In 2016 , for the second year in a row , Applebee ’ s named Rose its Franchisee of the Year .
franchising .”
In early 1990 , Roy Rogers was acquired by Hardee ’ s , and Rose read the handwriting on the wall . Hardee ’ s featured Roy Rogers ’ most successful item , fried chicken , in its fast food burger model , but it didn ’ t work . “ Hardee ’ s had tried to enter several Roy Rogers markets in the past and it failed every time ,” says Rose .
When the restaurants started changing their name to Hardee ’ s in the Washington , D . C ., area sales dropped 25 to 30 percent . The company tried switching from Hardee ’ s back to Roy Rogers , but by that time customers were so confused it didn ’ t work , he says .
“ I didn ’ t do the switch with my locations , but they stopped advertising in the whole Northeast and our volume began to drop . We were up against Burger King and McDonald ’ s , who were advertising like crazy . Our revenue was slipping , so it was obvious we needed to do something .”
What he did was start looking at other concepts , and in 1994 signed on with Boston Market and Applebee ’ s . He built
In 2016 , for the second year in a row , Applebee ’ s named Rose its Franchisee of the Year .
16 Boston Markets in 6 counties in New Jersey , and 16 Applebee ’ s in Baltimore .
Rose says Applebee ’ s in Baltimore was a challenge because the brand had pretty much penetrated the whole country — except for the Baltimore area , because of liquor license restrictions . “ Independent operators were trying to keep chains out , so we decided to fight . We opened and tried to lobby to get more liquor licenses , and we won ,” says Rose .
By 1996 , The Rose Group had built the highest-volume Boston Market locations in the country , earning recognition as the franchise ’ s top operator . Corporate was so impressed they bought back the 16 locations and asked Rose to develop their new brand , Einstein Bros . Bagels , founded the year before .
Within 18 months , Rose had built 21 Einstein Bros . units in the Philadelphia area with high volume and solid operations . He says the concept worked because they had the right locations and the right demographic to support a convenient breakfast concept .
In early 2007 , The Rose Group became the first franchisee of Corner Bakery Cafe , opening in a shopping mall in Horsham , Pa . He bought three more locations in Philadelphia and ( guess what ?) became the brand ’ s top operator .
Although Rose has stepped back from day-to-day operations to spend more time with family ( and work on his golf handicap ), he ’ s staying on top of industry trends like fast casual pizza and healthy food concepts , and looking to steer his company toward even greater success in the years ahead .
PERSONAL
First job : Working for my father ’ s business driving a beer truck . He was a beer distributor for local brands in Minersville , Pa .
Formative influences / events : I joined Marriott right out of college . The year I started they were closing out their year-end in June as a $ 99 million company . What I learned at Marriott over the next 20 years shaped me and how I run our company . Some of the attributes I learned were discipline , detail to operations , and above all , customer satisfaction .
Key accomplishments : Over 30 years we have built more than 100 restaurants including Roy Rogers , Boston Market , Einstein Bros . Bagels , Johnny Carino ’ s , Applebee ’ s , and Corner Bakery Cafe . We have always been leaders within the franchise concepts we operate because we assembled the best management team in the industry .
Biggest current challenge : How to differentiate ourselves from our competitors within the segments we operate . This being such a diffi cult time for restaurants , we need to focus on being the best operators in the neighborhoods we are in , regardless of the concept .
Next big goal : To continue the leadership that we have in the concepts we operate , and to work hard at beating our competition .
First turning point in your career : When I decided to leave Marriott and purchase restaurants from them after 20 years of service . The initial purchase was for fi ve Roy Rogers , which was the beginning of my career in franchising .
Best business decision : To hire Jeff Warden as my area director for those fi rst fi ve Roy Rogers restaurants . Since that time , Jeff and I have worked hand in hand on making The Rose Group what it is today .
Hardest lesson learned : Earlier on in Roy Rogers when I saw that the concept was not going to survive , I didn ’ t move fast enough to develop other options for the sites we had at the time .
Work week : Not what it was when I was president and CEO . At that time my work week started with reviewing all the fi nancial numbers in each restaurant , and then most of my time was spent fi guring out how I was going to continue to grow our company . Today as chairman I still look at the fi nancials every day , but I am not involved in the day-to-day activity . I leave that up to our President and CEO — Jeff Warden .
Exercise / workout : I enjoy golf and work out with a trainer three days a week .
Best advice you ever got : Someone once told me that if you want to be a leader , make sure you lead by example — not by what you say , but by what you say and do .
What ’ s your passion in business ? My passion is for all of my employees and their welfare , as well as for the guest experience in our restaurants .
How do you balance life and work ? Today as chairman my life is more balanced than it has ever been . I am able to spend more personal time now supporting the charitable causes I ’ m passionate about .
Guilty pleasure : I love food and wine . Favorite book : John Adams by David McCullough . Favorite movie : “ Saving Private Ryan .”
What do most people not know about you ? I have a soft spot for people who are less fortunate than I am .
Pet peeve : Trash and debris in the parking lots of our restaurants .
What did you want to be when you grew up ? When I was delivering beer as a young adult I was always fascinated with the restaurant industry and wanted to own my own .
Last vacation : Burgundy , France . Person I ’ d most like to have lunch with : Warren Buffett .
28 MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISEE ISSUE I , 2017