Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue II, 2013 | Page 40

M U L T I - B R A N D
By Debbie Selinsky

Franchise Whisperer
Perpetually on the prowl for the next new thing

L

loyd Sugarman—Sugie, to his
friends—is something of a “franchise whisperer.”
He sniffed out Coldstone
Creamery as a concept with great franchise potential years before the couple
who started it were ready to grow. And
he had a special feeling in his gut the
first time he visited a tiny coffee shop
in Chicago called Starbucks, but he listened to friends who insisted coffee shops
had limited growth potential, and didn’t
make a move.
But all systems were go in the late
1980s when the self-made businessman
Name: Lloyd Sugarman
Title: I never think of myself in
terms of a title.
Company: I have different

companies for different groups
of stores. My headquarters is in
Providence, R.I.

No. of units: Johnny Rockets,

17; Original Soupman, 3; Yeh!
Yogourt Glace and Café, 2
Age: Over 50
Family: Wife Rhonda, son Jason

(who works in the business), and
daughter, Dana Sugarman Johnson

Years in franchising: More

than 25

Years in current position:

Hard to say. I am the only person
ever exposed to Johnny Rockets as
its first original franchise partner in
1986, then as its first franchisee
in 1987, then as a member of
the corporate team, then as a
franchisee again and back with
the company, and now back as a
franchisee.

38

Multi-Unit Franchisee Is s ue II, 2013