Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue IV, 2011 | Page 14

DOMINA
TORS

I said, ‘Teach me how to do this,’
and he said, ‘Use other people’s money.’
So I worked with a designer on my ideas for
Bagger Dave’s Legendary Burger Tavern.
learned how not to run a restaurant and
where not to put it.”
When go-getter Sally Smith took
over as CEO at BW3 and changed the
name to Buffalo Wild Wings, Ansley got
a second wind and opened a location in
front of a 30-screen movie theater. “That
location took off, so we opened another,”
he says. Their Novi, Mich., unit was one
of the first three to roll out full service
in 2002, and his units have grabbed top

Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. Although
he finished number-one in merchandising
in the country, Ansley decided he didn’t
want to work for a big corporation. “I
wanted to do my own thing,” he says.
In 1996, he and his former college
roommate asked their fathers for loans
to buy their own Buffalo Wild Wings
(then called BW3) unit near Ann Arbor,
Mich. “We were young and didn’t know
what we were doing,” he says. “But we

PERSONAL
Key accomplishments: The most important accomplishment was getting
married and having a family. And then, it’s been a tremendous experience being
a Buffalo Wild Wings franchisee during the last 16 years. Sally Smith, the CEO,
has transformed the company and let us be entrepreneurial. We had one of the
three restaurants that rolled out full service in 2002 and also had the first location
(Novi, Mich.) to hit $3 million and then $4 million.
Biggest mistake: Choosing to go into Florida during the worst possible time.
I was young and I signed an agreement for Buffalo Wild Wings in the Tampa-St.
Pete-Fort Lauderdale area. My ego was somewhat inflated because of our success in Detroit, but I didn’t do enough due diligence to realize that the area’s real
estate market was really hot. As a result, we wound up with a couple of locations
that weren’t so great. Since then, we’ve learned a lot about the culture in Florida
and how to properly build out a patio in Florida.
Smartest mistake: I’ve made a lot of those regarding our concept, Bagger
Dave’s. Sometimes with the concept, we weren’t sure if we were doing the right
thing. We looked at the counter service burger concept, but with Five Guys and
Smashburger, that horse was already out of the gate, and we didn’t want to be in
the Red Robin camp with a 6,500-square-foot space. So we tried to create a nice
niche with the craft beer segment. We’ve changed 300 things, and for whatever
reason, we seem to be hitting all the current trends.
How do you spend a typical day? There’s not really a typical day right
now. Things are chaotic because we’re growing Buffalo Wild Wings in multiple
states and working on developing franchising for Bagger Dave’s. I travel a lot and
on weekends, and I work a lot with different charity fundraisers. I’m on the board
of the Children’s Leukemia Foundation of Michigan, and we had an event with
Bagger Dave’s and Buffalo Wild Wings that raised $32,000 in one day.
Work week: Right now, it’s whatever is needed.

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Favorite fun activities: I’m lucky, because work is my hobby, I enjoy it. I
also enjoy spending time with my family.
Exercise/workout: Cardio and weights three times a week.
Favorite tech toys: I’m not quite the techie that our CFO is, but I like my
BlackBerry.
What are you reading? Trade publications related to the restaurant industry
and franchising.
Do you have a favorite quote/advice? I like Warren Buffet: “Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.” Right now,
you can find great employees, and reasonable real estate if you have the money.
We just grabbed a former Big Boy in Grand Rapids on a short sale, and we’re turning it into a Bagger Dave’s.
Best advice you ever got: I learned from my time with Buffalo Wild Wings
that this business is all about people. A happy employee does mean a happy
guest.
Formative influences/events: I have some great colleagues and mentors. Bill McClintock, who now works for us as senior vice president of franchise
sales and development, is the salt of the earth and has seen things done right
and wrong over the years. Others who have been valuable are Phil Friedman of
McAlister’s Deli and franchisees David Fisher and Kent Ward, who are unbelievably
bright and supportive.
How do you balance life and work? My wife thinks I’m doing pretty
well considering all that’s going on, so I’ll go with that.

Multi-Unit Franchisee Is s ue IV, 2011

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