1851

When his Navy father moved their family to Columbus, Ohio, in 1972, Steve Pryor figured he may as well start his career in the food industry. Pryor landed his very first restaurant job when he was just in ninth grade.

The career path stuck. Over the course of 20 years, Pryor climbed the restaurant ladder up to general manager, working for prominent chains like Olive Garden, Ruby Tuesday and Applebee&rsquo;s.

Pryor&rsquo;s first interview for a position within <a href="http://www.penn-station.com/franchise/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=from-olive-garden-manager-to-penn-station-subs-franchise-partner-2709676" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Penn Station East Coast Subs</a> was with Kevin Osterfeld, president of Cincinnati-based franchisee P.S. MGMT, Inc. which owned six units at the time. Osterfeld brought Pryor on as general manager in 1996, and <a href="https://1851franchise.com/pennstation/how-franchisee-longevity-makes-penn-station-a-brand-to-invest-in-2709071#mostRecent" target="_blank">he&rsquo;s been with Penn Station ever since.</a>

After three years with P.S. MGMT, Pryor was promoted to Operations Director along with his colleague, Keith Gavin. After another nine years of hard work developing and opening stores together as a team, Pryor was named Vice President of Operations. The team had grown to 18 Penn Station stores in the Dayton and Cincinnati markets, solidifying P.S. MGMT&rsquo;s place as one of the brand&rsquo;s largest and most successful franchisees.

In March of 2018, with Osterfeld&rsquo;s encouragement, Pryor left P.S. MGMT to pursue a managing owner opportunity with HB3 LLC, another franchisee of <a href="https://1851franchise.com/pennstation" target="_blank">Penn Station</a>. HB3 owned four struggling units that were in need of Pryor&rsquo;s well-seasoned touch, and he was up for the challenge.

&ldquo;When I came on, the restaurants were underperforming. We had to fix a lot of things,&rdquo; said Pryor, who spent most of last year revamping operations and getting everything under control. &ldquo;Now, we&rsquo;re expanding. We are in negotiations about opening a fifth unit, and are hoping to open a sixth by the end of the year.&rdquo; HB3 has plans in motion to continue its momentum and grow to 10 stores in the coming years.

As a managing owner, Pryor lives for the ever-changing day-to-day challenges and loves constantly interacting with people. &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t sit and do the same job every day,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I like going out and making a difference.&rdquo;

Pryor is humble about the impressive feats he&rsquo;s personally accomplished, crediting his successful career to mentors like Osterfeld.

&ldquo;I grew with Kevin. We learned together. I have been able to achieve high standards through what he taught me, and in turn, it&rsquo;s paying dividends now. In my new business, I&rsquo;m executing operations the same way he did,&rdquo; said Pryor.

One of the biggest lessons Pryor absorbed was to follow Penn Station&rsquo;s guidance and recommendations to a T. &ldquo;Penn Station&rsquo;s concept is cookie-cutter,&rdquo; said Pryor. &ldquo;If you can go in and follow their manual to the letter and execute exactly as they say, your sales grow. We pride our stores on scoring well on performance evaluations.&rdquo;

Penn Station <a href="https://1851franchise.com/pennstation/how-strong-corporate-infrastructure-makes-penn-station-a-franchise-to-invest-in-2709115" target="_blank">sets franchisees up for success</a> by providing ongoing support, resources and inviting all requests for assistance. &ldquo;Corporate is there for you, no matter what your situation,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;They help by identifying things that aren&rsquo;t aligned with the manual. It&rsquo;s just up to you as the franchisee to coach your general managers to make sure they understand how to improve.&rdquo;

This flexibility and encouragement from corporate are further demonstrated through the ongoing training platform all Penn Station affiliates gain access to. &ldquo;You can find anything you need on it,&rdquo; said Pryor, an avid proponent of the system. &ldquo;You can call the contact assigned to the topic for reference or more input. Corporate is just a phone call away, and they always understand.&rdquo;

Pryor has benefited from Penn Station&rsquo;s willingness to work with individual team members to help them achieve their goals. Pryor was assisted with an in-kind option for paying off his equity when he bought in as an owner. &ldquo;My equity is a combination of cash and sweat. I&rsquo;m working down my debt,&rdquo; he explained. &ldquo;If you want an opportunity, Penn Station will give it to you.&rdquo;

In Pryor&rsquo;s eyes, the number one benefit that&rsquo;s unique to Penn Station is the 50/50 split of leftover profits with general managers after the franchise overhead has been met. &ldquo;There are no caps, no ceilings, no limits to how much money you can make,&rdquo; said Pryor. &ldquo;The better you perform operationally, the closer you get to achieving your goals in life through Penn Station. I&rsquo;ve never worked for a company like that. I never want to work for another restaurant.&rdquo;

Despite his humble demeanor, a clear key to Pryor&rsquo;s success is his own determination and commitment to hard work. That do-it-yourself attitude doesn&rsquo;t hurt his bottom line, either.

