectations on just about every level. We’re a good partnership. In most businesses if you’re not continuing to go above and beyond, you’re going to be left out of the game. How do you evaluate which brands to invest in? One of the greatest things that happened is CEO Kerry Kramp bought into the company, actually bought an ownership stake. He’s staying. We have a good dialogue with our franchisor. They came up with our hand-tossed craft salad station. It’s a people-pleasing, mouth-watering thing that Kerry Kramp is testing in a couple of his restaurants and we have it in our newest restaurant. A lot of what you’re doing sounds expensive. Yes it is, it’s very costly. It’s high risk. We employ in these big stores over 100 employees, whereas maybe 40 or 50 in a smaller store. People ask what does it cost and how will it add to the bottom line? The bottom line is, everything we do is an experience for the guest, and that’s how BMW has really formulated our new prototype. Whether it costs us more, or whatever, it just builds that engagement with our guests. A new look for Sizzler, in BMW’s Hemet, California, store. What’s one lesson you could pass on to other restaurant operators? To be a survivor down the road, you have to think not just today, but tomorrow. You have no idea what tomorrow will bring, so you better be prepared for whatever comes. What’s your motto for building your business? The best thing franchisors can do is hold the system accountable for training, for development of people. When they give up on people, including their own, they’ve given up on their concept. If the people at Sizzler fall asleep at the wheel, I want nothing to do with them. If we need to push buttons, and I’ve been told many times that we’re the best button pushers. We’re not afraid to go in and have conflict, because guess what, there’s always conflict resolution. We’re a company to add value to others, and we expect others, the franchisor, to also add value back to the company. —Beth Ewen August 2015 49 $60-$70 MILLION 134 Kades Corporation Pasadena, TX 30 McDonald’s 135 Verlander Enterprises, LLC El Paso, TX 11 Applebee’s 11 Village Inn 136* Apple Core Enterprises, Inc. Minot, ND 24 Applebee’s 137 Carisch, Inc. Wayzata, MN 67 Arby’s 138 First Sun Management Corp. Clemson, SC 46 Wendy’s 139 West Quality Food Service, Inc. Laurel, MS 40 KFC 19 Yum! Multi 140 Lehigh Valley Restaurant Group Allentown, PA 21 Red Robin 141 VKC Group Sugar Land, TX 107 Subway 18 Great American Cookie 142 DiPasqua Enterprises Winter Park, FL 122 Subway 149* Apple Corps, L.P. Wichita, KS 25 Applebee’s 150 Ocedon Westerville, OH 50 Burger King 143* Fourjay, LLC North Little Rock, AR 50 Wendy’s 151 Frandeli Group Orange, CA 69 Papa John’s 144 Brodersen Management Corp. Glendale, WI 42 Popeyes 152 Janjer Enterprises, Inc. Silver Spring, MD 28 Popeyes 145 Ansara Restaurant Group, Inc. Farmington Hills, MI 22 Red Robin $50-$60 MILLION 146 Top Line Restaurants, Inc. Chandler, AZ 38 Denny’s 2 Corner Bakery Cafe 147 Bullard Restaurant Group Raleigh, NC 26 Moe’s Southwest Grill 18 Burger King 148 DRM, Inc. Omaha, NE 69 Arby’s 153 Parrish Foods Dallas, TX 23 McDonald’s 154* J.S. Ventures, Inc. Wichita, KS 25 Applebee’s 155 LDF Food Group, Inc. Wichita, KS 39 Wendy’s 156 RLC Enterprises, Inc. Northbrook, IL 50 Taco Bell 9 KFC 157 Southern Deli Holdings Fort Collins, CO 50 McAlister’s Deli 158 Staab Management Co. Inc. Grand Island, NE 70 Pizza Hut 159* Mirabile Investment Corp. Memphis, TN 43 Burger King 7 Popeyes 160 RoHoHo, Inc. Charleston, SC 55 Papa John’s 8 Jersey Mike’s 161 Metz Group Dallas, PA 11 TGI Friday’s 162 BMW Management, Inc. Temecula, CA 22 Sizzler 163 Gala Corporation Costa Mesa, CA 18 Applebee’s 10 Famous Dave’s 165* JAX, LLC Charlotte, NC 17 Golden Corral 166 Primary Aim, LLC Zanesville, OH 31 Wendy’s 167 Ryan Restaurant Corp. Billings, MT 8 Applebee’s 8 Famous Dave’s 168 CLP Corporation Homewood, AL 21 McDonald’s $40-$50 MILLION 169 Wendco Group Pensacola, FL 42 Wendy’s 170 U.S. Restaurants, Inc. Blue Bell, PA 34 Burger King 171 Vasari, LLC Irving, TX 76 Dairy Queen 164 S-Group Companies Sandusky, OH 33 Wendy’s * Denotes revenue estimate About the Restaurant 200 Our annual Restaurant 200 franchisee research includes questionnaires, phone surveys, and in some cases, a review of public documents such as annual reports, 10Ks and FDDs. We sincerely thank the companies that responded to our surveys, as most of the top 200 companies in this year’s ranking provided us with their complete data. Our report consists of ranking companies according to revenue generated by the company’s franchised restaurants. If 50 August 2015 the company happens to operate a restaurant concept that is not franchised, or is the franchisor of another concept, we will not include that number in the overall revenue or unit count. In some cases where an acquisition took place during the year, we derive