Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue II, 2015 | Page 18

MULTI-BRAND 50
BY HELEN BOND

50 by 50
“Welcome to Moe’s!” (and Smashburger!)

T

he way Steven Taylor and
Chris Smith see it, operating
multiple brands just makes
their business better.
“I got tired of hearing for so long, ‘This
is how every franchise does it’; or ‘This is
how it has always been done,’” says Taylor, a franchisee of Moe’s Southwest Grill
and Smashburger. “I was excited about
branching out and diversifying to another
concept and learning how they do it—and
try to do it better. We have done that and
have been able to cherry-pick the best of
each brand and incorporate that into our
own company.”
At 40, Taylor and his partner Smith, 42,
are gearing up for growth. The duo, who
have three Smashburger locations and 14
Moe’s in North and South Carolina, aim to
operate 50 restaurants or post $50 million
in sales by age 50. Under the umbrella of
BrandStormers LLC, they are developing
8 additional Moe’s and 12 Smashburger
restaurants in the Carolinas.
Goal-setting is nothing new for Taylor,
who early on inked a life plan to be a busiNAME: Steven Taylor and Chris

Smith

TITLE: Owners, operators, partners
COMPANY: BrandStormers LLC
NO. OF UNITS: 14 Moe’s
Southwest Grills in the Carolinas
and a minority interest in 13 Moe’s
in the Washington, D.C., area; 3
Smashburgers in the Carolinas
AGE: Taylor, 40; Smith, 42
FAMILY: Taylor: Wife Jill, sons

Hunter, 8, and Michael, 6; Smith:
Wife Amy, daughter Avery, 9, and
son Loudon, 5

YEARS IN FRANCHISING: 11

Chris Smith (left) and Steven Taylor

16

YEARS IN CURRENT POSITION: 11

MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISEE IS S UE II, 2015

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