Independent Joe #48 February/March 2018

WHAT’S

BREWING

MENU LABELING

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7-ELEVEN CRACKDOWN

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JOINT EMPLOYER RULE

February/March 2018

Award-Winning Magazine

for D D Independent Franchise Owners

DUNKIN'S BREW-HAHA FEATURE

Franchisees Sue Their Brand and Win HOLIDAY JOY

Joy in Childhood Foundation PROFILE

From Busboy to Franchisee

SOME THINGS STAY THE SAME I have always been a big sports fan, pretty much any sport too, where the game is challenging and the skills of the players something to behold. So, it should come as no surprise that I am a fan of the Olympic Games, and while watching the dazzling opening ceremony, I had a bit of a flashback when the Korean team marched into the stadium behind the “unity flag” of the Korean peninsula. My mind recalled the Unified Team – athletes of 15 formerly Soviet Republics - that competed in the 1992 Albertville Games and how true it is that some things change while some things don’t.

Those 15 countries from the 1992 Unified Team still send teams of outstanding athletes, but this year they marched into the Olympic Stadium under the flag of their own country. Some things change, some things don’t.

On the day that they lit the Olympic Torch, Dunkin’ Brands took to the field at iconic Fenway Park to host its 2018 Investor and Analysts Day and unveil its plans for the future. Dunkin’ executives praised the new concept stores, touting how they’ll improve efficiency and the overall customer experience. The addition of a dedicated mobile drive-thru for on-the-go customers will ensure their purchases are expedited and their loyalty to Dunkin’ is solidified. Some things change, some things don’t.

As to Dunkin’s future growth, the Investor Day presentation

targeting 1,000 new stores by 2020 echoes a figure we heard a few years back and reaffirms the corporate commitment to that expanded national presence. At the same time, the total elimination, by the end of 2020, of the iconic Dunkin’ Styrofoam coffee cup was also announced as an environmental necessity. Some things change, some things don’t.

And, moving forward, customers will have signature cold beverages available from the new tap system, including coffees, iced teas, plus a host of cold brews— including a nitro-infused option.

Maybe, some will be quaffing a coffee beer from Dunkin’ and Wormtown Brewery. Everyone will enjoy the new simplified menu, we are told. Some things change, some things don’t.

We all know about a possible leadership change at Dunkin’. Of course, the topic came up during the investor day. Nigel Travis was asked directly if he’s leaving when his contract expires this year.

He didn’t answer either way, but assured all that when he does, Dunkin’ won’t miss a beat. There’s a strategy in place and plans are laid out to ensure the long-term benefit of Dunkin’ Brands. Some things change, some things don’t.

It’s an exciting time for Dunkin’ Donuts and the franchise owners who make the company great. And as is always the case, this kind of change brings a certain amount of anxiety to all involved, but with the 100

percent franchise model, the company remains an integral part of each community in which it operates – and that franchise owner, a local business man or woman. The quality of Dunkin’ food and beverages, coupled with fast friendly service, has always been the Dunkin’ calling card. It has been and continues to be the glue that binds Dunkin’ with its customers and neighbors, and that’s one of those things that doesn’t change.

Well, the Olympics is back on now. The United States won its first medal ever in the men’s luge competition, but so far, we’ve been shut out of the speed skating medals completely and we still have never won a medal in the Biathlon. Some things change, some things don’t; some things should, some things shouldn’t.

Ed Shanahan DDIFO Executive Director

INDEPENDENT JOE • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018

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SUB HEADLINE

CONTENTS

From the Executive Director Some Things Stay the Same• • • • • • • • • • • 3 What’s Brewing: A Look at State Issues Around the Footprint• • • • • • • • • • • 7 Photo Story: Holiday Joy• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 10 Two Guys Take Tulsa• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 12 Cover Story: Dunkin's Brew-haha • • • • • • • 15

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EL POLLO LOCO Don’t Tread on Us: Franchisees Sue their Brand for Encroachment and Win • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 17 A Look at the Law: Oh No You Don’t!• • • • • • • • 18 Franchise Profile: From Busboy to Brand Boss to Franchisee • • 20

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Directory of Sponsors• • • • • • • • • • • • 23 Community Corner: A Family Affair• • • • • • • 26

INDEPENDENT JOE • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018

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Independent The Magazine for DD Independent Franchise Owners February/March 2018 • Issue #48 Independent Joe® is published

by DD Independent Franchise Owners, Inc. Editors: Edwin Shanahan, Matt Ellis Contributors: Cheryl Alkon, Cindy Atoji-Keene, Cathy Cassata, Stefanie Cloutier, Debbie Swanson, Scott Van Voorhis Business Member Coordinator: Joan Gould Creative Director: Caroline Cohen Direct all inquiries to: DDIFO, Inc. 2 First Avenue, Ste. 127 – 3, Peabody, MA 01960 978-587-2705 • info@ddifo.org • www.ddifo.org DD Independent Franchise Owners, Inc. is an Association of Member Dunkin’ Donuts Franchise Owners.

INDEPENDENT JOE® and DDIFO® are registered trademarks of DD Independent Franchise Owners, Inc. Any reproduction, in whole or in part, of the contents of this publication is prohibited without prior written consent of DD Independent Franchise Owners, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Copyright © 2018 Printed in the U.S.A.

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INDEPENDENT JOE • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018

WHAT’S

BREWING A LOOK AT STATE ISSUES

By Scott Van Voorhis

AROUND THE FOOTPRINT

Just when you thought your menus were finally safe from government meddling, calorie labeling is back.

A long-standing and controversial federal proposal to force Dunkin’ Donuts and other restaurants to post calorie counts on their menus looked all but dead when President Trump took office last year.

After all, menu labeling was a notable initiative of the healthy-food obsessed Obamas. Not to mention, the president’s fondness for fast-food is not exactly a state secret.

But menu labeling is alive and well, with the Food and Drug Administration pushing ahead with plans to take the new rules live in May. The return of menu labeling is just one of a number of big issues facing franchise owners as we head into 2018.

Federal immigration agents are cracking down on employers who hire illegal aliens, vowing to dramatically increase the number of investigations compared to the Obama years.

Meanwhile, there are lingering fears the dreaded “joint employer rule” may not be completely dead after all.

Menu labeling: Back from dead This Forbes headline says it all when it comes to the restaurant industry’s reaction to the revival of menu labeling: “Food Industry Blindsided As Trump Administration Supports Obama-Era Menu Labeling Effort.”

That may be a slight exaggeration – after all, Dunkin’, McDonald’s and a few other

big chains have already started posting calorie information some time ago.

That said, it’s safe to say that few in the quick service sector would have predicted the resurrection of the menu labeling rules by the Trump Administration. But, that is just what has happened and the FDA recently sent out an advisory announcing the 2018 launch of calorie labeling.

INDEPENDENT JOE • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018

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WHAT’S

BREWING Starting May 7, all restaurant chains with 20 or more locations will be required to post calorie counts on menus, menu boards and vending machines, the agency notes.

bang, raiding 7-Eleven stores across the country. Agents swept into 98 stores, arresting 21 convenience store chain employees on charges of living in the U.S. illegally.

The FDA advisory also includes specific directions on how individual items are to be listed. For example, if there are two different choices, the calorie counts of each should be separated by a slash, such as 150/300. If there are three or more items, then a range can be used, such as from 500-1,200 calories.

For its part, 7-Eleven, in a statement, has said it has terminated the franchise agreements of store owners who were alleged to have hired workers in the country illegally.

The FDA is also mandating this statement on menus and menu boards: “2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice, but calorie needs vary.”

7-Eleven crackdown sign of things to come Immigration issues have suddenly become a whole lot trickier for franchise owners and other businesses to negotiate.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents kicked off the New Year with a

Look for more raids like this in the coming months. Thomas Homan, ICE’s enforcement director, has pledged to increase the number of I-9 investigations of employers suspected of hiring illegal immigrants by a factor of four or five.

“Today's actions send a strong message to U.S. businesses that hire and employ an illegal workforce: ICE will enforce the law, and if you are found to be breaking the law, you will be held accountable,” Homan said in a press statement. “Businesses that hire illegal workers are a pull factor for illegal immigration and we are working hard to remove this magnet.”