pro-forma revenues in calculating the company’s ranking. For companies that did not respond to our survey, we confirmed the number of units operated by their company, and then estimated the revenue. In the case of a tie in the amount of total revenue, we settled the tie in favor of the company with the most units. If you believe your company might make the Restaurant 200 list or we’ve missed you (or you know of another company that should be listed), please contact Abbi Nawrocki at (612) 767-3200. Our ranking of the top 200 franchisees is combined with the second 200 franchisees in a report prepared by Technomic Inc. Order the report at restfinance.com. 172 Northcott Company Chanhassen, MN 21 Perkins 3 Houlihan’s 173 Creative Foods Corporation Garden City, NY 27 Burger King 174 Shamrock Companies Hinsdale, IL 24 Taco Bell 11 KFC 175 Hart Restaurant Management, Inc. Corpus Christi, TX 44 Burger King 176* Thomas 5 Ltd. Dublin, OH 32 Wendy’s 177 Apple Gilroy, Inc. San Jose, CA 12 Applebee’s 178* PRB Management, LLC Fairfield, CA 39 Taco Bell 179 Restaurants Inc. 22 Omaha, NE 20 HuHot Mongolian Grill 9 PepperJax Grill 184 Trigo Hospitality Stevensville, MI 31 Pizza Hut 5 Sonic Drive-In $32-$40 MILLION 185 C & P Restaurant Company, LLC Macon, GA 9 Cheddar’s Casual Cafe 186* Peak Interests, LLC Golden, CO 48 Pizza Hut 187 Bartlett Management Services Clinton, IL 42 KFC 1 Taco Bell 188* GC Partners, Inc. WinstonSalem, NC 11 Golden Corral 189 Las Vegas Pizza Hut Las Vegas, NV 41 Pizza Hut 190 H & K Partners Milwaukee, WI 34 KFC 7 Yum! Multi 180 WMCR Co. Alpena, MI 37 KFC 2 Taco Bell 191 Wendy’s of Montana Billings, MT 18 Wendy’s 181 Century Fast Foods, Inc. Los Angeles, CA 33 Taco Bell 192 PJ Holdings KY, LLC Lexington, KY 48 Papa John’s 182 Brumit Restaurant Group Asheville, NC 44 Arby’s 193 Tetra Management, Inc. Wichita, KS 36 Pizza Hut 183 Rawson Foodservice, Inc. Princeton, NJ 20 Wendy’s 194 Lunan Corporation Chicago, IL 43 Arby’s 179 Restaurants Inc. 22 20 HuHot; 9 PepperJax Grill Gayle Carstens, president Why these brands? With HuHot I guess that it’s unique and something not everyone else is doing. It’s also an incredibly easy concept to manage because essentially it’s a large salad bar. With PepperJax Grill, too, I liked the uniqueness and the founder knew me personally. What’s the No. 1 attraction to a brand? Uniqueness. That’s a lesson I learned when I was operating Godfather’s Pizzas. People like uniqueness. And large portions. What’s the No. 1 red flag? The ones I shy away from are the ones that there are so many of that are so similar. I’d rather stay with something not everyone is doing. That’s the kind of niche I want to be in. A lot of people in the restaurant business go into safe-harbor concepts and you can make a lot of money. But that’s not what I’m interested in. I want my place to be the only place you can get something. What’s been the worst day at your restaurant company? There haven’t been many restaurants that we haven’t opened without issues. In the restaurant business, things happen all the time, usually when it’s most inconvenient. What’s one piece of advice for other owners? In this business, you need people who can operate on their own. I’ve always been willing to spend money to have top-end management. What’s your “motto” for building a restaurant company? It’s about unique concepts and strong people. —Alexandra Norvet 195 Huse, Inc. Bloomington, IN 33 Arby’s 196 Texas Subs, Inc. Fort Worth, TX 48 Subway 197 Great Circle Family Foods, LLC Long Beach, CA 11 Krispy Kreme 7 The Coffee Bean 198 Pizza Hut of Arizona Tucson, AZ 33 Pizza Hut 199 S.L. Investments, Inc. Las Vegas, NV 36 Carl’s Jr. 200 Tricorp Food Services, Inc. Chesterfield, MO 12 TGI Friday’s * Denotes revenue estimate August 2015 51 ALPHABETICAL LISTING Company...............................Rank ADF Companies ................................ 28 AJP Enterprises.................................120 America’s Pizza Company, LLC ..........83 American Franchise Capital, LLC .................................... 106 American West Restaurant Group ..............................32 Ampex Brands ....................................31 Ansara Restaurant Group, Inc. .........145 Apple Core Enterprises, Inc. .............136 Apple Corps, L.P...............................149 Apple Gilroy, Inc. .............................177 Apple Gold Group ............................. 29 Apple Investors Group .......................35 Apple Sauce, Inc. ............................. 99 Apple-Metro, Inc. ............................. 59 B & G Food Enterprises, LLC ............. 86 Bartlett Management Services.........187 Benton Properties, Inc. ....................114 BMW Management, Inc. .................162 Boddie-Noell Enterprises.................... 