Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue I, 2016 | Page 39

PERSONAL
First job: I was a Fuller Brush salesman for two years beginning at age 17.
I did really well and my dad hated it because he said I was making too much
money and he was trying to teach me the value of a dollar.
Formative influences/events: Those two years at Fuller Brush taught me
a lot about sales and presentation. I also learned how to approach and work with
all kinds of people along the socioeconomic spectrum.
Key accomplishments: I’m still solvent (laughing). I think working with my
great team to build and establish the Hurricane Grill & Wings brand is right up
there. It’s critical to surround yourself with a great team. Also, I’m proud of the
way we’ve built our Denny’s system.
Biggest current challenge: Let’s see… there are the proposed increases in
minimum wage, Obamacare, and the NLRB joint employer fiasco. But honestly,
all of these potential challenges have solutions. It’s just a matter of working out
the details.
Next big goal: Working on a major deal to take Hurricane Grill & Wings into
Canada. It’s very difficult to go into a foreign country with a U.S. brand. This move
will take a lot of resources over the next couple of years. Meanwhile, we’re still
building two to three Denny’s each year. Then there’s our new fresh fast casual
brand, Hurricane BTW. There’s a lot going on.
First turning point in your career: Early on, I had always taken over
distressed units and turned them around. But with Denny’s we started acquiring
high performers, and it was a game-changer. It was so much easier to take over
a winner than a loser. The difference is night and day. Fixing stores is much more
work—it can take 3 to 5 years to fix a beat-up store. Now that we’ve weaned
out the underperformers, life is a lot more fun.
Best business decision: Going to work for Peat Marwick Mitchell & Co.
(now part of KPMG) in New York. I learned some great stuff there. Then I went to
work for Servico, a publicly traded hotel company, where I got some tremendous
training and understanding of franchising.
Hardest lesson learned: Failing. A few years ago, I acquired Roadhouse Grill
and put it in bankruptcy five days later. I invested heavily to try to turn the brand
around. But I couldn’t get creditors to confirm our plan of reorganization. It got
shut down and I lost more than $1 million.
Work week: I work six days a week, on the road and in the office. I work

a half day every Saturday with the president of Hurricane Grill & Wings. We sit
down together and get a lot done. I visit all my Denny’s restaurants at least three
to four times per year. That’s important and I know the name of every GM. I visit
all Hurricane franchise locations at least one time per year. If you can’t be in your
restaurants you can’t be in the restaurant business.
Exercise/workout: I used to run and work out five days a week. But then I
messed up my back and rotator cuff. Now I try to work out three times a week,
but I would like to get it back to five days.
Best advice you ever got: I had just graduated from business school, and
an astute businessman told me the answer to most business questions can be
found by talking to people at a given company. If you listen to what people say,
you’ll find the answers