By Tapping into Franchisee Passion, Jean Baudrand is Fueling Beef ‘O’ Brady’s and The Brass Tap’s Growth

Today, Jean Baudrand is taking on the franchising industry through his role as the chief development officer of FSC Franchise Co., the company behind Beef ‘O’ Brady’s and The Brass Tap*. But before he joined that team to lead its ongoing expansion initiatives, Baudrand rose through the ranks in the restaurant business.

Restaurants have always played a role in Baudrand’s career—he got his start through a position with Burger King. He spent 12 years with the fast food giant, eventually becoming the head of development in the U.S. He later switched over to Burger King’s international division before moving on to a role with Yum! Brands, where he served as their vice president of international development. He stayed with Yum! Brands for eight years, until his wife passed away and his priorities shifted. In order to cut down on international travel and be closer with his children, he started working as a consultant for other restaurant franchise brands. But his passion for development never waned.

“The restaurant business is all I’ve ever known. Consulting was absolutely the right move for me at the time—I needed to be in a job that allowed me to be at home with my family. But I knew that when the timing was right, I’d get back into the franchising industry. That’s why when the next opportunity presented itself that was still close to home, I jumped at the chance,” said Baudrand.

Baudrand got back into the development side of the business with Quiznos, where he briefly served as the brand’s president of international development. He then accepted a position as the head of business development for TGI Fridays before stumbling across the opportunity to spearhead growth with FSC Franchise Co. According to Baudrand, he took that position because of the strong potential behind both Beef ‘O’ Brady’s and The Brass Tap. Having worked for larger brands, he was excited to help these concepts reach that next level.

But even though Baudrand is now well versed in the hard work that goes into making a franchise concept take off across the globe, it wasn’t always that way. In fact, before he started working for Burger King out of college, Baudrand wasn’t familiar with franchising at all.

“I had absolutely no perceptions of the franchising industry before I got involved. But I’ve really been able to learn the ins and outs through the different roles that I’ve taken on over the years,” said Baudrand. “I love the franchising business model. I think that it’s a flexible, mutually profitable arrangement that brings brands and local experts together. And that combination is incredibly powerful—when you have a strong business and passionate entrepreneur working together, exponential growth is possible.”

Realizing that level of growth is what Baudrand works towards on a daily basis. As soon as he gets into the office, his day begins by reviewing where Beef ‘O’ Brady’s and The Brass Tap are in certain development deals, and helping to move those forward. He also ensures that the brands’ business models are operating smoothly, which means checking in on relationships with vendors, suppliers and franchisees. Baudrand then provides support to franchisees as needed to continue securing Beef ‘O’ Brady’s and The Brass Tap’s success across their entire systems.

According to Baudrand, every project that he tackles is completed with the goal of seeing positive performance results.

“We want to be optimizing our system so that all of the new restaurants we open are exceeding our franchisees’ expectations. Between our tools, processes, strategies and plans, we have the opportunity to make the most of our proven business model while at the same time setting our local owners up for success,” Baudrand said.

To turn that local success into overall progress for both the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s and The Brass Tap brands, Baudrand is shifting his focus to multi-unit owners who are looking to get in on the ground level of two rapidly growing concepts. And by tapping into that entrepreneurial drive, he’s confident that the brands will experience long-term success.

“At the end of the day, my role comes down to preparing Beef ‘O’ Brady’s and The Brass Tap for faster growth. From supporting our franchisees and keeping their costs down to establishing positive relationships with consumers and aspiring business owners across the country, everything that we do on a daily basis is designed with the future of our brands in mind,” said Baudrand. “Franchise brands are only as strong as the people behind them. The power fueling the industry only reaches its full potential when franchisors and franchisees are working together and each bringing something unique to the table. That’s why going forward, our goal is to ensure that we’re working with people who share our passion for growth and taking our concepts to the next level.”