11 Border Foods Companies ...................74 Breads of the World, LLC .................123 Bridgeman Foods .................................3 Brodersen Management Corp......... 144 Brumit Restaurant Group .................182 Bullard Restaurant Group ................147 BurgerBusters, Inc. ............................ 73 C & P Restaurant Company, LLC .................................185 Carisch, Inc. .....................................137 Carlisle Corporation ...........................53 Carolina Restaurant Group ............... 96 Carrols Restaurant Group, Inc..............6 Caspers Company .............................. 51 Cedar Enterprises, Inc. .......................25 Celebration Restaurant Group .......... 65 Century Fast Foods, Inc. ..................181 Century Management, Inc................ 50 CLP Corporation ............................. 168 Cotti Foods Corp. ............................. 78 Covelli Enterprises ................................7 Creative Foods Corporation .............173 D.L. Rogers Corp. ..............................23 Daland Corporation .........................110 DavCo Restaurants, Inc. ....................37 Den-Tex Central, Inc. ....................... 113 Desert de Oro Foods, Inc. ................. 70 Dhanani Group ....................................4 DiPasqua Enterprises .......................142 Diversified Restaurant Holdings .........76 Doherty Enterprises, Inc. .................. 10 DORO, Inc. ........................................82 DRM, Inc. ....................................... 148 Falcon Holdings, LLC ........................ 36 First Sun Management Corp. ...........138 Flynn Restaurant Group, LLC ...............1 FourCrown, Inc. ...............................125 Fourjay, LLC .....................................143 Fowler Foods, Inc............................. 131 Franchise Management, Inc...............57 Frandeli Group ................................. 151 Frauenshuh Hospitality Group .......... 49 Friendly Franchisees Corporation .................................... 104 Frisch’s Restaurants, Inc.................... 39 Fugate Enterprises............................. 38 Gala Corporation .............................163 GC Partners, Inc.............................. 188 Golden Gate Bell, LLC ........................92 GPS Hospitality, LLC ........................ 112 Great Circle Family Foods, LLC ........197 H & K Partners ................................ 190 Hallrich, Inc......................................122 Hamra Enterprises............................. 56 Harman Management Corporation .......................................19 Hart Restaurant Management, Inc. ...........................175 Hielan Restaurant Group ................ 109 High Plains Pizza ..............................119 Hospitality Restaurant Group, Inc. .......................................115 Howley Bread Group, Ltd.................129 Huse, Inc..........................................195 Interfoods of America, Inc. ................33 J.S. Ventures, Inc. ............................ 154 Janjer Enterprises, Inc. ......................152 JAX, LLC ..........................................165 JEM Restaurant Group ...................... 94 JIB Management, Inc. ........................18 JRN, Inc............................................. 44 K-Mac Enterprises ..............................15 Kades Corporation ...........................134 Kazi Management VI, LLC ................ 85 KBP Foods, Inc. ..................................22 KC Bell, Inc.......................................126 Las Vegas Pizza Hut ........................ 189 Las-Cal Corporation ........................133 LDF Food Group, Inc. ......................155 Lehigh Valley Restaurant Group ........................... 140 Lemek, LLC ........................................81 Luihn Four, Inc. ..................................97 Financial Solutions to Help You Grow BURGER KING | $17,000,000 DUNKIN’ DONUTS | $9,200,000 Refinance and Remodel Facility Refinance and Development Facility OR NY BURGER KING | $10,000,000 WENDY’S | $6,400,000 Refinance, Development and Remodel Facility Multi-unit Acquisition and Remodel Facility MD MO, IL, WI Call Element’s Franchise Finance Group today to find out how we can put our capital to work for you! Bernard Lajeunesse | 267-960-4016 | [email protected] 655 Business Center Drive | Horsham, PA 267.960.4000 | www.elementcorp.com 52 August 2015 Lunan Corporation ..........................194 Lund Brown Group ........................... 40 MarLu Investment Group ..................42 McEssy Investment Co. ..................... 89 Meritage Hospitality Group .............. 55 Metro Corral Partners ....................... 66 Metz Group ..................................... 161 Mirabile Investment Corp. ...............159 MUY! Companies ............................... 8 Neighborhood Hospitality /Woodland Group, Inc. ....................101 Northcott Company ........................172 NPC International, Inc. ........................2 OCAT, Inc. .......................................118 Ocedon........................................... 150 Oerther Foods, Inc...........................132 Original Bread, Inc. ..........................124 Pacific Bells, Inc................................. 34 Palo Alto, Inc. .................................... 61 Paradigm Investment Group, LLC........................................ 69 Parikh Network ................................. 68 Parrish Foods ...................................153 Peak Interests, LLC ..........................186 Pennant Foods, LLC .......................... 79 Pepper Dining, Inc. ............................26 Pilot Travel Centers, LLC ................... 20 Pizza Hut of Arizona ....................... 198 Pizza Properties, Inc.......................... 58 PJ Holdings KY, LLC .........................192 PJ United............................................62 Platinum Corral, LLC ....................... 108 Potomac Family Dining Group ...........67 PR Management Corporation ..........102 PRB Management, LLC ....................178 Primary Aim, LLC ............................ 166 QK Holdings, LLC ..............................93 Quality Dining, Inc.............................24 Quality Restaurant Concepts, LLC....................................72 R.E.E. Inc. ......................................... 95 Rawson Foodservice, Inc. ................183 Restaurant Management Co............. 63 Restaurants Inc. 22 ..........................179 Retzer Resources, Inc. ..................... 100 RGT Management, Inc. ...................103 RLC Enterprises, Inc. ........................156 RMH Franchise Corporation ..............17 RoHoHo, Inc. .................................. 160 Romulus Restaurant Group ............... 80 Rottinghaus Co. .................................41 RPM Pizza, Inc. ..................................75 Rucker Restaurant Holdings, LLC .................................. 121 Ryan Restaurant Corp......................167 S-Group Companies ....................... 164 S.L. Investments, Inc. ...................... 199 Schuster Enterprises, Inc. .................127 Servus! ...............................................47 Shamrock Companies ......................174 Sizzling Platter, Inc. ............................27 Southern Deli Holdings ....................157 Southern Multifoods, Inc. ................. 84 SRAC Holdings, Inc............................13 SSCP Management, Inc. ................... 64 Staab Management Co. Inc. ........... 158 Stanton & Associates, Inc. ............... 111 Starboard Group ................................87 Stine Enterprises, Inc. .......................107 Strang Corporation ........................... 98 Summit Restaurant Group ...................5 Summit Restaurant Group, LLC ........ 90 Sun Holdings, LLC................................9 T-Bird Restaurant Group ................... 48 T.L. Cannon Management .................52 Tacala, LLC .........................................14 TD Food Group, Inc. ..........................91 TEAM Schostak Family Restaurants............................ 30 Tetra Management, Inc. ...................193 Texas Subs, Inc. ................................196 The Bistro Group .............................. 117 The Briad Group .................................16 The Jan Companies ............................77 The RC Group, LLC ......................... 130 The Rose Group ................................ 45 The Saxton Group ............................. 88 Thomas 5 Ltd. ..................................176 Top Line Restaurants, Inc. ................146 Treadwell Enterprises, Inc. ............... 105 Tricorp Food Services, Inc. .............. 200 Trigo Hospitality .............................. 184 U.S. Restaurants, Inc. ......................170 Ultimate Challenge, LLC ..................128 United Restaurant Group, L.P. .........116 United States Beef Corp. ....................21 Valenti Management .........................43 Vasari, LLC ....................................... 171 Verlander Enterprises, LLC ...............135 VKC Group....................................... 141 Wendco Group ................................169 WendPartners ....................................12 Wendy’s of Colorado Springs............ 54 Wendy’s of Montana .......................191 West Quality Food Service, Inc........139 Western Reserve Restaurant Mgmt.............................. 46 Wisconsin Hospitality Group, LLC......71 WKS Restaurant Group..................... 60 WMCR Co. ..................................... 180 WORK SMARTER with the 2015 Top 400 Franchise Restaurant Company Report -- Sales and unit rankings COVERAGE -- Beyond Franchise Monitor 200 -- Franchise primary concept -- Key contact, headquarters and region(s) of operations -- Updated for increased sales and marketing opportunities 312-506-3832 [email protected] technomic.com/top400 August 2015 53