How does a restaurant franchisee respond when their brand suddenly sees sales decline several percent?
This week’s episode of Restaurant Business' podcast, "A Deeper Dive," features Greg Flynn, the prominent Applebee’s franchisee, who discusses how his company responded two years ago when the chain’s sales plunged following its introduction of hand-cut steaks—and how that response helped his company through the sales crisis and beyond, as the chain’s same-store sales have surged over the last year.
Flynn, whose Flynn Restaurant Group is the largest restaurant franchisee in the U.S., also discusses his company’s recent purchase of U.S. Beef Corp., the 368-unit Arby’s franchisee.
The acquisition gave Flynn his fourth brand, joining Taco Bell and Panera Bread, and made his company a $2.3 billion, 1,200-restaurant behemoth.
Flynn in the podcast talks about how to guide such a large company and also discusses the impact of the labor crunch and other challenges.
Please have a listen.
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