Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue III, 2015 | Page 24

2015 MVP AWARDS

“I’ve learned that people become excited
about growth. They love to be part of something new.
It’s human nature.”
my dad, who is 83 but still gets excited
about any new deals we come up with. I
go to him for advice. His blessing is still
important for anything I do.”
Dhanani and his siblings grew up
working in the family business, which
included service stations, convenience
stores, and Burger Kings. “I worked
my way up from assistant manager to
GM to district manager to director of

operations, so I brought 10 years of operations experience to the table when I
acquired my Popeyes franchise,” he says.
“Burger King provided a great platform
to learn from.”
Even while growing at warp speed, the
young husband and father of two believes
he’s been able to maintain the quality of
his restaurants, now in four states (Texas,
Arizona, Colorado, and Missouri), by be-

ing very hands-on.
Nor does Dhanani have any plans to
slow down any time soon. He’s aiming
for another 10 “organic” stores and other
new acquisitions in 2015. And he’s taking
his team along for the ride.
“I’ve learned that people become excited about growth,” he says. “They love
to be part of something new. It’s human
nature.”

PERSONAL
Formative influences/events: My father, a great businessman, has been
a great influence on me. He’s a true American story coming from Pakistan with
11 kids and little money and starting his own business.
Key accomplishments: Getting into the Popeyes system in 2010 and making a large 49-store acquisition in 2012. In 2013, after always doing business
in Houston, I branched out into other cities and states. It’s been a great year.
A few weeks before I received the MVP award, I was named Franchisee of the
Year at Popeyes’ annual conference in Orlando.
Work week: I’m gone about half the month. Monday through Friday I’m

on the road or in the office, and on weekends I’m with my family as much as
possible.
What are you reading? Dare to Serve by Popeyes CEO Cheryl Bachelder.
She’s a great motivator.
Best advice you ever got: To always take care of my people and to make
them feel part of a team.
What’s your passion in business? I love growth. It excites me and
keeps me going.

MANAGEMENT
Business philosophy: Work hard, take care of your people, and live a balanced life.
Management method or style: I’m hands-on and very involved in my
business. I know almost all my upper store managers and a lot of the GMs.
Greatest challenge: To balance my life between work and family and hobbies (basketball, football, golf).
How do others describe you? As a very aggressive entrepreneur at a

young age.
How do you hire and fire, train and retain? I don’t do it that much
anymore, but we retain by being competitive with pay, offering good compensation packages, and caring for our employees. We have grown a lot in five
years and people ask me, “How do you get managers for all those stores?”
They just come by word of mouth. When you take care of your people, word
gets out because all the managers from different brands in the market know
each other.

BOTTOM LINE
Annual revenue: $150 million.
2015 goals: To grow another 10 Popeyes stores organically and to keep
looking for more acquisitions in the brand.

22

years, I’ll still be with the brand, hitting maybe 400 stores. Then I’ll start looking to focus more on personal goals, such as more charity work, more international travel, and coaching a basketball team.

Growth meter: How do you measure your growth? By top-line
sales. I believe growing top-line sales will fix everything on the P&L to give you
a better bottom line.

What are you doing to take care of your employees? We always
give them a good compensation package, bonuses, and annual reviews for
salary or wage increases. We also give them the tools in the restaurant that
require more repair and maintenance, such as fryers, AC, and head