Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue IV, 2011 | Page 12

DOMINA
TORS
By Eddy Goldberg

Dominant, Dazzling,
and Delightful

O

Six thriving multi-unit operators tell how they do it

ne common thread linking this year’s group of
multi-unit dominators is how none planned a career in franchising.
Think about it: When you were young, how
many kids did you know who said, “When I grow up, I want
to be a franchisee!” In the seven years we’ve been profiling successful multi-unit operators, we’ve heard it again
and again: after embarking on the career of their dreams,
working hard, and succeeding at it, they found their way
into (or, after a “starter job” at a fast food franchise, back
into) franchising.
The individual reasons vary, but what all share is a passion for people, for business, and for running their own
business—a burning desire to control their own destiny and
to help others. And, as we’ve also seen, once they succeed at
building a high-performance franchisee organization, they
often want to “pass it on,” mentoring their managers and
employees on how to do it for themselves. And to give back
to the communities—and the people—they serve. Here is a
brief snapshot of the in-depth profiles that follow:
n Michael Ansley was introduced to franchising as a
teenager, helping his father with work at KFCs and Wendy’s
in Springfield, Ohio. After college, he launched a successful,
but ultimately unsatisfying, career in sales for a large company. “I wanted to do my own thing,” he says. He reunited
with a college roommate to buy a Buffalo Wild Wings (then
called BW3), and the partners were off and running. Today,
as CEO of Diversified Restaurant Holdings, he operates 22
Buffalo Wild Wings units and has started his own franchise
concept, Bagger Dave’s Legendary Burger Tavern, with 6
open and big plans for more.
n Robert Branca and his close family own 60 Dunkin’
Donuts in New England. His extended family, including
in-laws, their siblings, spouses, children, and cousins, own
more than 700 Dunkin’ Donuts in all and dominate the
brand in New York and New England. “We’re all multi-unit
franchisees,” says Branca, who is married to the former Lisa
Batista and was the family lawyer for years before he joined
the family business. Branca attributes the family’s success
to the ways in which they lean on each other. “We have our
own independent franchisee association with strong educational components and other assistance,” he says. “Profitability for us with this concept has been good. If you do it
properly, it works.”

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n Tom DiMarco was recruited 27 years ago as controller for Salo Inc., a 4-unit franchisee of Interim HealthCare.
As Salo grew, so did DiMarco’s career in franchising. Seven
years ago he became president of Salo, and today the fastgrowing business has 45 Interim HealthCare locations in 5
states with 8,300 full- and part-time employees. DiMarco
says his seven years at the helm have been a lot of fun—and
he plans to keep on doing it as long as it remains that way.
n Rodger Head took a job at Burger King in 1969 when
he was a high school senior. That’s where he learned the value
of giving back. “I was always so lucky with my mentors,” he
says. “I’m proud that I was part of the early days of Rally’s
Hamburgers with my great friend and mentor Billy Trotter.”
He’s accomplished more than he’d ever imagined, including a 6-year stint as president of Shoney’s (during which
the brand had positive sales for the first time in 14 years).
Today, he not only is a 12-unit Popeyes franchisee, he’s also
CEO of bd’s Mongolian Grill, with 35 units in 13 states.
n Sunita Sagar was a teenager working as a part-time
cashier at a California Jack in the Box and dreaming of the
day she would become a doctor. After pursuing that path
through college and the start of a career, she and her husband, Dev, took a left turn. In 2007, given the chance to
buy an underperforming Denny’s in Campbell, Calif., they
jumped at it. “That restaurant was going downhill,” she says.
“We turned the people around, we turned the operation
around, and we turned the sales around.” Today the couple
operates 18 restaurants among 3 brands, with more ahead.
n Bryan Selden was in the convenience store business,
turning 30, and looking for ways to grow his business. He
answered a blind ad for specialty retail, which turned out to
be a Great American Cookies franchise. In 1987 he bought
one location, built a second, and three more followed in
Dallas. When he became a father, he dialed it back for about
10 years to focus on being the best husband and father he
could. When his eldest child graduated from high school,
Selden, with the blessing of his family, re-entered franchising. He lined up two partners and today oversees 35 locations spread among 7 franchise concepts.
Following the six profiles, we’ve also included a list of
the country’s DMAs with the most franchised units, as well
as the dominant franchisee organizations in each state and
region. FRANdata provided the information. Maybe you
can use it to help plan your next move!

Multi-Unit Franchisee Is s ue IV, 2011

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