So what’s a franchise owner to do to prevent getting caught up unwittingly in this dragnet?

Richard Rawson, a business immigration attorney with Davis Wright Tremaine LLP in Seattle, tells Nation’s Restaurant News that employers should sign up for the E-Verify program – something Dunkin' franchises are already required to do. The online system, run by ICE, allows you to check on the legal status of an applicant or hire.

But that alone may not be enough.

Leigh Ganchan, an immigration lawyer at Olgetree Deakins in Houston, urges business owners to make sure their I-9 data is correct and logical, especially given that agents can ask for an excel spreadsheet to review the numbers.

While tips from the public may prompt an ICE investigation, the agency also searches employment data for suspicious patterns.

" Employers should look to several sensitive points in compliance once they are certain that they have the basics under control."

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INDEPENDENT JOE • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018

“Employers should look to several sensitive points in compliance once they are certain that they have the basics under control,” she writes.

Joint employer rule: Down but not completely out The National Labor Relations Board in mid-December rescinded its 2015 jointemployer ruling that put franchisors on the hook for a range of issues, from pay to hours, traditionally left up to franchise owners.

For franchisors like Dunkin’ Brands or McDonald’s, the NLRB’s ruling means they can’t be held responsible for the pay and treatment of franchise employees unless they exert direct control over them. Under the now overturned rule, franchisors could be on the hook even if the control was indirect if certain conditions were met.

The ruling came after the Trump Administration appointed two Republican members to the NLRB over the course of

2017, gaining a 3-2 majority by the fall.

revive the joint-employer rule.

Critics argued the ruling unnecessarily muddied the waters and threatened to undermine the foundation of franchising, and it appears the battle to vanquish the joint-employer threat is not completely over.

The House recently passed H.R. 3441, or the Save Local Business Act, which would permanently put to rest the joint-employer issue. However, there is no timetable at the moment for the bill to be taken up in the Senate, where the outlook is less certain in a chamber more evenly divided along partisan lines.

Franchise industry leaders have noted that the joint-employer mandate could very well make a comeback someday.

After all, it would only take a new presidential administration to come along and replace the Republican majority with a Democratic one.

“If dependent upon NLRB composition, we can expect this to be a political football revisted every election cycle,” writes Craig R. Tractenberg, a partner at Fox Rothschild, in Forbes.

To that end, the International Franchise Association is backing federal legislation that would preempt future attempts to

Summing up As we’ve seen, rules and regulations have a way of eating away at profit margins for small business owners. The revival of menu labeling rules, the ICE crackdown on employers, and efforts to permanently sunset the joint-employer rule all bear watching. So do ongoing efforts by activists and lawmakers to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour and a proliferation of proposed taxes on soda and other sugary drinks. Throughout the year, Independent Joe will continue to monitor the issues, rules and regulations that will impact how you operate your business and profit from it.

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INDEPENDENT JOE • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018 9

PHOTO STORY

Paul Gauthier, Bob Orsi, Konse Skrivanos, Nikolas Skrivanos, Lorna Skrivanos, Angelo Moutoudis

Holiday Joy The Northeast Chapter of the Joy in Childhood Foundation, the charitable foundation supported by the Dunkin’ Donuts and BaskinRobbins brands, hosted its annual Northeast Gala January 18, 2018 at the Fairmont Copley Hotel in Boston and celebrated the milestone of funding over $2 million in grants to over 150 local nonprofit organizations that help bring joy to sick and hungry children.

The event was hosted by Dave Andelman, CEO of the TV program the Phantom Gourmet and included guest speaker Mike Schultz, a volunteer from Team IMPACT who shared the inspirational story of his son Ari. Highlights of the evening included silent and live auctions which helped raise an event total of $190,000.

Event sponsors included New England Patriots LLC, Boston Celtics, Boston Bruins, Boston Red Sox/Fenway Sports Management, Carlos Andrade Management Group, Cafua Management, Couto Management Group, LLC, and Lamar Outdoor Advertising. National corporate partners in attendance included Coca Cola, Concord Foods, Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee, National DCP, LLC, Pennant Ingredients, Inc., S&D Coffee & Tea, and Weston Foods.

Nigel and Joanna Travis

Victor Carvalho, Dunkin’ Donuts Franchisee and Co Chair of the Northeast Chapter of the Foundation, and Todd Wallace, Dunkin’ Donuts Integrated Marketing and Co Chair of the Northeast Chapter of the Foundation

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Dave Hoffmann, President, Dunkin’ Donuts US and Canada and Bruce Thomas, Dunkin’ Donuts Franchisee

Charles and Brianne Savicki, Dunkin’ Donuts Franchisee and Dante Rizzo, Dunkin’ Donuts Franchisee

Nicole Hocking, Field Learning Manager for Dunkin’ Donuts, Maura Tutty, Operations System Manager for Dunkin’ Donuts, Monica McFarlane, Franchisee

Photo credit: Ashley Fortune Photography

Team IMPACT volunteers Mike Shultz and Erica Stritch, parents of Ari Schultz, and Jake Byrne and Alex Richardson, Ari’s Assumption College Baseball Teammates

INDEPENDENT JOE • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018 11

FEATURE

Two Guys Take Tulsa I

n 1979, Dunkin’ Donuts opened its 1,000th restaurant. In 1990 – after it was acquired by Allied-Domecq – the brand began expanding. It opened location No. 2,000; and just two years later came No. 3,000. The rapid expansion into places like California, Colorado and Texas came without the kind of marketing strength and supply chain infrastructure the brand enjoyed in its core markets. The result was later referred to as “retrenchment.” Dunkin’ shops closed across the American Southwest and West Coast.

Expansion 2.0, which kicked into high gear around the time Dunkin’ turned 60, promised to bring the brand to places where it had drawn a following and left disappointed customers behind. That was news of interest to business school buddies Jody Goehring and Greg Vasey.

A 50/50 PARTNERSHIP "After we graduated from the MBA program at the University of Chicago in 2009, Greg had the intriguing idea of researching the franchising market, and decided to become a Five Guys franchisee in Boston and Vermont," according to Goehring. Upon hearing Dunkin’ was making development areas available in emerging markets, he says, the pair thought the opportunity to help pioneer Dunkin’s return to Oklahoma’s second largest city was too good to pass up. So they teamed up for both the burger and coffee business, establishing Hyde Park

Ventures, a vertically integrated private holding company to buy real estate and develop multi-unit, blue chip restaurant franchises.

"Greg and I always wanted to do something together so, on the back of his success with Five Guys, we decided to buy into the Dunkin' system in April 2016, and continue to grow and invest with it as well as Five Guys," Goehring says.

Between 2009 and 2016, while Vasey was building the Five Guys business in the Northeast, Goehring was on Wall Street, advising on mergers and acquisitions and raising capital for tech and telecom companies. His M&A experience at UBS Investment Bank, coupled with management consulting he gained at Booz Allen Hamilton, made him an attractive partner for Vasey.

What made Dunkin' so appealing? According to Goehring, it was simple: the product.

"When we look to invest in brands in the restaurant franchise space, consumer passion for the product tops our list. We were drawn to Dunkin’ Donuts because of its overwhelming brand value to consumers; it's relatively unmatched out there and is similar to what we saw when we invested in Five Guys in the burger world," he says.

They also liked that Dunkin' is accessible

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at its price point, and offers consumers speed and efficiency.

"If people love the product and you deliver on it, it's a self-perpetuating business model and one we knew we wanted to be a part of in a big way," says Goehring, who still works as the vice president and head of corporate development at digital promotions giant RetailMeNot. Before signing with Dunkin’ Brands, Goehring and Vasey looked at all the markets. Tulsa caught their eyes because it is Oklahoma’s second largest city with a metro area of nearly a million people but no existing Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants.

In 2016, they signed a development agreement to open 10 new Dunkin' restaurants in Tulsa, starting with the suburb Broken Arrow, a community with the fourth largest population in the state.

