Empires

The Evolution of Subway - Bill Mathis (3 unit owner)

Bill Mathis worked for Subway starting in 1992, and eventually became a franchise owner in 2001. He's owned as many as 4 stores, and gives us an inside look at the brand over the past few decades. We dive into everything and everything, including the impact of the $5 footlong promo, the sandwich wars with Quiznos, what Fred DeLuca was like, and how the transition under Roark Capital has been. FOR MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISE OWNERS CONSIDERING SELLING: https://www.empirespod.com/for-multi-unit-owners WEEKLY FRANCHISE NEWSLETTER: This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit empirespod.substack.com [https://empirespod.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

The Iconic New York Slice Shop That's Franchising (Prince St. Pizza)

Prince Street Pizza went from a single NYC slice shop to one of the most viral pizza brands in America. In this episode, Prince Street Pizza CEO & co-owner Lawrence Longo breaks down how the brand exploded through Instagram, celebrity co-signs, and its iconic Spicy Spring slice. He’s now leading the brand's expansion across the U.S. with a highly selective franchising strategy.JOIN OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER: FOR MULTI-UNIT OWNERS WHO ARE SELLING:https://www.fdcapitalgroup.com/ 00:00 Intro01:11 How Sean Avery Introduced Lawrence to Prince Street Pizza02:33 How Instagram Made Prince Street Go Viral05:12 Why the Spicy Spring Slice Became Iconic06:32 The 2018 LA Pop-Up That Changed Everything08:03 The Crazy History of Original Ray’s Pizza10:40 How Prince Street Created Its Signature Pizza12:16 The Truth About New York Water & Pizza14:28 The Story Behind Off The Menu17:13 Secret Menu Items & Viral Food Marketing21:55 Why In-N-Out Calls It Animal Style24:55 Dave’s Hot Chicken & Secret Menu Innovation25:50 How the Prince Street LA Pop-Up Went Viral30:11 Convincing The Founders To Expand Nationally32:01 Lessons From Opening Restaurants With No Experience34:31 Opening Prince Street During COVID37:22 Why Frank Shut Down A Store Over Pepsi39:57 Todd Graves’ Advice About “Craveable” Food41:13 Expanding Prince Street Across America45:28 Scaling Premium Pizza Without Losing Quality48:46 Training Pizza Makers & Maintaining Standards51:22 The New “Naughty Slice” & Hot Honey Trend54:04 Pizza Wars, Haters & Restaurant Competition56:11 Why Prince Street Only Works With Elite Operators58:42 The Dave’s Hot Chicken Partnership01:03:27 What Prince Street Looks For In Franchise Partners01:06:24 The Home Alone Marketing Collaboration01:09:02 Why Pizza Chains Are Struggling Today01:12:49 Choosing The Right Locations For Growth01:16:30 The Future Of Prince Street Pizza01:17:38 Lawrence’s Biggest Influence & Final Thoughts This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit empirespod.substack.com [https://empirespod.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Building Jersey Mike's - 25 Unit Operator

Kavrin McGuire operates 25 Jersey Mike’s locations alongside his father and brother. In this conversation, we break down:• How Jersey Mike’s maintains product quality at scale• What it’s actually like operating a high-volume sandwich business• Why Peter Cancro built such intense loyalty among franchisees• The truth about the Blackstone acquisition rumors• How Kavrin’s family scaled through acquisitions + development• Why they bought the entire state of Minnesota for Mike’s Red Tacos We also dive deep into staffing, operations, digital ordering, real estate strategy, small-town expansion, and what separates great restaurant operators from average ones. SUBSCRIBE TO EMPIRES WEEKLY FOR MULTI-UNIT OWNERS WHO ARE SELLING: https://www.fdcapitalgroup.com/ CHAPTERS00:00 Intro00:54 How Kavrin’s family found Jersey Mike’s03:22 Learning restaurant ops from the ground up05:20 The reality of running a restaurant07:57 Why Jersey Mike’s ops are harder than Little Caesars11:10 Staffing a Jersey Mike’s lunch rush13:50 How Jersey Mike’s built its digital ordering system15:22 Why Jersey Mike’s became a breakout brand16:50 Peter Cancro’s obsession with sandwich quality20:26 Stories that explain why franchisees love Peter Cancro25:53 Kavrin’s role running 25 Jersey Mike’s27:31 Building a long-term leadership team29:26 Acquiring Jersey Mike’s locations31:58 Real estate strategy + buildout costs34:33 Can Jersey Mike’s work in small towns?37:17 Jersey Mike’s culture of giving42:31 Blackstone, Charlie Morrison & the future of Jersey Mike’s47:14 How much white space Jersey Mike’s still has50:59 Why they bought Mike’s Red Tacos54:38 Betting on birria tacos as the next big category57:17 Mike’s Red Tacos operations explained01:00:42 Comparing Mike’s Red Tacos vs Jersey Mike’s ops01:04:42 Long-term vision for both brands01:06:09 Final thoughts This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit empirespod.substack.com [https://empirespod.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Inside the Largest KidStrong Empire (60+ Units)

