Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue III, 2013 | Page 43

2013 MVP
By Kerry Pipes

Spreading His
Wingstops
Following his dad’s advice was a good idea
from the start

D

anny Sonenshine clearly remembers his father encouraging him to look into franchising about 10 years ago. The
elder Sonenshine had experienced his
own successful career in the restaurant
business and had always been an important influence on his son.

“There weren’t many Wingstops
around Southern California at the time,”
recalls Sonenshine, “but my dad saw the
potential of the brand and how getting in
at the beginning could be a great move.”
At the time, Sonenshine was slogging it
out as a litigator and transactional attorney with a major law firm in Orange

County—and he was unhappy. “I didn’t
like working for someone else,” he says,
“and I didn’t like not having any control
over my schedule.”
He heeded his dad’s advice. Although
he didn’t know much about franchising or restaurants, he had heard that
a couple of Wingstops in California
were registering good numbers and
that the franchisor was looking for
franchisees. That was 2004.
Sonenshire signed a deal for 10 units
in Southern California and opened his
first store in spring 2006. The last time
we visited with him (Multi-Unit Franchisee, Q4 2010) he had grown to 11
units. He now has 22 open and 5 more
in development. He’s also acquired the
rights to Guam and Hawaii (he expects
to open two Wingstops in Hawaii next
year), and he’s about to add a second
brand to his organization. On top of all
this, he was named Multi-Unit Franchisee magazine’s Spirit of Franchising
Leadership MVP Award winner, and
recognized at the Multi-Unit Franchising Conference in March.
The Laguna Beach native is on a
roll. He’s weathered the tough economic storms of the past few years
and come through with flying colors.
“Our progress has been to open two
to three stores each year, and I see that
continuing for at least the next couple
of years,” he says.
Sonenshine has no regrets about
leaving his law career behind and loves
Name: Danny Sonenshine
Title: President
Company: Far West Restaurant

Group, LLC
No. of units: 22 Wingstops
open, 5 in development
Age: 40
Family: Wife Kerri; daughters

Maggie, 11, and Sarah, 7
Years in franchising: 9
Years in current position: 9

Multi-Unit Franchisee Is s u e III, 2013



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