Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue I, 2014 | Page 23

MEGA

in Oklahoma, and a year later Kergan
came on board. In 1977, their younger
brother became a managing partner in
a Louisiana Sonic. “I didn’t know food
cost from the other side of the moon,” he
says. “The first two days I worked there,
I stayed up all night to try to figure out
the books and numbers.” In 1979, the
brothers bought their first Sonics and
began to buy or build a new unit every
year or two.
Tragedy struck in 1984 when Gary
disappeared unexpectedly and evidence
pointed to murder. It wasn’t until DNA
evidence emerged in late 2012—nearly
three decades later—that the two suspects
were formally charged. Kergan can’t talk
about the litigation but he remembers
the shock of losing his brother and business partner.
“It was a stressful situation that took
me a couple of years to recover from,”
he says. “In 1986, I started building the
company again, but when my son was
born in 2000, I decided I didn’t want to
spend so much time on the road and I

MANAGEMENT
Business philosophy: The way that I am successful is to train others to be
successful and always to take the high road.
Management method or style: Positive but honest coach.
Greatest challenge: Getting others to see what great service really looks
like. There are so few examples of it in today’s world that employees don’t
understand what they are trying to mirror.
How do others describe you? I guess you would have to ask them, but I
hope they’d say I’m supportive and fair.
One thing I’m looking to do better: Be a better person and listen
more, because everyone has a great story.
How I give my team room to innovate and experiment: By making a big deal out of it when we see those behaviors turn out positively.
How close are you to operations? Very.
What are the two most important things you rely on from your
franchisor? To not over-develop the markets and to lead us in marketing and
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