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APRIL 2025
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The restaurant industry has a tough survival rate — only about 1 in 5 new ventures last more than five years. Given those odds, I’ve been thinking about what it takes to achieve lasting success. If you look at any long-standing, thriving franchisee, chances are each new generation of leadership has spent time in the kitchen. Decision-makers who understand the challenges of frontline jobs are invaluable. I’ve shared examples in this newsletter. A 50-store Burger King franchisee once showed me how he saved $1,500 per store annually by training staff to slice tomatoes precisely. The late S. Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A, was hands-on- experimenting with recipes, adjusting kitchen equipment, and even changing lightbulbs. His grandson now runs the company. Another example is Jersey Mike’s founder, Peter Cancro, who started as a teenage sandwich maker before buying the shop. Separating the Best From the Rest Mastering the Nitty-Gritty of Restaurant Operations
closed dozens of locations, Dine Brands’ stock dropped 39% last year, while Brinker’s stock soared 200%.
I’ve seen this dynamic play out firsthand. When I moved to my city, I witnessed Burger King’s push to match McDonald’s store count. As I drove past shuttered locations, I often thought, “No wonder that store failed — terrible location. Why would anybody build a store there?” It was a case of the front office having a goal divorced from one of the primary disciplines of any seasoned operations manager: Make sure we have great locations. Top-down mandates from decision-makers lacking operational insight often backfire in the field. One of my clients was offered to buy 25 stores from a franchisor on the condition that he build 25 more within a set timeframe; he wisely declined. My guy said, “No, thanks! I don’t have unlimited capital, and I don’t own a construction or real estate company. And even if I could build that fast, I wouldn’t be able to find enough worthwhile locations.” That franchisor failed to grasp a crucial reality: forced expansion leads to bad locations, declining unit sales, cost-cutting to protect margins, and a deteriorating customer experience. The negative impact doesn’t show up immediately, but in three to five years, you’re Applebee’s, closing stores by the dozen. As John Hamburger noted, now is the time to celebrate brands like Chili’s that prioritize operations. From where I sit, that’s also a strong indicator of a franchisee worth betting on.
Successful franchisees and strong brands share a common trait: leadership with practical operational experience.
John Hamburger of Restaurant Finance Monitor recently spotted a similar pattern among major restaurant chains. Brinker International, which owns 92% of Chili’s locations, had the top- performing restaurant stock last year. “They’re driving positive traffic the old-fashioned way, focusing on value and operations,” he wrote. When the brand and franchisees are aligned, and the brand’s owners are directly accountable for store-level performance, restaurants tend to thrive. In contrast, Hamburger noted, brands that follow an “asset-lite” model-prioritizing share buybacks and dividends while leaving operations to franchisees often struggle. Take Applebee’s, a Chili’s competitor operated by Dine Brands Global. As Applebee’s
– Nate Riordan
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Adopting the Customer-Centric Mindset Why Putting Customers First Is the Key to Growth When you think of your customer’s buying journey, do you envision it from start to finish, or do you just focus on the sale? While that end goal is crucial, your marketing strategy needs to get them there. To nurture your customers through the checkout process, you have to put yourself in their shoes and develop your marketing strategy from their perspective from start to finish — an approach called customer-centric marketing. WHAT IS CUSTOMER-CENTRIC MARKETING? Your product/service is impressive, but it’s your job to convince potential buyers. The bottom line of customer-centric marketing is to understand why a customer needs your product/service, how the product/service meets their needs, and if customers see themselves using your product/service. One way to accomplish this is to meet your customers where they are. According to a 2023 Sprout Social Index Report, 53% of consumers increased their social media usage since the pandemic. Those consumers also desire stronger engagement from the brands they follow or support. HOW CAN IT BENEFIT YOUR BUSINESS? Your customers respond to techniques that appeal to emotions and invite reactions and interactions. This engagement helps nurture a relationship that gives you more information about what customers want and helps them gain trust in your offer. IMPROVE AND GROW Focusing your marketing strategy on customers makes promoting tailored products that respond to customer needs easier. You need to make your brand stand out in your followers’ minds, creating new followers and allowing them to contribute while feeling heard and seen. Social media is the top channel for product discovery. However, before customers commit to a particular purchase, they check existing customers’ reviews, comments, and testimonials, making customer interactions paramount. CREATING LOYAL CUSTOMERS Loyal customers are your biggest advocates and will continually choose you over competitors. Once you acquire new customers, it’s time to build those connections to create loyalty by reflecting their needs and values in your marketing campaigns. Customers who love a product or service stand by it and will tell everyone why they love it so much — and will do this without you asking.
Chick-fil-A Taps NFL Tactics to Speed Service Fast Food Goes Pro
How much difference does three seconds make?
If you’re Chick-fil-A, it could mean the difference between success and failure — at least when it comes to drive-thru speed.
Taking a page from the NFL, Chick-fil-A is using sports software to analyze “game film” of its drive- thru operations,
looking for ways to shave seconds off service times. According to The Wall Street Journal, an Illinois Chick-fil-A operator used this approach during a chicken sandwich promotion, combining drone footage with recordings from his kitchen and drive-thru lanes to pinpoint bottlenecks. His goal? To beat his record of serving one car every 13 seconds — a crucial task, given that drive-thru sales account for 60% of Chick-fil-A’s revenue. After reviewing the footage with colleagues, he found several issues. A veteran employee was taking on too much of the kitchen workload, slowing down the entire team. Weak internet in certain drive-thru areas was delaying tablet-equipped order takers. To fix these problems, he redistributed kitchen tasks, upgraded internet access, and even added a new service door to facilitate and speed up order pickups.
The result? A 50% increase in drive-thru efficiency since implementing the changes in 2022.
Chick-fil-A has long prioritized drive-thru speed. Some locations see such high demand that traffic backs up into the street, prompting store managers to climb onto rooftops to assess congestion. In the past, concerns over traffic have even led to opposition against prospective Chick-fil-A locations from neighbors and nearby businesses. With the fast-food industry shifting away from dine-in service, Chick-fil-A is staying ahead of the curve. The company recently opened a drive-thru-only restaurant in Atlanta, featuring four service lanes and a second-floor kitchen. As The Wall Street Journal puts it, Chick-fil-A is “on the vanguard of fast-food drive‑thru science.”
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“The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter.” — Mark Twain But will Korean food become the next big thing in American fast food? Traditional Korean dishes are often meant to be enjoyed slowly, and some ingredients can be pricey — potential barriers to mass-market success. However, Korean-inspired fast-casual chains are finding ways to adapt. Many focus on single signature items, like twice-fried Korean chicken or bibimbap, a rice dish with marinated meat, vegetables, and a fried egg. One standout is Cupbop, a fast-growing chain with dozens of locations across the Southwest. Serving “Korean BBQ in a cup,” Cupbop emphasizes a fun, casual atmosphere while expanding its menu to include K-wings and Saladbop. Other fast-casual Korean concepts are popping up around the country. Bibibop Asian Grill is a 29-unit chain based in Columbus, Ohio. Dak & Bop, a single restaurant in Houston, specializes in Korean fried chicken with five different sauces and a menu item called K-Philly Cheesesteak, made with bulgogi, onions, cheese, and citrus aïoli. Seoul Taco has five stores in St. Louis, blending Korean flavors with Tex-Mex staples like burritos, nachos, quesadillas, and a dish called the Seoul Taco Burrito. Even larger brands are taking note. Bibigo, based in Commerce, California, and Gogi Grill in Hoboken, New Jersey, are expanding, proving that Korean flavors have serious staying power.
According to a National Restaurant Association survey, Korean cuisine is the top ethnic food trend of 2025. Its bold flavors and unique techniques — pickling, fermentation, and spice — are winning over younger consumers, many of whom see these methods as healthier alternatives. Korean food has also gained global visibility through cooking competitions and food documentaries like Netflix’s Street Food: Asia. This growing appetite for K-food is just another wave of hallyu, the Korean cultural boom that has introduced K-dramas, music, and beauty trends to international audiences. South Korea actively encouraged cultural exchange, promoting its traditions and language abroad, and now, its cuisine is making its way into the U.S. fast-food scene. K-Philly Cheesesteak, Anyone? Korean Cuisine Is Crashing the Scene If You Liked K-pop and ‘Squid Game,’ You’ll Love the Hottest Food Craze of 2025
The question isn’t whether Korean food will catch on — it already has. The real question is how far this wave will go.
Visit our blog for helpful franchise law insights and industry trends: WestCoastFranchiseLaw.com/insights
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In This Issue 1
How Operations Know-How Gives Owners the Edge Chick-fil-A’s Bold New Tactics to Rev Up Drive-Thru Service
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Get to Know Your Customers
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Flavor-Packed Korean Food Hits Top Spot on the Charts
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Dealing With Cranky Customers
Backing Your Team
managers have checked for quality, accuracy, and speed of service to ensure customers don’t have a legitimate grievance, they may need to strengthen employee support. Workers benefit from training and role-playing effective behaviors with challenging customers. The first rule is to stay calm and practice active listening, focusing directly on the customer and showing you are paying them respectful attention. Show empathy; even if the customer is wrong, by saying something like, “I’m sorry you’re frustrated.” Employees also need clear guidelines on when they are empowered to offer compensation or a solution, such as a free meal, and when they should escalate a complaint to a manager. Role-playing in common customer complaint scenarios can build employees’ confidence and conflict-resolution skills. Beyond that, what gives employees an edge in serving customers is the belief that they are valued in their jobs. When employees feel engaged, committed, and loyal to the business, they are more
Complaints about fast-food jobs abound on social media, and most of the gripes aren’t about the pay or dishing fries. Help Employees Handle Tough Customers
motivated to invest in its success, exceed basic job requirements, and go the extra mile to satisfy customers. Raising Cane’s, an award-winning fast food chain, trains employees in customer service standards, including enthusiastic greetings and effective conflict resolution. The company also provides clear career paths to management, promoting hundreds of hourly workers to salaried positions each year. It offers industry-leading pay, benefits, and profit-sharing, with a long-term path to leadership and even “partnership” — giving employees the opportunity to “be a millionaire in the restaurant industry,” according to the company. Knowing they have a future there fosters a sense of ownership among employees and may even provide the added motivation they need to handle the crankiest customers.
They’re about the customers.
Some people arrive at the counter or drive-thru already angry, employees say, or become annoyed or impatient waiting for their orders. Others seem intent on dishing personal insults to anyone in their path. Such behavior led one former fast-food employee to post on Reddit: “The customer is always right, and when they’re not, they get angry until they are.” Employees need more than platitudes to deal with difficult customers. Once
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