Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue III, 2017 | Page 36

2017 MVP AWARDS
BY HELEN BOND
“The Machine”
Growing the brand and growing his people
W
endy’s Hall of Fame fran-
chisee Eddie Rodriguez is
all about mega growth—one
restaurant at a time.
Rodriguez, chairman of Pompano
Beach, Fla.-based JAE Restaurant Group,
is the 2017 MVP for Mega Growth Lead-
ership for achieving excellence in growth
and expansion. The QSR veteran is closing
in on 200 restaurants and $300 million in
annual revenue with the same approach
to growth he’s practiced since opening
his first Wendy’s in 1993.
“A lot of people fail to understand that
when you run a restaurant a lot of the cost
of your business is in a two- or three-mile
radius,” says Rodriguez. “The way you
deal within that radius and serve those
customers day in and day out determines
how successful your restaurant is going
to be. You want to own that trade area
and be part of the community.”
These days, Rodriguez’s business pic-
ture is crystal clear, thanks to help from
his custom-developed software he calls
“The Machine.” The idea for the project
was born during restaurant visits, when
Rodriguez and his partners saw the amount
of daily administrative work required for
the general managers to do their job.
“This is a tool that was developed to
make our managers’ lives easier,” says
NAME: Eddie Rodriguez
TITLE: Chairman, franchisee
COMPANY: JAE Restaurant Group
NO. OF UNITS: 179 Wendy’s
AGE: 61
FAMILY: Wife Laurie, son,
daughter, and four grandkids, 18
months to 5 years
YEARS IN FRANCHISING: 43
YEARS IN CURRENT POSITION: 23
as a franchisee
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MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISEE IS S UE III, 2017