"In Broken Arrow, we found a fantastic piece of land in a high traffic area that we were able to acquire for a good price," says Goehring. “Our overwhelming preference is to buy the land and develop ourselves if we can find ways to create value,” says Goehring. This was one of those clear cases.”

The deal also gave Hyde Park four existing Dunkin’ shops restaurants in Northwest Arkansas, and additional development opportunities.

One year after signing their deal, Hyde Park Ventures opened three new locations, including a first of its kind kiosk inside Walmart Store No. 1 in Bentonville, Ark.

Besides the competition to hire the best, The Broken Arrow Dunkin’ faces real competition from established coffee places, like Starbucks, McDonald’s, and the convenience store QuikTrip.

In Tulsa, many remember when Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and snacks were available. The brand had its original fans, plus those who had moved to Tulsa from traditionally Dunkin’-rich territories.

"People love QuikTrip, so the way we position ourselves in the market is that we have the most convenient service," says Goehring. "QuikTrip doesn't have a drive-thru so we were sure to position the store right so that we conveniently catch people on their morning commute to work."

"The brand had been advertising for a few years that Dunkin' was going to come back to Tulsa, and there was a strong demand with people who grew up in the East Coast and now live in Tulsa,” notes Goehring. “In fact, there was a Facebook page titled ‘Bring Dunkin Back to Tulsa,’ which had almost 800 followers.”

When opening day came, on Dec. 19, 2017, more than 100 people had already been camped out to get the first taste of Dunkin’ coffee and donuts. By the time the doors opened, the line was more than 500 people long. When Goehring saw the line at 4:30 a.m., he saw the evidence of how customers loved the Dunkin’ brand.

Among those lined up was the founder of that Facebook page, and Goehring got to meet him.

"It was a lot of fun," says Goehring. "He sat down and talked to me for about 30 minutes. It's great to see people get that excited about coffee and donuts. This is our investment thesis in Dunkin’ playing out.”

"We served coffee, donuts and hot chocolate all night, so no one froze or starved, and three different TV channels came to conduct interviews," says Goehring. "It was a lot fun to see the excitement from a community that hadn't had Dunkin Donuts in decades. There was a lot of reminiscing about old Dunkin’ locations and nostalgia around parents sharing in their kids’ first Dunkin' experience."

Getting the mix right Donuts were big sellers at the grand opening, and still occupy a large percentage of sales. But, as Vasey and Goehring learned

They also plan to make an impact in the community as they do with their existing Five Guys and Dunkin' locations.

in business school, sales of higher margin products – like coffee – are the key to driving profitability.

"We need to educate our consumers about our beverage offerings. Our aim would be at 50 percent beverage mix over the next six months, but right now we're baking donuts overnight, smiling and giving people what they want.

"We had a very large opening day and the first week was great, but you can't get everything 100 percent right away, so for us right now it's about building a fantastic team and making sure the product is great, and the speed and service is unmatched," says Goehring.

He emphasizes that creating the right team is crucial.

"We have a lot of young people who we are grooming to be general managers of our stores. At any restaurant, any day, it's all about the people you hire, how they perform and how long they want to stay with you," says Goehring. "We want to stand out as a top tier operator and investor, and part of that is watching a group of people come in, often times for their first jobs, and molding them to make an impact for our business and for them professionally."

"Local involvement is huge," says Goehring. "We sponsor community Little Leagues, and work with churches and schools. We've also found Spirit Mornings for sports teams to be effective marketing.

We carve out a portion of the sales that the teams drive in to go to them, so they raise money for their team while we get exposure."

They also hold spontaneous product drops to local businesses and bring Santa in over the holidays to their stores. "The more out there you are, the more top of mind you are with consumers," says Goehring.

UP NEXT Today, the two guys own 16 Five Guys restaurants and seven Dunkin Donuts’ shops across Massachusetts, Vermont, Oklahoma and Arkansas. And their deal calls for opening 10 more Dunkin' Donuts restaurant in the Tulsa market over the next 5 years.

With the opening of their express kiosk at the Bentonville Walmart, the partners see even more opportunity. "[It’s] a concept that the brand is excited about and we were too when they asked us to be the first partner. It launched with success this summer," noted Goehring.

"We love being part of the strategy and working with a great leadership group at Dunkin’ Brands."

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INDEPENDENT JOE • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018 13

COVER STORY

DUNKIN'S BREW-HAHA

By Debbie Swanson

S

enior executives at Dunkin’ Brands have, for the past several years, successfully brought new products to the market, with the hope of developing brand loyalty among younger consumers.

The Dunkin’ mobile app has made the process of ordering a beverage and snack with a smartphone simple and reliable.

Dunkin’s cold brew exposed customers to a more sophisticated flavor profile. But, perhaps the idea that resonated best with millennials, was the one that a franchisee came up with while watching young people walk into the neighborhood brewery for a different kind of cold one from the tap.

“At brand advisory council meetings, there had been talk of increasing the brand’s appeal to millennials,” according to Branca, who owns Dunkin’ Donuts locations in Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio. In fact, Dunkin’ collaborated with Catawba Brewing Company, a North Carolina brewery, in the fall of 2017 to create Dunkin’ Pumpkin Brown Ale, using cold brew coffee.

In Massachusetts, where Dunkin’ is among the top-rated brands, Branca saw the chance to create a new brew with a local brewer—and tap into the brand’s popularity for maximum publicity.

Three years after imagining the prospect, a crowd of mostly young people gathered for the inaugural pour of what would be the first beer made using Dunkin’ Donuts coffee. The sudsy beverage – brewed with Dunkin’ Donuts dark roast coffee – had a deep color and a sweet finish, and it satisfied the vision of something dark to brighten the winter sky.

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Lighting up the winter solstice

For Branca, the first step was talking with the team at Wormtown Brewery, which had opened near one of his Dunkin’ shops in 2010. He asked them about the possibility of a coffee beer. Wormtown was enthusiastic about partnering with Dunkin’.

“These collaborations are a lot of fun, that’s why we do them,” says David Fields, Wormtown's managing partner. The brewery had previously developed a Pumpkin Pie Ale along with the nationally known Worcester-based pie company, Table Talk Pies. “That one was a great partnership and a great beer, [but] it didn’t rise to the level of media coverage that the Dunkin’ Donuts partnership did.”

Before going further, Branca needed brand buy-in. Early in 2017, he mentioned the coffee beer idea to former chief marketing officer Tony Wiseman, who was interested in doing a dark roast promotion. Wiseman liked the concept, and plans moved along quickly. Wormtown would craft a coffee beer using Dunkin’s dark roast coffee. It would available on draught at a ceremonial keg tapping held at Wormtown’s Tap Room at 11:28 a.m. on December 21, 2017 - the exact time of the winter solstice, which represents the darkest day of the year.

While uncommon today, winter solstice celebrations are a centuries-old tradition, and a way to recognize the day’s significance. To the two brands, however, the darkest day of the year seemed like a fun

reason to cheer on the dark brews of both sorts, and to brighten up a day otherwise dominated by night.

The birth of the brew

Coffee beer isn’t a new concept, but it is becoming more popular with the rise of craft breweries, which often turn to local sourcing and pair unexpected ingredients. Specialty brewers now offer beer infused with the flavor of oysters, chocolate and even pizza. Wormtown isn’t new to coffee brewing; they’ve worked with the flavor before, and previously teamed up with Worcester roasting house Acoustic Java for a smaller-scale endeavor.

“We’ve served nitro cold brews, and aged coffee grounds in maple syrup in bourbon barrels that we later used for coffee and beer recipes,” says Fields, who’s quick to credit their talented brewing team for successful recipe development.

Once the brewers at Wormtown received their shipment of Dunkin’ Donuts dark roast beans, they went to work quickly; the promotion was already in place for December and Wormtown had to deliver.

“The work and fine tuning comes during the brewing and fermentation process,” he explains. “[It’s] like your mother or grandmother tasting her famous sauce during the cooking—she just adds a touch of this or that along the way and it always comes out perfect. Personally, I think they nailed it.”

