Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue III, 2012

MVP 2012 By Helen Bond Partner Power O Building success through collaboration n Cathy Amato’s first day as a Jack in the Box management trainee in the early 1980s, her trainer questioned whether Amato was up for the rigor ahead—changing grease vats, scrubbing floors, and crazy hours. “He was really like, ‘Real girls don’t want to do this kind of work,’” Amato remembers. He didn’t know Amato, who along with partners Martha Jordan and Rick Riley, collectively own and operate 55 Subway restaurants in San Antonio and Austin, along with Mooyah and Ruby Tuesday brands. The winner of Multi-Unit Franchisee magazine’s 2012 MVP Role Model Award truly believes she is in a business that rewards hard work with opportunity. “I never had any aspiration or skill set that would necessarily help me be successful in the restaurant industry,” she says. “I started at the ground floor and through hard work and applying myself I’ve been able to move up the ranks. But also, I have been able to go out on my own and build a substantial company.” She may not have predicted her career path, but it seems fitting that at 14, Amato’s first job was as a busboy and dishwasher (by hand) at the Highway Café in La Vernia, Texas, outside San Antonio. Years later, when she “needed a break” from clerical work, she returned to the restaurant industry as a waitress. Amato fell in love with the people, the business, and the unstructured hours—and never looked back. Lured by a Jack in the Box ad aimed at Name: Cathy Amato Brands/units: 55 Subway, 3 Ruby Tuesday, 1 Mooyah Burgers & Fries Family: Married Years in franchising: 20 Years in current position: 20 Multi-Unit Franchisee Is s u e III, 2012 13

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