Jay Rushin, owner of H&H Bagels, joins the podcast to break down the rise of the bagel category, why H&H has taken a different path from venture-backed competitors, and how the brand is scaling its New York bagel model through franchising. He shares the story behind acquiring H&H, rebuilding the business, launching breakfast sandwiches, building a Queens production facility, and creating a franchise model designed to bring authentic New York bagels across the country.

FOR MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISE OWNERS CONSIDERING SELLING:https://www.empirespod.com/for-multi-unit-ownersWEEKLY FRANCHISE NEWSLETTER:

Bill Mathis worked for Subway starting in 1992, and eventually became a franchise owner in 2001. He's owned as many as 4 stores, and gives us an inside look at the brand over the past few decades. We dive into everything and everything, including the impact of the $5 footlong promo, the sandwich wars with Quiznos, what Fred DeLuca was like, and how the transition under Roark Capital has been.

FOR MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISE OWNERS CONSIDERING SELLING: https://www.empirespod.com/for-multi-unit-owners

WEEKLY FRANCHISE NEWSLETTER:

Prince Street Pizza went from a single NYC slice shop to one of the most viral pizza brands in America. In this episode, Prince Street Pizza CEO & co-owner Lawrence Longo breaks down how the brand exploded through Instagram, celebrity co-signs, and its iconic Spicy Spring slice. He’s now leading the brand's expansion across the U.S. with a highly selective franchising strategy.JOIN OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER:

FOR MULTI-UNIT OWNERS WHO ARE SELLING:https://www.fdcapitalgroup.com/

00:00 Intro01:11 How Sean Avery Introduced Lawrence to Prince Street Pizza02:33 How Instagram Made Prince Street Go Viral05:12 Why the Spicy Spring Slice Became Iconic06:32 The 2018 LA Pop-Up That Changed Everything08:03 The Crazy History of Original Ray’s Pizza10:40 How Prince Street Created Its Signature Pizza12:16 The Truth About New York Water & Pizza14:28 The Story Behind Off The Menu17:13 Secret Menu Items & Viral Food Marketing21:55 Why In-N-Out Calls It Animal Style24:55 Dave’s Hot Chicken & Secret Menu Innovation25:50 How the Prince Street LA Pop-Up Went Viral30:11 Convincing The Founders To Expand Nationally32:01 Lessons From Opening Restaurants With No Experience34:31 Opening Prince Street During COVID37:22 Why Frank Shut Down A Store Over Pepsi39:57 Todd Graves’ Advice About “Craveable” Food41:13 Expanding Prince Street Across America45:28 Scaling Premium Pizza Without Losing Quality48:46 Training Pizza Makers & Maintaining Standards51:22 The New “Naughty Slice” & Hot Honey Trend54:04 Pizza Wars, Haters & Restaurant Competition56:11 Why Prince Street Only Works With Elite Operators58:42 The Dave’s Hot Chicken Partnership01:03:27 What Prince Street Looks For In Franchise Partners01:06:24 The Home Alone Marketing Collaboration01:09:02 Why Pizza Chains Are Struggling Today01:12:49 Choosing The Right Locations For Growth01:16:30 The Future Of Prince Street Pizza01:17:38 Lawrence’s Biggest Influence & Final Thoughts

Kavrin McGuire operates 25 Jersey Mike’s locations alongside his father and brother.

In this conversation, we break down:• How Jersey Mike’s maintains product quality at scale• What it’s actually like operating a high-volume sandwich business• Why Peter Cancro built such intense loyalty among franchisees• The truth about the Blackstone acquisition rumors• How Kavrin’s family scaled through acquisitions + development• Why they bought the entire state of Minnesota for Mike’s Red Tacos

We also dive deep into staffing, operations, digital ordering, real estate strategy, small-town expansion, and what separates great restaurant operators from average ones.

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FOR MULTI-UNIT OWNERS WHO ARE SELLING: https://www.fdcapitalgroup.com/

CHAPTERS00:00 Intro00:54 How Kavrin’s family found Jersey Mike’s03:22 Learning restaurant ops from the ground up05:20 The reality of running a restaurant07:57 Why Jersey Mike’s ops are harder than Little Caesars11:10 Staffing a Jersey Mike’s lunch rush13:50 How Jersey Mike’s built its digital ordering system15:22 Why Jersey Mike’s became a breakout brand16:50 Peter Cancro’s obsession with sandwich quality20:26 Stories that explain why franchisees love Peter Cancro25:53 Kavrin’s role running 25 Jersey Mike’s27:31 Building a long-term leadership team29:26 Acquiring Jersey Mike’s locations31:58 Real estate strategy + buildout costs34:33 Can Jersey Mike’s work in small towns?37:17 Jersey Mike’s culture of giving42:31 Blackstone, Charlie Morrison & the future of Jersey Mike’s47:14 How much white space Jersey Mike’s still has50:59 Why they bought Mike’s Red Tacos54:38 Betting on birria tacos as the next big category57:17 Mike’s Red Tacos operations explained01:00:42 Comparing Mike’s Red Tacos vs Jersey Mike’s ops01:04:42 Long-term vision for both brands01:06:09 Final thoughts

Joe Pedatella is scaling one of the fastest-growing KidStrong empires in the country:

* 16 locations open

* 60+ in development

* And a goal of 100 long term

In this episode, he breaks down how he pre-sold 700 members before opening, built a culture that scales, and turned one gym into a multi-unit machine that is only just starting to hit it’s stride.

Considering buying a franchise? www.empirespod.com/buy-a-franchise

For multi-unit franchisees selling their locations: www.fdcapitalgroup.com

Area 2 Farms, a venture backed start up, is trying to bring (vertical) farms into every town across America. They've learned from past mistakes of other vertical farm startups, and have changed the model, which they are now franchising...

Considering buying a franchise? https://www.empirespod.com/buy-a-franchiseSubscribe to our weekly newsletter: https://empirespod.substack.com/For multi-unit franchisees selling their locations: https://www.fdcapitalgroup.com/

CHAPTERS

0:00 Intro

0:55 What’s Broken with Food Distribution

2:43 Franchises in Disguise?

4:50 Why “Progress” Crushed Food Quality

7:22 The Machine of Food Distribution

8:50 Starting as a Government Spy

11:19 Pentagon’s Domino’s Pizza Tracker

11:50 What he learned from Hacking Countries

13:23 Becoming a Founder

14:43 Selling His Startup to Cloudfare

15:50 Starting Area 2 Farms

17:35 Why other Vertical Farms Failed

20:35 Why Area 2 is Different

23:09 Moving the Plants, Not Air

24:55 Live Look at Area 2’s Tech

25:57 The 3 Key Innovations

27:22 Location #1

28:50 The Farm Business Model

31:58 Do Customers like it?

32:52 Area 2 vs Grocery Stores

37:47 Turning Farms into a Business

39:46 Franchising the Farm

43:00 Area 2 Farms’ Unit Economics

46:30 The Target Franchise Owner

48:49 Franchise Launch Update

50:36 Is Energy Usage a Concern?

52:05 The Energy Myth in Vertical Farming

53:22 How the Model Evolves Over Time

55:08 Avoiding “Menu Creep” & Staying Focused

56:52 New Revenue Streams: Seedlings, Pumpkin Patches & More

58:10 What Franchisees Actually Need to Learn

1:02:31 Labor Model & Serving 400 Customers per Farm

1:04:10 Systems, SOPs & Avoiding Crop Failure

1:06:00 Why Farming Is the Original Franchise Model

1:07:53 The Mission Behind Area 2 Farms

1:09:00 Convenience vs Community

1:10:53 Real Estate Strategy (Why Gas Stations Work)

1:12:09 Making Each Location Feel Local

1:15:22 What Success Looks Like in 10–20 Years

1:18:00 Closing Thoughts

Nothing Bundt Cakes was recently acquired for $2 billion dollars. Founded in 1997, the brand has quietly built one of the greatest franchises of all time. I explore how they did it, and what their unique X-factor is that has created such consistent success….

Listen to the full conversation with Nick (coming out next week): https://www.youtube.com/@EmpiresPod Subscribe to my weekly newsletter:

Considering buying a franchise? https://www.empirespod.com/buy-a-franchise

For multi-unit franchisees selling their locations: https://www.fdcapitalgroup.com/

CHAPTERS

0:00 - Intro0:49 - The Founders1:27 - What’s a Bundt Cake?2:23 - Launching Nothing Bundt Cakes3:04 - Launching Franchising3:58 - Early Growth4:19 - The Craig Moore Era5:12 - Basics of the Model6:17 - Craig’s Impact7:31 - Selling the Business8:11 - The LLCP Era10:00 - Roark Capital Enters11:01 - Roark’s Insane Portfolio11:33 - Current Unit Economics12:20 - Why Do Bundt Cakes Dominate?13:15 - Reason #1: Narrow Menu X Variety15:02 - Reason #2: Simple Cost of Goods16:13 - Reason #3: Labor Model17:37 - Economic Durability18:39 - Reason #4: The X Factor20:25 - The Most Reliable “Edge”21:26 - The Magic of Bundt Cakes22:00 - Why Competitors Fail23:18 - Will KKR Ruin the Brand?

NOTE:The material used in this video is meant to be used for educational purposes and fall within the guidelines of fair use. For all inquiries, questions, and complaints, please get in touch by filling out the contact form by clicking this link: https://www.empirespod.com/about#about-footer

Brandon Hurst went from - in his own words - “a broke college student” working overnight shifts, to becoming one of the top-performing Chick-fil-A operators in the country, now running multiple locations that generate tens of millions in revenue.

In this conversation, Brandon breaks down the real Chick-fil-A business model, why the $10K buy-in is misunderstood, and how profit-sharing actually works behind the scenes. He explains why Chick-fil-A operators don’t build equity like traditional franchisees, and why that tradeoff has major benefits.

We also dive into what it takes to get selected (it’s harder than getting into Harvard), the reality of running a restaurant with 80+ employees, and how Brandon built systems to scale leadership across multiple locations.

He shares how he turned cash flow into investments, built a real estate portfolio, and more.

Plus, we go deep on:

• 
  
• The biggest myths about Chick-fil-A franchising
• 
  
• How COVID accelerated his growth (including 60%+ digital sales)
• 
  
• Why culture, not systems, is the real moat
• 
  
• His “LOVE” philosophy for building teams and developing future leaders
• 
  

This is a masterclass on modern franchising, leadership, and building wealth through cash flow - not just exits!

Get In Touch

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Learn More About Brandon Here

Interested in buying a franchise? https://www.empirespod.com/buy-a-franchise

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