Once they had a prototype, Wormtown

Head Brewer Scott Drake shared the beer with Heidi Curry of Dunkin’ Brands’ culinary team. Once they achieved the desired taste, production for the 14 inaugural kegs began. Each keg used one pound of Dunkin’ Donuts dark roast coffee.

In their press release announcing the brew, Drake described the beer as their interpretation of an English-style stout. “It has a heavier dose of chocolate malt and the grain build we used really brings out the Dark Roast flavor for a coffee-forward taste.”

The original batch was estimated to last about two weeks, but due to its incredible popularity, the suds disappeared in just a few days. And while there were some plans in place for bottling the beer – Branca says a label had been designed in anticipation – the logistics didn’t work out for this go-around.

The party everyone talked about

On the day of the solstice, the light was shining on the city of Worcester. Beer and coffee aficionados from around the region eagerly awaited their first sips, and crowds were lined up at the door and on the patio for much of the unseasonably mild afternoon. Also plentiful: Dunkin’s double chocolate cake donut, which Curry described as a surprising, but perfect, accompaniment to the brew.

“DDark Roasted Brew has the same bold start and smooth finish that our guests love about our Dark Roast Coffee, so it

INDEPENDENT JOE • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018 15

COVER STORY: DDARK ROASTED BREW actually pairs quite well with some of our bakery items.”

What started as a fury of local media and social media coverage blossomed into an international social media buzz. The Phantom Gourmet, a well-known New England food guide, hosted a Facebook live pre-event segment, which received over 39,000 views. Also feeding the fun was a specially designed Snapchat filter; in a press release, Weisman recognized it as “the first ever nationally animated Snapchat filter.” In total, the event received 712 million media impressions and ended up trending internationally on Facebook.

Inside the crowded tap room, guests enjoyed beer, donuts, and a lively atmosphere. The first 100 attendees received a co-branded swag bag of fun merchandise.

A favorite item of the day was a coffee mug resembling the traditional DD coffee mug plus the Wormtown logo, which, after running through a brief checklist of ingredients, draws the conclusion: “this might be beer.”

A win for the city

An undercurrent of intensely local ties helped to feed the feel-good nature of the promotion. The city of Worcester maintains a warm place at the heart of Dunkin’ brands: in 1955, the first franchisee agreement was signed and executed in the city, and Worcester was the site of one of the first franchised locations. The beer at the center of it all came about as a collaboration between two well-loved Worcester-based businesses. Both Dunkin’ and Wormtown employ many Worcester locals, and Dunkin’s Heidi Curry is also a Worcester resident.

It seemed like a perfect opportunity to spread some love to the locals of the city.

According to Branca, “As part of this special release, Wormtown Brewery and I will be making a donation to the Worcester County Food Bank. We’re humbled to be able to help our neighbors make the most out of the holiday season.” Branca and Wormtown presented a check for $11,500 to the local food bank.

A future for Dunkin’ beer?

While DDark Roasted Brew is gone, the coffee that inspired it remains plentiful

and popular, scoring 4.5 out of 5.0 on influencer.com. Reviewers call it “the smoothest roast I’ve ever tried.” Others noted how the coffee “doesn't taste over roasted, or over done,” and “its smooth taste is enough to wake you up in the morning, but also soothe you in the middle of a long work day.”

As for Branca, he couldn’t be more thrilled with the outcome.

“It couldn’t have gone better,” he says. “It was wildly successful, much better than anticipated.”

He encourages other franchisees to bring their ideas forward, stating that

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franchisees have been credited with great products. “The Big Mac, Egg McMuffin, Subway’s five dollar foot long – those were all developed by franchisees,” he says.

There are no immediate plans in place to continue the beer at present, but Branca says he’s hopeful, and expects to have more discussions down the road.

“We are constantly asked for more,” adds Fields.

For now, though, Branca does have one more message to pass along to his fellow franchisees: “Sorry, but I don’t have any more of it – the beer, the fun mugs,” he says with a chuckle. “It’s all gone.”

•

Franchisees sue their brand for encroachment and win

E

l Pollo Loco – their slogan is “Crazy you can taste” – is popular for Mexican-style food such as tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and quesadillas and, in particular, citrus-marinated, fire-grilled chicken. The Costa Mesa, California chain operates over 460 company-owned and franchised restaurants in the southwest, and is a favorite with many locals.

In Lancaster, Calif., about 70 miles north of Los Angeles, near the Edwards Air Force Base, Michael Bryman and Janice Handler-Bryman opened their first El Pollo Loco franchise almost two decades ago. Sales boomed, thanks to an efficient operating team, skilled managers, excellent customer service – and an awful lot of salsa. In 1999, the Brymans’ El Pollo Loco store generated $1.4 million in sales; in 2014 it jumped to $3.8 million. That same year, the Brymans opened a second location in Victorville, an hour’s drive to the east.

Around the same time the Brymans were expanding their business, El Pollo Loco went public, filing its initial public offering on July 30, 2014. According to a press

release, it sold 8.2 million shares its first day. With its newfound status, the company mounted an aggressive expansion campaign—opening its first restaurants in Houston and expanding further in Las Vegas, Arizona and California.

Having noticed the popularity of the Brymans’ two restaurants, El Pollo Loco decided to open corporate-owned restaurants in the market. The Brymans didn’t learn of the company’s plans through any direct communication. No one called them; no one emailed them; no one came to visit them. They heard the news secondhand, from an employee. The company’s plan called for a new location in east Lancaster, just 2.2 miles away from the Brymans’ flagship store, and another 4.4 miles away in West Lancaster.

Like most QSRs, El Pollo Loco has access to its franchisees’ financial information through the point of sale systems that record transactions, along with other data. The information proved that El Pollo Loco was a brand growing in popularity – and profits – and that the Antelope Valley was prime for new development.

But, the brand’s actions showed it had little interest in offering new development opportunities to the franchisees, who had helped build the brand’s popularity and had developed relationships within the community. To the Brymans, their brand’s actions were unfair; to their lawyers, the actions represented bad faith conduct and unfair dealing.

“There was no question they intended to steal away customers,” says well known franchise attorney Robert Zarco, principal of the Miami law firm of Zarco, Einhorn, Salkowski and Brito, who represented the Brymans when the case ultimately went to trial. According to Zarco, the Brymans approached El Pollo Loco to resolve the dispute and offering various resolutions, with no response. In one meeting, the Brymans presented a PowerPoint, showing area demographics and how the two new corporate stores would negatively impact them. The presentation apparently failed to change the minds of El Pollo Loco’s corporate officers. The Brymans’ appeals fell on deaf ears. With no response from the brand, the franchisees felt that they had no choice but to file a lawsuit.

Before going to trial, they sent a final letter to El Pollo Loco CEO Steve Sather, saying that they wanted to remain good business partners and just wished to be compensated for the damages caused by the new stores, but again there was no response.

So the Brymans reluctantly went to court.

“There was no discussion, no resolution.

This left us no choice except to file a lawsuit, which we really didn't want to do," Handler-Bryman says. “We wanted to resolve it in a more beneficial manner.”

“Why would a franchisee battle the franchisor?” Zarco asks. “Franchisees have to stand up to issues like this immediately or [they] get slapped and taken advantage of.”

The Brymans case represented a test for a long-standing ruling regarding the territorial rights of a franchisee. In that case, known as Scheck v. Burger King, Zarco represented Steven A. Scheck, the owner of a Burger King restaurant in Lee, Massachusetts (near the New York border). In 1992, he sued Burger King for allowing another restaurant to be built

INDEPENDENT JOE • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018 17

FEATURE

Don’t tread on us:

EL POLLO LOCO near his. While courts have traditionally protected franchisors in their attempts to develop additional outlets wherever they see fit, this ruling by a Florida federal court protected Scheck and, in turn, franchisees rights.

For the Brymans, facing the nation’s leading fire-grilled chicken chain was truly intimidating. In fact, other El Pollo Loco franchisees were reluctant to get involved in any way. “There was a fear factor against the El Pollo franchisees and the El Pollo corporation,” Handler-Bryman says. “But we were against a wall to protect our interest and our future.”

