FRANCHISEE SPOTLIGHT
Joshua
Theiss
Buck Hawk of Florida, Inc.
+ Partner(s): William Theiss (father),
Katie Theiss (sister)
+ Year Became a BWW Franchisee: 2001
+ Total Number of BWW Locations: 2
+ Total Number of Employees: 90-160 depending on
the season
Joshua Theiss
and
How did you and your partner(s) meet?
My parents, William and Cynthia, started in the restaurant business in the 70s with Perkins Restaurant & Bakery.
My sister, Katie, and I literally grew up inside their stores.
The restaurant staff became our extended family. Katie and
I went to college hell bent on careers outside hospitality,
but it was in our blood. I worked for a newspaper for a bit,
but I found myself
missing the restaurant
business and when
I decided to commit
fully, I wanted it to
be something other
than Perkins.
What drew you to
the brand?
2015 Issue 4 |
THE
SCORE
10
The B-Dubs®
in Mason, Ohio,
opened when I
was in high school,
and it was where
my friends and
I hung out. In
college, B-Dubs
was again where
we hung out.
Who doesn’t love
wings, beer and
sports? When I
n
vi
Ga
e, William and
lie
was
searching for
L-R Back: Kati
Ju
d
an
Cynthia, Joshua
what concept to
Theiss. Front:
explore the
Theiss.
his wife, Julie
.
realization actually occurred while eating at that same BWW in
Mason. The next day I called and spoke to Art Bowman about
franchising.
What is your favorite thing about the brand?
Being able to deliver fun. B-Dubs® is friends and family
enjoying themselves. My favorite thing is people allow us to let
them escape the world for a while and have fun inside restaurants that were built for it. Getting paid to throw a party every
day, what’s better than that?
What other concepts do you own?
None currently. My folks sold their Perkins in 2004.
What are your current top three business goals?
First, to find a balance between profitability and providing
a good quality of life for the people working for us. Second, to
maintain profitability despite all the recent and likely forthcoming changes mandated by Buffalo Wild Wings® and Uncle
Sam. Third, to remodel our stores.
Describe your best recent business decision:
Everyone’s favorite question is,“Are you building more
stores?” I guess I’m a rare breed in that I’m happy to have what I
have and do not want more, so the best business decision was to
forgo expanding and instead pay off the restaurants and have no
debt. Some find this odd, but I’ve always lived believing that my
personal choices generally are not contingent upon the approval
of strangers.
What is the best business advice you have received?
Two things — the first was from my father, who said that
the restaurant business is very hard but it’s supposed to be hard,