Executives Turned Franchisees Bring Family Tradition to Georgia with Papa Murphy’s

Shareen Minor and Tom Feissle are no strangers to entrepreneurship and hard work. In addition to opening her own bagel shops, Minor has served in plenty of senior positions with her most recent being the chief revenue officer for a multi-million dollar business. Meanwhile Feissle currently works as the director of business development for a fiberglass conduit manufacturer and has held the vice president role in other sales organizations. Now, the pair are combining their professional skills to bring Papa Murphy’s to Newnan. 

Papa Murphy’s has always been a favorite for Minor and Feissle. They both raised their kids on the brand and associate it with great memories. So, when they got the chance to open their own Papa Murphy's franchise, they jumped at it. They were excited to share their love of Papa Murphy's with their community and provide the same great pizzas and customer service that they had always enjoyed.

1851 Franchise spoke to Feissle and Minor about their franchise journey and plans for the future. 

1851 Franchise: Frame your personal story for us. What did you do before franchising, and how did you decide franchising made sense for you?

Tom Feissle: Currently, I run a sales department for a fiberglass conduit manufacturer and I've been in sales for 20-plus years. We saw the franchise opportunity as a way to grow our portfolio. Papa Murphy's is a great brand. Shareen and I have both been exposed to the brand for a long, long time. And when we got to Georgia, we found out there wasn't one in Georgia, which kind of shocked us. So Shareen approached them and made them aware Georgia would be a great opportunity, as there were no locations currently open in the Newnan area. 

Shareen Minor: So we did move to Georgia. Tom came in for his career and I took a step back on my career to come in and get us settled in the state. I love Georgia and we feel like we were meant to be here, so we wanted to put bigger roots down here. With this opportunity, my son is moving down to help us build out our Papa Murphy franchises.

We wanted, like Tom said, to make this a portfolio for Papa Murphy's and grow the brand awareness here in the Newnan area. And with our backgrounds and hard work, brand awareness, marketing and sales, we can build a strong presence here, because this is going to be a foot into a market that they've not had. We are excited to be breaking ground in the area with Papa Murphy’s. 

In 1994, I opened up a bagel company and I had two bagel shops, so [we have] the experience in the restaurant business, the experience of starting a company from scratch, and the experience of building a brand. My bagel shops were family owned. We’re looking at the generational passing of this onto our grandchildren one day.  

Feissle: And the other thing is, I am a veteran, and Papa Murphy’s supports Veterans. Being able to have the opportunity to franchise with Papa Murphy's was a great decision for us. We also have a huge heart to give back to our community, and have a lot of ideas to do just that. 

1851: What was your perception of franchising prior to becoming a franchisee, and what do you want people to know about franchising now that you are in it?

Minor: That's a great question because I have to tell you, it was negative. A lot of people say that. I started the bagel shops by myself from scratch, from the ground up. I had a lot of autonomy to do what I wanted to do within those bagel shops, so switching now to a franchise has been a learning experience for us. But what they bring to the table is the knowledge of the product — a lot of training that Tom and my son Ron are undertaking, and the systems and processes, are a great support that I never had as an owner before. But I think what we can mix into that also is our autonomy— and they allow us to do this — how we grow within the community. Every community is different.

Feissle: I had read a lot of case studies on franchising and it was definitely a mixed bag as far as that goes, but like Shareen said, all the things that they bring to the table take a lot of the guesswork out. And a strong brand means a lot, so we weren't going to go into just any old brand — it had to be a strong brand. The opportunity to grow the Papa Murphy's brand in the Georgia market is exciting.

1851: What made you pick this brand? What excites you most about this company?

Minor: Tom and I really love this brand. We both raised our kids on this brand. We would take pizza home after football, baseball, weekend birthday parties, Friday nights — and so the brand was very ingrained in how we raised our children and a part of what we did as a family — family meals, all that kind of stuff. We enjoy Papa Murphy’s ourselves. It's a really great, high quality pizza and menu.

Feissle: I agree with everything that Shareen said. And being in sales, I know I can never sell anything I don't believe in. Papa Murphy's is a solid brand for all of those reasons Shareen highlighted, and being able to get behind that — we just wouldn't open up a franchise if we didn't believe in the quality. And this is the one that for all those reasons she outlined that we went with.

1851: What do you hope to achieve with your business? What are your plans for growth? 

Minor: We are coming in as a little bit different type of owner. We're bringing a multi-generational family to the business, bringing my son into the business with us initially, with the hopes that our other children will want to grow into the business as well. Tom and I will keep our regular jobs and be a part of the business, but we look at this as a portfolio for our family to invest in and grow. As Tom said earlier, it's really a growth opportunity for us to grow financially as a family, as well as to grow within the community that we love and have become a part of.

Feissle: We're not going to be silent partners. We're definitely keeping our day jobs, but we're also going to be very active in the business, getting out in the community and promoting the brand. There are so many positive things about this brand and what they have to offer that we're excited to get it out in the community and have them embrace it and see what a great brand it is.

1851: What is the one thing about your story you want us to know?

Minor: Tom and I met in an airport in totally different careers. And now, here we are together in Georgia, making a big 360 change in our careers. We are thinking now about how we look at passing that kind of career journey and experience onto our children so that they learn that being part of a community, being entrepreneurs and switching gears — whether you want to go lateral or vertical — is very, very important as you grow. We're 57 and 62 and we're making a career change. So it can happen and you just have to invest in yourselves.

1851: What advice do you have for other people thinking about becoming a franchise owner?

Minor: This has been a journey for us — it's two years in — so the biggest hurdle we've had is finding the right location. And as everybody says, it's location, location, location. I think you really have to think about how you're going to approach the business. And when we talked to owners across the country, some were really surprised at the work level involved, which I knew about because of the bagel company.

Being an entrepreneur is not easy. You have to think about the work and hours you’re investing, which may include giving up your weekends. There's a lot of being able to be agile and really adapt to what your business needs are. What you thought running the business would be like going into it, may and likely will change as you get into the day to day of the business.

Feissle: Be prepared to work in your business and on your business. Just don't think you're going to sit back and relax. It's going to be long days, long hours, with a reward at the end.

About Papa Murphy’s  

Papa Murphy’s International LLC ("Papa Murphy’s") is a franchisor and operator of the largest Take ’n’ Bake pizza brand in the United States, with over 1,000 franchised and corporate-owned locations across the U.S—plus locations in Canada and the UAE. It’s no surprise that their story is a little unconventional. After all, Papa Murphy’s brought an entirely new approach to the pizza industry. But their unique idea is a simple one: enrich life and community through craveable food. They focus on using quality ingredients, prepared fresh daily, to offer guests everyday meals to take ’n’ bake at home with ease. In addition to take ’n’ bake pizzas, Papa Murphy’s offers a selection of salads, sides, desserts, and kid’s options. Learn more and order online at papamurphys.com.