When the 12-member jury announced their verdict – that El Pollo Loco, Inc. had breached the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing when it improperly encroached on the Brymans’ territory – the couple felt like they had been given their life back. “We held hands and looked at each other and felt a huge sense of vindication,” Handler-Bryman says.

The decision is a precedent setting case, Zarco says. “The franchisor should have gotten the store and didn’t and this is the first time that something like this has occurred.”

Far reaching impact

The question arises, how does the California El Pollo Loco decision affect owners in a system like Dunkin’ Donuts where virtually all of the shops are franchised? According to one restaurant analyst, who can’t be identified because he is involved with a similar case, any victory for franchisees is to be celebrated.

“Contracts are very much [stacked] against franchisees everywhere, so every win is a victory. Overdevelopment and cannibalization – a reduction in sales or market share because of encroachment – is of interest to all franchises.”

The analyst also notes that in the Dunkin’ system, like many other publicly-traded restaurant companies, expansion is a way to satisfy Wall Street pressure and corporate profits.

“Dunkin’ gets paid when stores are open and royalties are paid,” and he says many systems encourage growth, even if new locations are now being built closer to existing ones.

Zarco agrees, saying, “Whether it’s franchisee to franchisee or corporate versus franchisee, the principle is the same, protection against expansionary tactics.”

Even though it was a state court that ruled against El Pollo Loco, the decision will most surely impact other jurisdictions. Zarco calls this case a “persuasive precedent,” which will be cited in encroachment cases in other courts.

“Because the U.S. is so transient and has such similar laws about covenant and fair dealing in most of the states, while legally or technically a state decision is not binding on any other state court, at the same time it does have an impact,” says Zarco.

For the Brymans, there is now the question of what compensatory damage El Pollo Loco will be forced to pay.

The jury’s decision, that the franchisor was liable, allows the Brymans to be awarded money for future lost sales, the loss of net income, and other earnings; the amount will be determined at a hearing to take place later this year.

Already El Pollo Loco has threatened to appeal, which, for the Brymans, represents the possibility that the verdict could be erased and they could be back at square one. But the franchise owners who stood up against their franchisor are taking an optimistic tack as they focus on running their successful restaurants. They recognize the obvious tension that exists between them and the brand, but are simply taking it day to day, working as hard as they have since opening for business nearly 20 years ago.

“The reality is, when something like this happens, you have two choices: either walk away and take the hit and do nothing about it, or decide to take action,” Handler-Bryman says.

“We decided to take action, and that’s something we don’t regret.”

18 INDEPENDENT JOE • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018

•

Oh No

BY ROBERT ZARCO, ROBERT F. SALKOWSKI, AND MARGARET T. LAI

S

check v. Burger King, the seminal case on good faith and fair dealing, is still alive and well according to a 12-member California jury after a contentious month-long trial which pitted grilled chicken giant El Pollo Loco, Inc. against one of its top performing franchisees. After weeks of testimony from current and former executives of El Pollo Loco, Inc. (El Pollo Loco), the introduction of numerous exhibits documenting the company’s bad faith conduct and unfair business practices, and even a mistrial due to inappropriate statements made by the company’s lawyers at the very beginning of trial, a Los Angeles County jury found that El Pollo Loco had breached the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing when two new corporate stores improperly encroached on the non-exclusive territory of longtime El Pollo Loco franchise owners, Michael Bryman and Janice Handler-Bryman, and cannibalized their sales.

The principal question for the jury was whether El Pollo Loco’s decisions to construct not one, but two, corporate stores in close proximity (2.2 and 4.4 miles) to the existing franchisee’s location constituted a breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Furthermore, and in what appears to be a case of first impression, the jury found that El Pollo Loco’s decision to take the new corporate stores for itself rather than offering them to its existing franchisee was unfair and unlawful in violation of good faith requirements. The decision by this jury has been a long time in the making, and supports the legal principles espoused by the courts in another case known as Vylene Enterprises, which cited the case of Scheck v. Burger King. Zarco handled that case as well.

Zarco Einhorn Salkowski & Brito, P.A., represented the Brymans, who, since 1999, owned and operated the only El Pollo Loco restaurant in Lancaster, California. At the time the Lancaster

restaurant was purchased from another franchisee for $1.2 million, its annual sales volume was $1.4 million. By 2007, the Brymans had increased the store’s revenues to over $2 million despite an increase in competing brands in the Lancaster market. Their time, effort, and money developed El Pollo Loco’s goodwill in the Lancaster community, even as they simultaneously paid their franchisor substantial – and ever-increasing – royalties and advertising fees.

the company to put stores wherever it wanted because franchisees did not have exclusive territories. But, Los Angeles County Judge Randolph A. Rogers found this provision to be unconscionable and therefore unenforceable as a matter of law because El Pollo Loco “place[d] itself at such a competitive advantage when it opens a company restaurant, which is not paying royalties, near or adjacent to a franchise restaurant so as to constitute unfair competition.”

Despite having reserved the entire Los Angeles designated market area (DMA) as a corporate market, El Pollo Loco did not undertake any significant efforts to develop any new restaurants in Lancaster for nearly 15 years. During that time, the Brymans worked diligently to identify locations in Lancaster where they could open another El Pollo Loco restaurant. In 2014, before the Brymans could secure a lease for a preferred second El Pollo Loco location in the Lancaster area, El Pollo Loco’s thenowner, the private equity fund Trimaran Capital Partners, took the company public. Flush with cash, the company began an aggressive expansion effort. Using its real-time electronic access to financial reports the Brymans’ filed daily showing $3.8 million in gross revenues for 2014, El Pollo Loco identified Lancaster as a large and obvious market to develop additional corporate stores.

Although the central issue of the case was whether El Pollo Loco violated the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, the company’s lawyers focused their entire defense on whether the new corporate sites fell within the existing franchisee’s 50,000 population “notification radius.” We argued that this focus on the “notification radius” was a smokescreen set up by the defense to distract and confuse the jury. In actuality, the “notification radius” provision only applied in situations when a franchisee chose to seek recourse through an alternative dispute resolution process and not a jury trial. The jury recognized that the provision did not apply and clearly identified El Pollo Loco’s actions as bad faith.

As the jury found, El Pollo Loco ignored the Brymans’ investment in the market, the local goodwill they had earned and the relationships they had established and relied on the express “reservation of rights” clause under its form franchise agreements, which the company believed granted it the right to place a competing corporate restaurant “in the immediate vicinity of, or adjacent to,” a franchisee’s location, in order to make its decision.

During pre-trial proceedings, El Pollo Loco had argued that its actions were justified, claiming that this “reservation of rights” clause expressly permitted

A LOOK ON THE LAW

You Don’t!

California jury sides with franchisee in groundbreaking bad faith, “cannibalization” case

At trial, we elicited testimony and presented evidence supporting the Brymans’ claim that while they performed whatever the franchise agreement required them to, El Pollo Loco had unfairly interfered with their right to receive the benefit of the franchise agreement. El Pollo Loco’s own witnesses, including its former Vice President of Development and its current Chief Financial Officer, testified that they knew that opening corporate sites would negatively impact the existing franchisee, but, basically, they didn’t care.

Further testimony – from witnesses for El Pollo Loco – supported the Brymans’ contention that El Pollo Loco’s decision to construct the corporate stores in Lancaster, California was deliberate, arbitrary, capricious, and undertaken in bad faith with the intent to rely on

existing customers of the Brymans to support the newly developed corporate stores.

When El Pollo Loco’s lawyers recognized that the facts as presented at trial could not support a verdict in the company’s favor, they deployed a number of tactics in an attempt to distract the jury.

Those tactics included: focusing on the franchisee’s wealth, which ultimately resulted in an instruction to the jury to disregard any testimony concerning the Brymans’ socio-economic standing; putting on an expert witness on liability whose testimony was severely limited by the presiding judge as a result of the expert’s clear bias and prejudice in favor of the defense; and ultimately scraping the bottom of the ethics barrel by repeatedly undertaking personal attacks on the Zarco legal team in the presence of the jury.