&ldquo;Today I did some sight surveying in Tiffin,&rdquo; explained Pryor. &ldquo;Then I spent some time at the new Findlay location that we&rsquo;re building. Tomorrow I get to fix a toilet in Lima. I do it all to save money. Why call a plumber to put a handle on when I can do it for $10?&rdquo;

<a href="http://www.penn-station.com/franchise/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=from-olive-garden-manager-to-penn-station-subs-franchise-partner-2709676" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">For more information on Penn </a><a href="http://www.penn-station.com/franchise/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=from-olive-garden-manager-to-penn-station-subs-franchise-partner-2709676" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Station</a><a href="http://www.penn-station.com/franchise/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=from-olive-garden-manager-to-penn-station-subs-franchise-partner-2709676" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> franchise opportunities visit&nbsp;www.penn-station.com/franchise/&nbsp;</a>

From Olive Garden Manager to Penn Station Subs Franchise Partner

1851 Franchise

Over the last 24 years, Steve Pryor has gone from general manager to managing franchise owner within Penn Station East Coast Subs. He can’t imagine doing anything else.

This brand page has been paid for by 1851. Content within this page that is paid will showcase a Sponsored icon. This means the brand has engaged 1851 FRANCHISE to write the content. Content without the Sponsored Icon is aggregated media placements the brand earned. Questions can be sent to editorial@1851franchise.com

from-olive-garden-manager-to-penn-station-subs-franchise-partner

Layne's Chicken Fingers

Layne’s Chicken Fingers Announces New Nederland, Texas, Location Opened April 19th

laynes-chicken-fingers-announces-new-nederland-texas-location-opened-april-19th

Right at Home

Right at Home Expanding In-Home Care Services in Akron

right-at-home-expanding-in-home-care-services-in-akron

Pool Scouts

How Pool Scouts Supports Franchisees Every Step of the Way

how-pool-scouts-supports-franchisees-every-step-of-the-way

KLA Schools

kla-schools-franchise-positioning-image-building-exterior

KLA Schools Franchise: Cultivating Curiosity, Creating Opportunity

kla-schools-franchise

kla-schools-consumer-positioning-image-kids-playing-with-sand

Ignite Curiosity: Discover Child-Led Learning at KLA Schools

kla-schools-child-led-learning

Buying a Franchise Masterclass

 Franchise Opportunities

Get Support Buying a Franchise

How to Buy a Franchise White Paper

How to Buy a Franchise

How to Sell Franchises

How to Grow a Franchise

Find a Franchise Supplier

1851 Franchise Opportunities

Franchisor News

Franchisor Power Rankings

FranCamp Mastermind Summit

Franchise Resources

What ALEC-Laffer's Report Means for Franchising

Website Awards

Power Rankings

About 1851

Advertise on 1851

Contact 1851 Editorial

Terms of Use

1851 Login

GROWTH CLUB LOGIN

facebook

instagram

twitter

linkedin

youtube

House Passes Tax Relief Package With Key Benefits for Small Businesses and Franchises

house-passes-small-business-tax-relief-bill-2025

McDonald’s To Hire 375,000 Workers as It Prepares for Major U.S. Expansion

mcdonalds-to-hire-375000-workers-as-it-prepares-for-major-us-expansion

Subway Pushes Global Growth Despite U.S. Closures 

subway-pushes-global-growth-despite-us-closures

DoorDash Expansion Could Reshape Delivery and Operations for Franchise Brands - 1851 Franchise

DoorDash Expansion Could Reshape Delivery and Operations for Franchise Brands

doordash-acquistions-deliveroo-sevenrooms

Crumbl Franchise Investment - TSG Consumer Partners -  1851 Franchise

TSG Consumer Partners Takes Minority Stake in Crumbl, Signaling Franchise Growth Potential

crumbl-franchise-investment-tsg-consumer

1851 Franchisee Spotlight graphic with photo of Steve & Mia Kim & Paris Baguette logo

After Falling in Love with Paris Baguette, This North Carolina Couple Decided To Open One of Their Own

paris-baguette-franchise-charlotte-nc

franchisee spotlight graphic with photo of Abid Khan and Paris Baguette logo

Longtime Tim Horton’s Franchisee Signs 4-Unit Agreement with Paris Baguette in Toronto

longtime-tim-hortons-franchisee-signs-4-unit-agreement-with-paris-baguette-in-toronto

Franchisee Spotlight with Huanyu Li and Paris Baguette Logo

A Longtime Love for Paris Baguette Led Huanyu Li To Open One of Her Own

a-longtime-love-for-paris-baguette-led-huanyu-li-to-open-one-of-her-own

franchisee spotlight graphic with photo of Sandeep Malik and Sylvan Learning logo

How This Sylvan Learning Franchisee Pushed Through the Pandemic To Build a Strong Business in Yorba Linda

how-this-sylvan-learning-franchisee-pushed-through-the-pandemic-to-build-a-strong-business-in-yorba-linda

District Taco Franchise Costs, Fees, Profit and Data for 2025

franchise-deep-dive-district-tacos-franchise-costs-fees-profit-and-data

How Car Sales Taught Buddy's Home Furnishings’ Mitchell Lee the Secrets of Franchise Development

how-car-sales-taught-buddys-home-furnishings-mitchell-lee-the-secrets-of-franchise-development

The Top 20 Cleaning Franchises to Invest in for 2025

top-cleaning-franchises-to-invest-in

Affordable Franchise Opportunities: Exploring Low-Cost Home Service Franchises Under $50K

affordable-franchise-opportunities-exploring-low-cost-home-service-franchises-under-50k

From Olive Garden Manager to Penn Station Subs Franchise Partner

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS