Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue III, 2013 | Page 35

2013 MVP
By Kerry Pipes

Extreme Growth

Following massive acquisitions, a focus on operations and remodeling

G

uillermo Perales is at it again.
When we spoke with him last
year (MUF, Q4 2012), he was
on the grow and flirting with
400 locations across his restaurant
kingdom. Now he has been recognized
with the Multi-Unit Franchisee magazine
MVP Award as he kept busy remodeling more than 40 of his Burger Kings,
Popeyes, and Golden Corrals, cutting
the ribbon on three new Popeyes, and
building several more units in his core
markets of Dallas, Houston, and Orlando, Fla.
“We’ve still got around 400 total
locations,” he says matter-of-factly.
“But we did sell off 10 Golden Corrals
in January and have been heavily remodeling a number of our other units.”
He says another handful of restaurants
are awaiting building permits that are
“tough going.” And when we spoke, he
was cooking up a deal to purchase two
more existing restaurants.
Perales is well-known in these pages.
The Mexican native graduated with
honors before heading to the U.S.
and corporate life. His first job, with
Mexican company Gruma Corp. in the
1980s, provided him the experience he
needed and served as a stepping-stone
to starting his own business.
Dallas looked rich with potential,
and Perales settled in. He identified
some key sites and by 1997 had opened
his first Golden Corral in Dallas. An
SBA loan helped him meet the financial criteria to get his new business off
the ground. There’s been no letting off
the gas since.
One thing he’s learned, he says, is
that “It’s better to be a part of a bigger

Name: Guillermo Perales
Title: President and CEO
Company: Sun Holdings, LLC
No. of units: 398 total: Burger
King, 172; Popeyes, 73; Arby’s,
52; CiCi’s Pizza, 49; Golden
Corral, 33; T-Mobile, 12; Del
Taco, 7
Age: 50
Family: Wife, Adriana, and three

children, 14, 12, and 8

Years in current position: 15
Years in franchising: 15

system. It takes away some of the risk
when you have a recognizable name,
and it makes financing easier to get.”
Perales currently is operating Burger
King, Popeyes, Arby’s, CiCi’s Pizza,
Golden Corral, T-Mobile, and Del Taco
locations. His restaurants are now all
in the Dallas, Houston, and Orlando
DMAs. His 398 locations make him
the largest Hispanic franchisee in the
country and fourth-largest Burger King
franchisee. Growth, real estate ownership, and centralized locations are cornerstones of his operation. And going
big is his calling card. “With one unit
you can fail, but with several you can

Multi-Unit Franchisee Is s u e III, 2013



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