By the end of trial, however, it was clear to the jury that El Pollo Loco engaged in multiple wrongful acts, which constituted a breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

The judge will hold a hearing in the coming weeks to determine what monetary and equitable damages El Pollo Loco will be responsible for. The franchisee will potentially recover damages for the lost sales of their encroached-upon store due to the financial impact from each of the two newly built corporate stores, plus damages for over 20 years of future lost net income actually being earned from each.

Damages could run into several millions of dollars, but more importantly, this jury verdict will resonate throughout the franchising, and hospitality industries and potentially help level the playing field between franchisors and franchisees.

•

Robert Zarco, Esq., Founding Partner, Robert F. Salkowski, Esq., Senior Partner, and Margaret T. Lai, Esq. are with the law firm of Zarco Einhorn Salkowski & Brito, P.A. headquartered in Miami, Florida.

INDEPENDENT JOE • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018 19

FRANCHISE PROFILE

By Cheryl Alkon

From busboy, to brand boss to franchisee Restaurants form the foundation of Bryan Stolte’s career

B

ryan Stolte started working in restaurants when he was 16, first as a busboy for his sister’s restaurant, and later as director of operations for Dunkin’ Brands, before becoming owner of his own restaurants. He is quick to tell you that good relationships are key to having a successful business. Today, as head of two franchise groups (Spice Mill and BK Coffee), which operate a dozen Dunkin’ Donuts locations and a central kitchen near Youngstown, Ohio, Stolte is drawing on his decades of experience learning, doing and talking to people.

“There’s no magic wand you can throw at these things,” he says. “You have to do it every day: training the right people. If you recruit the right people, they will take care of your guests. The number one priority in the store is to give your customers a Wow! experience.”

Delivering that experience is the highlight of being a franchise owner, Stolte says.

“Ultimately, you are accountable to it. You are responsible for 300 employees and making sure that the entire business runs properly. It’s all you. You can make it as big or small as you want.”

THE ROAD TO FRANCHISING Stolte spent part of his childhood in Rome, Italy where his father worked as the president of the U.S. Feed and Grains Council.

The family then settled in Fairfax, Virginia where Stolte attended high school and got an afterschool job busing tables at a restaurant called Fritzbee’s, which his older sister Brenda managed. That led to a job bartending, then managing a night club—all while he was keeping up his studies at North Carolina State University. After graduating with a degree in

20 INDEPENDENT JOE • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018

business administration and agriculture economics in 1983, Stolte chose a future in restaurant management, because “when I got out, it’s what I knew.”

Four years later, he was working as an assistant general manager at a Connecticut restaurant called Harbor Park, situated along the Connecticut River in Middletown when his life took a new turn.

He met a young woman named Karen Dinunzio. The two eventually married at Harbor Park. They had their first son, Bryan James in 1989.

Then Stolte moved his family to Maryland, so he could take a position as a food and beverage manager for the Marriott Hotel Corporation in Baltimore. That’s where their son Jake was born.

In the 1990s, Stolte became director of

operations at Fuddruckers, and, later, created a novel concept for a bookstore chain in Alabama, called Books-A-Million: a coffee brand that blends with books. “I was recruited specifically to come up with the idea of a bookstore café,” he says.

That work, plus a stint at Seattle’s Best Coffee, gave him a strong familiarity with the coffee business and the necessary experience to peak the interest of his former Fuddrucker’s colleague Mike Mace, who had moved to Allied Domecq, then Dunkin’s parent company. Mace first hired Stolte as a consultant, but the job grew to become a director of operations for up to 400 Dunkin’ Donuts stores in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois, West Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky. “We had control of everything, and it was a great learning experience for me,” he says. “I was involved in development, deciding the territories the franchisees would get, construction, and opening. We had our hands in everything.”

“One of the benefits of working with corporate was that you get well-rounded in all areas,” Stolte says. “You know pretty much everything, from picking the site, to developing and building a store, how to develop a market, construction, development, equipment—all of that.”

After several years on the corporate side of Dunkin’, Stolte decided he wanted a job that required less travel, “because my kids

“ Ultimately, you are accountable to it. You are responsible for 300 employees and making sure that the entire business runs properly. It’s all you. You can make it as big or small as you want.” were growing up and I was missing sporting events and living on the road,” he says.

He found the perfect opportunity in Youngstown, where he met Ted Rogers, an existing Dunkin’ franchisee who owned two shops. The pair got a development deal to open seven more Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants, plus a central manufacturing location.

Stolte took the role of Operations Director; son Bryan, Jr. worked the counter and son Jake signed on to help run the central kitchen. After Rogers retired in 2012, Stolte assumed greater control of the business and the future looked bright.

But, then tragedy struck. Jake Stolte died at the young age of 21.

“When my youngest son passed away [in 2014], it was too much for me to handle,” Stolte recalls. That was when he reached out to an old friend from Canton – Caleb

Watters, who worked for Dunkin’ Donuts corporate – and asked him to join the BK Coffee team.

Today, Watters is the Director of Operations overseeing the 11-store network.

Bryan, who is now 28, is a district manager for the company. Karen also helps out in the office.

OVERCOMING BUSINESS CHALLENGES Having spent most of his life in restaurants, Stolte knows well that finding great people is the most important component to running successful franchises. It’s also one of the toughest. “There is not a dense population here, so there is a limited pool to pull from,” Stolte says. “Running a fast food restaurant is very stressful and time-consuming, and everyone is out there looking for that perfect person. It’s limited, from a service and operations standpoint.”

INDEPENDENT JOE • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018 21

FRANCHISEE PROFILE: STOLTE

That means once they find a good, new employee, they focus on training that person to be the best employee they can be.

“When you recruit and train people, and get them to focus on the guests, it helps you drive top-line sales and profit,” Stolte says. “If you wow the guests, [they will] come back, repeatedly, so they’ll become loyal to you.”

Stolte views his workforce on a bell curve, where the top 10 percent of employees are standouts, then the next 80 percent get the job done. The bottom ten percent, “you have to consistently work on, it has to be a focus all the time,” he says.

“Training and development is so, so critical and makes a good environment for the staff and team. If you hold the team accountable, and have them involved in all aspects of the business, the profit and loss statements, they learn how to manage the business. How can you run a business and control labor, costs of goods, and expenses if your employees don’t know how to do it themselves?” And Stolte points out that is true for crew members, supervisors and managers.

Of course, managing a staff large enough to operate 11 restaurants is a challenge all its own. BK Coffee has roughly 300 employees. Now that Dunkin’ Brands is instituting a simpler menu and putting a greater focus on beverages, Stolte believes his operations will run even more smoothly.

“Hopefully it will make it easier to train and simpler for the employees, and will make things faster for the drive-thru market,” which represents 70 percent of Stolte’s business. In addition to Dunkin’s menu changes, he also applauds the brand’s decision to eliminate the use of artificial coloring. “It’s what the guests want,” he says.

A LONG LIST OF CHARITIES If you visit one of Stolte’s stores, you will likely see someone using a refillable mug.

Every mug they sell raises money for care and research at Akron Children’s Hospital. Stolte estimates the program brings in about $30,000 a year for the hospital.

Many of Stolte’s employees also take part in a hospital fundraising telethon and a Breakfast with Santa banquet for patients and their families. The Spice Mill and BK Coffee businesses also support many local causes, including the athletic department at Boardman High School in Youngstown; they provided funds to build a new sports facility, Boardman Spartan Stadium. They also sponsor various academic endeavors for other area high schools, including their newspapers and business clubs.

Their Dunkin’ shops offer promotions for students at Youngstown State University,

22 INDEPENDENT JOE • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018

Kent State University at Trumbull, as well as for students from school districts in Mahoning, Trumbull, and Columbiana Counties.

They sponsor dozens of events every year to benefit charities large and small, including the Relay for Life, Carter’s Pajama Program, the American Cancer Society, the American Diabetes Association and Potential Development School, as well the Boy Scouts and the local animal shelter. Many company employees volunteer their time to sort and package food for the Second Harvest Food Bank.

After all these years, Stolte says he still enjoys his busy life, but also appreciates the time he can take away from the day-to-day operations of his business. The family has a place on the beach in South Carolina and Stolte steals away time for target shooting, hunting and fishing—not to mention family get-togethers. Above all, he relishes the role he plays as chief of quality control for his restaurants.

“I enjoy building relationships and working with people—watching them grow and develop into better business people,” he says. “Ultimately, it’s all of us who make the business successful.”

•

Directory of Business Members ACCOUNTING Adrian A. Gaspar & Company, LLP, CPAs Robert Costello 617-621-0500 • cpas@gasparco.com 6 Kimball Lane, Ste. 150, Lynnfield, MA 01940 www.gasparco.com

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Shawn Anderson 585-202-6901 • sanderson@employersunity.com PO Box 173836, Denver, CO 80217 www.employersunity.com

Marcovich, Mansour & Capobianco, LLC

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Poyant Signs

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Restroom Remodels Company

Keith Vanderbilt 617-500-2554 • keith@restroomremodels.com 15 Hammatt St, Ipswich, MA 01938 www.restroomremodels.com

Wynne Barrett 508-686-8786 • wynne@jeraconcepts.com 17 Fruit St, Hopkinton, MA 01748 www.jeraconcepts.com

BUILDING Persona Signs, Lighting, Image

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Dustin Ray 207-317-1406 • Dustin.Ray@vzw.com 352 Center St, Auburn, ME 04210 www.verizon.com

COST RECOVERY EF Cost Recovery

Watchfire Signs

David Watson 205-542-7881 • David.Watson@watchfiresigns.com 1015 Maple St, Danville, IL www.watchfiresigns.com

Sansiveri, Kimball & Co., LLP

Jera Concepts

Verizon

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Ellen Hui 949-428-0498 • eh@Nationalfranchisesales.com 1601 Dove Street, Ste. 150, Newport Beach CA 92660 www.nationalfranchisesales.com

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Trane Commercial Systems

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BUSINESS BROKER

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BUSINESS MEMBER

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Neovision Consulting Inc.

Nish Parekh 609-531-4444 • info@neovisioncpa.com 1246 South River Road, Ste. 101 Cranbury, NJ 08512 www.neovisioncpa.com

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COMMUNICATIONS

Performance Business Solutions, LLC

ENERGY Secure Energy

Jodi Maurer 413-733-2571 x218 • jmaurer@sesenergy.org 12-14 Somers Rd., East Longmeadow, MA 01028 www.sesenergy.org

FINANCE Bank of America/Merrill Lynch

Charter Business

Earl Meyers 585-546-9162 • earl.w.meyers@baml.com 1 East Ave., Rochester, NY 14450 www.bankofamerica.com

Granite Telecommunications

Tom Fitzgerald 401-574-1119 • tfitzgerald@bankri.com One Turks Head, Providence, RI 02903 www.bankri.com

Sprint

Jeff Bradanini 203-951-5917 • jbradanini@beirnewealth.com 3 Enterprise Drive, Ste. 410, Shelton, CT 06484 http://beirnewealth.com

Bernadette Vidal 212-5980-1707 • Bernadette.Vidal@charter.com 477 Congress St. Portland, ME 04102 www.charter.com Daryl Chelo 401-334-3176 • dchelo@granitenet.com 1 Albion Rd., Lincoln, RI 02865 www.granitenet.com Joe Duhaime 617-504-0059 • Joe.r.duhaime@sprint.com 3 Van de Graaff Dr, Burlington, MA 01903 www.sprint.com

Bank RI

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Bridge Funding Group, Inc.

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Thank You to Our Business Members!

INDEPENDENT JOE • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018 23

DDIFO

BUSINESS MEMBER 2 018

Directory Business Members Directory ofof Business Members

Eastern Bank

Deborah Blondin 603-606-4724 • D.Blondin@Easternbank.com 11 Trafalgar Square, Ste. 105, Nashua, NH 03063 www.easternbank.com

Fidelity Bank

TD Bank

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United Bank

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LCR Franchise Finance

Wintrust Franchise Finance

Robert Obolewicz 203-644-8481 • robolewicz@lcrcapital.com 315 Post Road West, Suite 200, Westport, CT 06880 www.lcrfinance.com

Northern Bank & Trust Company

Kelley Munsell 781-569-1584 • kmunsell@nbtc.com 275 Mishawum Road, Woburn, MA 01801 www.nbtc.com

Pacific Premier Franchise Capital

Sharon Soltero 402-562-1801 • ssoltero@ppbifranchise.com 3154 18th Avenue, Ste. 3, Columbus, NE 68601 www.ppbifranchise.com

Pinncale Commercial Capital

Mylan Dawson 317-472-2828 • dawson@pincomcap.com 101 W. Ohio St, Suite 2000, Indianapolis, IN 46204 www.pincomcap.com

Signature Financial

Trey Grimm 410-419-7107 • tgrimm@signatureny.com 502 Club Ln., Towson, MD 21286 www.signatureny.com

Sterling National Bank

Lindy Baldwin 402-312-2542 • lbaldwin@snb.com 500 7th Ave., 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10018 www.snb.com

TCF Franchise Finance

Bill Johnson 952-656-3268 • wjohnson@tcfef.com 11100 Wayzata Blvd., Ste. 801, Minnetonka, MN 55305 www.tcfef.com/franchise

Sandra McCraren 847-432-2488 • smccraren@wintrust.com 9700 W. Higgins Road, 1st Flr, Rosemont, IL 60018 franchise.wintrust.com

HUMAN RESOURCES CertiPay

Danielle Post 813-300-6953 • dpost@certipay.com 130 Bates Ave. SW, Ste. 101, Winter Haven, FL 33880 www.certipay.com

Employers Reference Source

Sandra Fabrizio 888-512-2525 • sandraf@employersreference.com 1587 Hamilton Avenue, Waterbury, CT 06706 www.employersreference.com

HigherMe

Shannon Cassidy 617-890-6476 • shannon@higherme.com 77 Franklin St, Suite 510, Boston, MA 02110 www.higherme.com

HIRETech

Malak Mansour 281-558-7100 • mmansour@hiretech.com 200 Westlake Park Blvd., Suite 501, Houston, TX 77079 www.hiretech.com

Paychex

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TalentReef

Abby Sandbach 720-399-2494 • asandbach@talentreef.com 210 University Ste. 300, Denver, CO 80206 www.talentreef.com

INSURANCE Intrepid Direct Insurance

Bill Strout 913-217-4252 • bstrout@intrepidinsurance.com 10851 Mastin Blvd, Ste. 200, Overland Park, KS 66210 www.intrepidinsurance.com

Regions Insurance

Dennis McClelland 770-274-2914 • dennis.mcclelland@regions.com 12725 Morris Rd. Ext. Bldg. 100 Ste. 200 Alpharetta, GA 30007 www.regionsinsurance.com

Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage, Inc.

Sabrina San Martino 800-854-4625 ext. 1121 • ssanmartino@starshep.com 60 Catamore Boulevard, East Providence, RI 02914 www.starkweathershepley.com

LEGAL Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Jeffery Rosin 617-849-7882 • jrosin@constangy.com 535 Boylston St, Ste. 902, Boston, MA 02116 www.constangy.com

Lisa & Sousa Attorneys at Law Ltd.

Carl Lisa, Sr. 401-274-0600 • clisa@lisasousa.com 5 Benefit St, Providence, RI 02904 www.lisasousa.com

Marks & Klein LLP

Justin Klein 732-747-7100 • justin@marksklein.com 63 Riverside Avenue, Red Bank, NJ 07701 www.marksklein.com

Paris Ackerman & Schmierer LLP

David Paris 973-228-6667 • david@paslawfirm.com 103 Eisenhower Parkway, Roseland, NJ 07068 www.paslawfirm.com

DDIFO® does not endorse or recommend commercial products, processes, or services. A DDIFO® Business Member is paying to advertise, and it is not to be considered a product or service endorsement by DDIFO®. Furthermore DDIFO® does not control or guarantee the currency, accuracy, relevance or completeness of information provided by sponsors in their advertising.

