Former MLB Player Signs to Open 6 Layne’s Chicken Fingers Franchises in Nashville Area

After playing baseball professionally for 10 years, Drew Sutton decided it was time for a career change that would let him spend more time with his family. After managing three successful Jersey Mike’s Subs franchises in Dallas, Sutton got the call from some old teammates in 2021 to move to Nashville and help start a training facility for young athletes. Never one to turn down an opportunity, Sutton made the move to Tennessee.

Having left one profitable franchise behind, Sutton decided to start anew in Nashville. After his sons complained about the lack of good chicken tenders in the area, Sutton once again saw an opportunity and jumped at it. He contacted Layne’s Chicken Fingers*, the Soon to be Famous™ chicken franchise based in Dallas and convinced them to let him open six stores in the South Nashville area down to Columbia and Murfreesboro. He’s still early in the process, looking for a site for his first Layne’s restaurant. However, he’s shooting to have that one up and running by the end of the year and hopes to open five more after that before eventually expanding into other parts of Nashville.

1851 Franchise sat down and spoke with Sutton about his franchising journey with Layne’s Chicken Fingers, as well as the importance of community involvement and the lessons in teamwork that he’s bringing to his business.

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

Sutton: The early part of my life, up until I was about 30, was baseball. I played professional baseball for 10 years. I was drafted by the Houston Astros in 2004, and then I played in the major leagues with Cincinnati, Cleveland, Boston, Tampa Bay, and Pittsburgh. I wanted to be a dad, but I was playing eight months out of the year, and that made things hard. I got into franchising because I wanted to start a family and be around them more.

My first business was three Jersey Mike’s Subs in the Dallas area. My wife and I wanted to take over the location in Lubbock, but someone had already asked for the rights. We worked with the Dallas area director to open our stores in Plano, Allen, and McKinney. I went through the training and learned everything—from all the different sandwich making stations to cleaning toilets and washing dishes—because I needed to know all that stuff if I was going to train my managers to run things the way they needed to be run. So I was very much involved with the day-to-day operations.

In August 2021, some friends of mine from my baseball career were looking to start a training facility in Nashville, to train young athletes. I’ve always had a passion for youth sports and I like the day-to-day working with the kids in skill development, so that’s what prompted me to move to Nashville and get involved with Layne’s.

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?

Sutton: I found out early on that I can’t run a store by myself. I need good people around me. I need people who have strengths that are different than mine, very much the way a baseball team works—not everybody can play shortstop or center. It takes different skill sets to play those positions, just like it takes someone with a certain skillset to be better at customer service, opening a store, or managing a shift.

So now, I just hire good people who are going to take some pride in what they do and try to do a good job taking care of the customers. I put a lot of trust in my managers. I give them some freedom to make decisions and I support them. But I’m a big believer in the development aspect because all of my managers started off as hourly employees. One of my managers [from Jersey Mike’s] is going to come up here to Nashville and work on Layne’s with me. He’s going to be my first manager and then he’ll train the second manager and eventually become an area director, so he’s got a development path as well.

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

Sutton: In Dallas, there were a lot of different chicken tender concepts, but my sons always wanted to go to Layne’s. They thought the chicken was better. So when we moved up here to Nashville, my boys kept asking where the chicken tender places were, but there weren’t a lot to choose from. So, I reached out to Layne’s last August and flew back down to Dallas to meet with their corporate team… because I knew the product was good.

Layne’s is early in their franchisee development. Even though they have less than 15 stores, they’ve got all the pieces in place, from real estate to operations to construction to marketing. 

[Chief Operating Officer] Samir Wattar really dials in those details of how things are going for the franchisee. I think he’s phenomenal at that.

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

Sutton: We’re starting out with a growing area that’s just south of downtown Nashville, down to Columbia and Murfreesboro. It’s the area we live in and it’s the area we spend most of our time in, so I see potentially developing six stores in that area and then hopefully growing into the rest of the Nashville area. I know the product is good and I know the manager I’m bringing up here does a phenomenal job. It’s going to be about finding the right locations.

One of the things I’ve talked to Layne’s about is getting involved with the local sports leagues, schools, and charities. Of course, you need businesses to make money, but there’s more to it than that. How can we use these businesses to make a positive impact in the local area?

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

Sutton: It was an interesting transition from baseball to restaurants. Teaching and development was something I didn’t have to do in baseball. I was only responsible for myself, so moving into the restaurant business really challenged me. How am I going to train my employees? What kind of approach will I have? 

What I’ve really enjoyed about doing the restaurants is being able to work with people and have more of a development mindset. Like I said earlier, all of my managers started as hourly employees, and I take a lot of pride in that.

When I was playing baseball, I had to spend a lot of time learning and training, and I had to work extremely hard. That’s the kind of mindset I want to bring to the restaurants. If you have a work ethic and a good attitude, I can teach you how to do restaurants. I can teach you how to make chicken the right way, but I can’t teach you how to care.

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

Sutton: I would say this is probably the biggest thing I wish I could go back and tell myself. It’s tough to do, but you should hire people for the store you want to have rather than the store you have now. If you’re willing to pay more to hire a good manager, you’re going to have a better-run store, which means people are going to enjoy coming to that store more, which means your sales are going to be better. So, if I’m going to be successful, I have to invest in my people.

Also, go out and find your own opportunities. Don’t expect someone to just hand them to you. When I was playing baseball, I had to go out and get them myself. I want there to be opportunities for my employees, but for that, they’ve got to go out and get them the same way.

For more information on franchising with Layne’s Chicken Fingers, visit: https://1851franchise.com/layneschickenfingers

ABOUT LAYNE'S CHICKEN FINGERS 

Founded in 1994 in College Station, the original location became a Texas A&M legend known for its small-town charm, friendly service, iconic chicken fingers and secret sauce. While opening corporate locations across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the leadership team focused on fine tuning its operations and starting to franchise. Franchise opportunities range from $656,000 - $1,280,500 with different buildout options available. Learn more about franchising here.