Joe Pedatella is scaling one of the fastest-growing KidStrong empires in the country: * 16 locations open * 60+ in development * And a goal of 100 long term In this episode, he breaks down how he pre-sold 700 members before opening, built a culture that scales, and turned one gym into a multi-unit machine that is only just starting to hit it’s stride. Considering buying a franchise? https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqblUwU0x4ZXJrV3M2OHE3WVRIY19GTkwyN1hXZ3xBQ3Jtc0tuTkNoaFBSRDJ6X3pfdHdzYmpvV2M5dTBCbmRvNDMweUIyWmpFU2tYQ1RrTzItVmxTVWM5cEJBanNKMloyYVR1XzNtMjEzeDVXYjB1bUhqUndXUHBYZ0s5OHBuaVZfcHdpV09kdm9NZ3VGaExSY2x3dw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.empirespod.com%2Fbuy-a-franchise&v=SKnl8ECbzB4www.empirespod.com/buy-a-franchise [https://www.empirespod.com/buy-a-franchise] For multi-unit franchisees selling their locations: www.fdcapitalgroup.com [https://www.fdcapitalgroup.com/] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit empirespod.substack.com [https://empirespod.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]

Franchising the Farm: Area 2 Farms

Area 2 Farms, a venture backed start up, is trying to bring (vertical) farms into every town across America. They've learned from past mistakes of other vertical farm startups, and have changed the model, which they are now franchising... Considering buying a franchise? https://www.empirespod.com/buy-a-franchiseSubscribe to our weekly newsletter: https://empirespod.substack.com/For multi-unit franchisees selling their locations: https://www.fdcapitalgroup.com/ CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 0:55 What’s Broken with Food Distribution 2:43 Franchises in Disguise? 4:50 Why “Progress” Crushed Food Quality 7:22 The Machine of Food Distribution 8:50 Starting as a Government Spy 11:19 Pentagon’s Domino’s Pizza Tracker 11:50 What he learned from Hacking Countries 13:23 Becoming a Founder 14:43 Selling His Startup to Cloudfare 15:50 Starting Area 2 Farms 17:35 Why other Vertical Farms Failed 20:35 Why Area 2 is Different 23:09 Moving the Plants, Not Air 24:55 Live Look at Area 2’s Tech 25:57 The 3 Key Innovations 27:22 Location #1 28:50 The Farm Business Model 31:58 Do Customers like it? 32:52 Area 2 vs Grocery Stores 37:47 Turning Farms into a Business 39:46 Franchising the Farm 43:00 Area 2 Farms’ Unit Economics 46:30 The Target Franchise Owner 48:49 Franchise Launch Update 50:36 Is Energy Usage a Concern? 52:05 The Energy Myth in Vertical Farming 53:22 How the Model Evolves Over Time 55:08 Avoiding “Menu Creep” & Staying Focused 56:52 New Revenue Streams: Seedlings, Pumpkin Patches & More 58:10 What Franchisees Actually Need to Learn 1:02:31 Labor Model & Serving 400 Customers per Farm 1:04:10 Systems, SOPs & Avoiding Crop Failure 1:06:00 Why Farming Is the Original Franchise Model 1:07:53 The Mission Behind Area 2 Farms 1:09:00 Convenience vs Community 1:10:53 Real Estate Strategy (Why Gas Stations Work) 1:12:09 Making Each Location Feel Local 1:15:22 What Success Looks Like in 10–20 Years 1:18:00 Closing Thoughts This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit empirespod.substack.com [https://empirespod.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1]