24 INDEPENDENT JOE • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018

PLEASE VISIT THE DDIFO BUSINESS MEMBER DIRECTORY ONLINE AT WWW.DDIFO.ORG

DDIFO

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OPERATIONS 3M Company

Bill Muenkel 952-484-4875 • wemuenkel@mmm.com 3M Center, 220-12E-04, St. Paul, MN 55144 www.3M.com/communications

Brink's Inc.

Shawn O'Sullivan 617-653-8462 • shawn.osullivan@brinksinc.com 46 Sprague St., Boston, MA 02136 www.brinks.com

Bunn-O-Matic Corporation

Todd Rouse 800-637-8606 • Todd.Rouse@bunn.com 1400 Stevenson Dr., Springfield, IL 62703 www.bunn.com

Jarrett Services ATM, Inc.

Alexander Pezzolla 732-572.0706 ex 202 • alex@jarrettforcash.com 1315 Stelton Road, Piscataway, NJ 08832

Kronos

Shawn Dearden 978-408-0282 • shawn.dearden@Kronos.com 900 Chelmsford St, Lowell MA 01851 www.kronos.com

MCD Innovations — Airxcel, Inc.

Christina Trammell 972-548-1850 • christina@mcdinnovations.com 3303 N. McDonald St. McKinney, TX 75071 www.mcdshades.com

Nano Safety Solutions

Cardtronics

Jim Muldoon 978-273-1847 • jim.muldoon21@gmail.com 6 Argyle St, Andover, MA 01810 www.nanosafetysolutions.com

Carrier Corp

Angela Bechard 603-475-2046 • angela@nedrivethru.com 999 Candia Rd. Ste. 7, Manchester, NH 03032 www.nedrivethru.com

Tom Spooner 973-452-4131 • tspooner@Cardtronics.com 628 Route 10 - Ste. 8, Whippany, NJ 07981 www.cardtronics.com Bob Eckweiler 973-222-6742 • Bob.Eckweiler@carrier.utc.com 3 Hollyhock Way, Newton, NJ 07860 www.carrier.com

Crane Payment Innovations

Ray Picard 603-809-3584 • ray.picard@cranepi.com 1 Executive Pk. Dr. #202, Bedford, NH 03110 www.CranePI.com

DTT

Mira Diza 800-933-8388 • mdiza@dttusa.com 1755 North Main St, Los Angeles, CA 90031 www.dttusa.com

New England Drive-Thru Communications

Torrco Everpure

Chris Williams 651-503-4763 • christopherJ.Williams@pentair.com 1040 Muirfield Dr., Hanover Park, IL 60133 www.everpure.com

Prince Castle/Silver King

Zachary Waas 630-873-0088 • waaz@princecastle.com 355 East Kehoe Blvd., Carol Stream, IL 60188 www.princecastle.com

R.F. Technologies, Inc.

Ecolab

Michael Murdock 847-495-7350 • michaelm@rftechno.com 330 Lexington Dr, Buffalo Grove, IL 60089 www.rftechno.com

HME Drive-Thru Headsets

Kyle Clendennen 785-295-6664 • kyle.clendennen@safetstep.com 3231 Southeast Sixth Ave, Topeka, KS 66607 www.payless.com/safetstep-1/

Michael Quate 215-287-6953 • michael.quate@ecolab.com 8300 Capital Dr, Greensboro, NC 27409 www.ecolab.com/Businesses Brady Campbell 858-535-6034 • bcampbell@hme.com 14110 Stowe Dr, Poway, CA 92064 www.hme.com

safeTstep by Payless Shoesource

SKAL East, Inc

Carl Huerth 781-806-3139 • carl@skaleast.com 131 Padelford St., Berkley MA 02779 www.skaleast.com/index.cfm?keyword=dunkin

Squadle

Brendan Bencharit 818-590-4483 • brendan@squadle.com One Broadway, Floor 14, Cambridge, MA 02142 www.squadle.com

Staples Advantage

Joe Shea 781-806-3139 • joseph.shea@staples.com 31 Commercial St. Sharon, MA 02067 www.staplesadvantage.com

Tellermate

Kyle Anthony 770-220-5113 • kyle.anthony@tellermate-us.com 3600 Mansell Road, Ste 500, Alpharetta, GA 30022 www.tellermate-us.com

Wind River Environmental

Samantha Kelley 978-344-0926 • skelley@wrenvironmental.com 46 Lizotte Dr., Ste. 1000, Marlborough, MA 01752 www.wrenvironmental.com

TAX DEFERRED EXCHANGE Exchange Authority

Robert J. Charland, Esq. 978-433-6061 • rcharland@exchangeauthority.com 9 Leominster Connector, Suite 1, Leominster, MA 01453 www.exchangeauthority.com

Thank You to Our Business Members!

INDEPENDENT JOE • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018 25

COMMUNITY CORNER

BY STEFANIE CLOUTIER

A Family Affair F

or Mitzi Lawlor, community involvement is more than a commitment: it’s a family tradition.

Her parents, Helen and Ralph D’Alelio, bought their first Dunkin’ Donuts store in Massachusetts in 1977. For the next 30 years they used their business to improve the lives of those living in the area, particularly children.

“My mother always gave back to the community,” says Lawlor. “She was so involved in the (Dunkin’) business.”

Ralph just passed away at the end of 2017; Helen died in 2007, but Lawlor and her two brothers have taken up the reins to continue her legacy. They established a foundation in her name, the Helen D’Alelio Family Foundation, through which they give back to the seven communities where they have stores.

“Our communities are what make us successful, and giving back to those communities makes us a part of them,” says Lawlor, who began working in her parents’ store as a teenager. “It’s something personal to me.”

The signature program for the Foundation is “$100 for 100,” where 100 kids in the towns where Lawlor has stores are chosen from among several hundred nominees to receive a $100 gift card. It’s done in partnership with Joyal Capital Management Foundation, the charitable arm of Joyal's financial management firm.

Lawlor collects the money by setting up canisters for donations instead of tip jars in her stores. The kids, between ages five and eighteen, are nominated by teachers, coaches, neighbors – anyone who knows the child well and can write a compelling reason for them to be chosen.

“They apply, we pick the kids, we have a big function,” Lawlor says. “We do it around the holidays, in the spirit of giving.”

This year that function was at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Saugus, Mass. During the event, the kids come in, get their $100 gift card, and volunteers help them to find things on sale, such as coats, air mattresses, sneakers or sporting equipment.

They can purchase items for themselves, or as gifts for someone else.

“The stories are amazing,” says Lawlor, of the kids who come in for the event. “I ask all my managers to come in and be part of it.”

It’s not the only way Lawlor supports local kids: she also partners with the Chamber of Commerce to offer a scholarship program. They have high school students write essays: if I was an entrepreneur in my town, what would it be and why.

“We have a committee who reads all the essays, and we pick those to get between $500 and $1000,” says Lawlor. “The kids who get the scholarships are great, I love to hear where they’re going to college.”

And then there’s her sponsorship of one child annually to attend a 6-week summer program at the Ron Burton Training Village, which takes boys from challenged lives and puts them through characterbuilding exercises that will give them leadership, educational and social skills.

“We started inviting Paul Burton to our $100 for 100 event, and that spurred them to start their own program,” explains Lawlor. “He usually has a list of boys, and we’ll go through and figure out which kids are really in need from my area.”

Lawlor also sponsors the local football teams and cheerleaders, the After Hours prom party in Medford, Thanksgiving Day at a homeless Center in East Boston, and events at local senior centers. But for the past ten years, one of her favorite events has been the military luncheon Chamber event in Medford.

It takes place right around Patriots Day.

26 INDEPENDENT JOE • FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018

The veterans come in and are feted by everyone in the community, down to the mayor and city council. Lawlor walks around to thank the vets for their service and hand out gift cards for free coffee.

“I won’t let anyone else sponsor it,” she says. “My dad was a vet. The first year we did it, we took a picture of him.”

With the legacy Lawlor and her brothers are creating, it’s only fair to ask if her own children will take the mantle when the time comes.

“I don’t know, they don’t want to, they all say that,” says Lawlor, “but you never know.”

•

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FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT PRINCIPAL RICHARD P. JOYAL AT 508.283.1434 OR VISIT WWW.JOYCAPMGT.COM.

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