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

HomeTeam Inspection Service

Photo of HomeTeam Inspection Service representative giving presentation

Strategic Partnerships Fuel Franchise Growth at HomeTeam Inspection Service

hometeam-inspection-service-franchise-growth-partnerships

Express Employment Professionals

What’s in the 2025 FDD? A Closer Look for Express Employment Professionals Franchise Buyers

whats-in-the-2025-fdd-a-closer-look-for-express-employment-professionals-franchise-buyers

petbar

How-petbar-Makes-Pets-and-Their-Owners-Happy-as-Part-of-the-Family-in-a-Clean-and-Fun-Environment

How petbar Makes Pets and Their Owners Happy as Part of the Family in a Clean and Fun Environment

petbar-franchise-opportunity-boutique-pet-grooming

petbar Franchisees Win the $6.89B Global Market With Complete Transparency, Self-Service and Membership Models, Creating the Happiest Place for Dogs

petbar-franchise-opportunity

Why petbar Wants to Be the “Disney World for Dogs” — and a Dream Business for Franchisees

petbar-franchise-dan-ashley-o-loughlin-qa

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 Development Website Builder

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

Chick-fil-A Tops Customer Satisfaction Rankings for 11th Year as Challenger Brands Gain Ground

chick-fil-a-tops-customer-satisfaction-rankings-for-11th-year-as-challenger-brands-gain-ground

Technomic Releases Annual Ranking of the Top 15 Fast-Food Chains in the U.S.

technomic-releases-annual-ranking-of-the-top-15-fast-food-chains-in-the-us

Rising Jobless Claims Could Signal Challenges — and Opportunities — for Franchising

rising-jobless-claims-affect-franchising

Hardee’s Lawsuit Highlights the Risk of Going Off-Model in Franchising

hardees-franchise-lawsuit-paradigm-investment-group

Hooters Leans Into Franchising With Closure of 30 Company-Owned Stores - Agg - 1851 Franchise

Hooters Leans Into Franchising With Closure of 30 Company-Owned Stores

hooters-franchise-model-company-owned-closures

How Vishal Juneja Turned a Family Tradition Into a Paris Baguette Franchise

How Vishal Juneja Turned a Family Tradition Into a Paris Baguette Franchise Built on Heart and Community

paris-baguette-franchise-rockaway-new-jersey-vishal-junjea

Franchisee spotlight graphic with photo of Ed Holmes and Papa Murphy's logo

Thirty Years of Take ‘n’ Bake: Ed Holmes Reflects on a Lifetime With Papa Murphy’s

papa-murphys-franchise-ed-holmes-30-years

From Personal Care to Purpose-Driven Business: Why This Couple Is Bringing Griswold to Houston

from-personal-care-to-purpose-driven-business-why-this-couple-is-bringing-griswold-to-houston

Franchisee Spotlight with Chris & Evelyn Steinacher with Atomic Wings logo

Bringing the Heat: Local Couple Expand Their Franchise Portfolio with Atomic Wings in Illinois

From Olive Garden Manager to Penn Station Subs Franchise Partner

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS