Chef Andrew Gruel is Looking Out for the Little Guy

Andrew Gruel is the founder and executive chef of Slapfish, the food truck turned international brick-and-mortar franchise based out of Huntington Beach, California. In addition to growing Slapfish from two food trucks to 27 restaurant locations in under a decade, Gruel has made a name for himself as a beloved television personality, appearing as a judge on Food Network’s Food Truck Face Off and as a host of FYI's Say It to My Face! 

So, how did he get here? 1851 Franchise spoke with the seafood guru and passionate franchisor to learn more about his story, his experience during the COVID-19 pandemic and his predictions for the future of the restaurant industry. 

From Coast to Coast and Sea to Shining Sea

Gruel was born in New Jersey and attended college in Maine, where he first dipped his toes into the restaurant world through lobstering. 

“I never thought of it as a career,” said Gruel. “But after being sucked into the industry, I started spending more time at restaurants than in class. Eventually, I decided to get some boots on the ground in the industry, traveled around the country and got a business degree in Providence in food service management and marketing. I opened up some restaurants in New Jersey, and following the 2008 market crash, I knew I wanted to do something in the nonprofit world.”  

As a deep lover of the ocean, Gruel set out to direct a nonprofit project at The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California called “Seafood for the Future.” Through the project, Gruel worked with hundreds of chefs, fishermen and like-minded organizations establishing a national culinary awareness for the sustainable seafood movement.

“I really immersed myself into the world of seafood, connecting with fishermen and working through the supply chain to get the right kind of seafood to customers,” said Gruel. “When it comes to seafood, there are varying interests — you want to do everything in a way that helps the ecosystem. I realized there was a void in the market for high-quality, well-managed, sustainable and affordable seafood. I wanted to cut out as many middlemen as possible and develop relationships in the seafood industry. I didn’t have access to a lot of capital, so I launched Slapfish as a food truck originally.” 

Gruel says he scraped together enough money in 2012 to open the first brick-and-mortar Slapfish location. In the decade since, the brand has seen exceptional growth and currently operates 27 locations.

Fishin’ for Franchisees

Although Gruel now oversees dozens of franchise locations, he says the franchising route wasn’t on his radar originally.

“Having come from a background in chef-driven cuisine, franchising was a bad word,” said Gruel. “I thought it meant a decrease in quality, and associated it with commercialization and chain restaurants. But I realized it was a great way to grow a business if you have an ambitious goal of scaling a fast-casual concept quickly. I needed to stake my claim in the fast-casual space and I knew franchising was the path to get there.” 

Today, Gruel has become a major proponent of the franchising industry and says his next phase in life will be focused on teaching young entrepreneurs how to successfully franchise their businesses.

“I tell people to keep it incredibly simple — stick with the basics,” said Gruel. “Do one or two things really well to differentiate yourself, whether that is in the product, service model or the marketing. Don’t pretend to know everything. Franchisors have a tendency to think they know everything because they call the shots. But when you are getting into a franchise relationship, it is a marriage. Phase one of franchise growth should be about getting to know your strengths and your franchisees’ strengths. In the beginning, it is about finding those franchisees who will be a true partner and help you build the brand out. Don’t let the size and economics of the deal distract you. In the long run, signing the right franchisees will be worth it.”

Labor Shortages, Seafood Supply Chains and the COVID Era

Over the past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gruel says navigating the choppy waters of the restaurant industry has truly put everybody to the test. During that time, the chef has been outspoken about his opinions on the state of the industry, and even found himself going viral last year after outlining his frustrations over outdoor dining restrictions in California. 

“Everyday there is something new, and there is no way to predict what is going to happen,” said Gruel. “For one, the psychology of the consumer has changed. They are very aware of cleanliness and a lot more inclined to order take-out or third-party delivery. We are marketing to a fearful consumer. If they are not fearful of the restrictions, they are fearful of the mandates. It's a different world, and restaurants need to adjust their marketing and change how they interact with the community.” 

When it comes to the industry’s ongoing labor shortage, Gruel says Slapfish has found a strategy that works for them. “We’ve always paid significantly above minimum wage in California, which I can't mandate to franchisees, but I can lead by example,” he said. “Whether you want to believe the labor shortage was a result of not paying employees enough or whether it was due to supply and demand, we were able to adapt by showing appreciation for our great team, keeping low turnover and being willing to pay more. You have to alter the business model so you can still be profitable but adapt to the changes. The proof is in the pudding for us, and we want to show comparable businesses what they can do to navigate the COVID era.”

The disrupted supply chain has been another hot button issue over the past year, and as someone in the seafood industry, Gruel says it has been on his mind quite a bit as well.

“Eighty percent of the seafood we eat in the U.S. is imported,” Gruel said. “I have been pounding the drum about the domestication of our seafood supply, both farm-raised and wild. We have a great seafood supply in the U.S., which we ship overseas to China to process and then buy back. So we knew we were going to have these shortages, and we on the corporate side needed to figure out how we could be flexible and maintain the business. We also knew we’d have to help franchisees so we could maintain our brand standards. Franchisors have to provide a template so franchisees can understand the why behind everything they do.” 

For example, due to the supply chain, Gruel says the only affordable to-go containers Slapfish could find were styrofoam containers, which are the worst for the marine environment. “So, do we use plastic or do we opt for a much more expensive container? At the end of the day, you stick with your principles and buy the more expensive container,” he said. “You don’t give up on the business model and core values because of the price.” 

Gruel says those supply chain lessons can be applied to the larger implications of the pandemic as a whole. “That is what it has all come down to with COVID-19 — you have to decide if you want to keep making money and compromise integrity, or if you want to stay strong at the expense of the business,” he said. “That is a really difficult decision.”

The Future of the Restaurant Industry and Franchising

While Gruel says the pandemic has taught him no one can predict the future, he does believe there are a few trends that will continue to maintain prevalence in the industry, whether it be robot automation, third-party delivery or, most near-and-dear to his heart, locally sourced food supplies.

“We have to start really looking at where we buy our food,” said Gruel. “A key part of that is deregulating local food economies so we can buy more food locally. We need to get rid of those barriers that allow the big manufacturers to just get bigger at the expense of the little guys. We don’t want to get stuck in a situation like we’ve been in with this current supply chain because only one conglomerate is in control of an entire supply. We saw that with the meat shortage, for example. We need a community-driven, sustainable food supply.”

Additionally, Gruel says he aims to help the small business owners in any way he can. Slapfish recently created a non-profit organization called 86 Restaurant Struggle, which raised over half a million dollars in aid for restaurants post-pandemic. 

“We wanted to have a fund available to help individuals, families, employees — anyone in the industry impacted by the pandemic,” said Gruel. “It was created after people started losing their jobs when Caliofrnia shut down outdoor dining for the first time. No one had benefits, and people were left trying to decide whether they should buy Christmas gifts or pay the rent. We wanted to help as many people as we could, and that is something that I’m really looking forward to continuing in the future.”

Overall, Gruel says he is confident franchising will remain a powerful answer to many of the challenges the restaurant industry will likely face for the next few years. 

“Franchising gives people the opportunity to become an entrepreneur, but with a safety net,” Gruel said. “It is really the perfect in-between for those looking to work for someone else without feeling like they are working for someone else, especially when it comes to smaller, local franchise concepts. That is why I don’t believe franchising is going anywhere anytime soon.”