How Antonio Swad Doubled Down on Franchise Concepts

The restaurant veteran found success developing unique and untapped concepts.

SPONSOREDUpdated 9:09AM • 11/05/15

To truly be successful as an entrepreneur, one must understand the ins and outs of the industry. For the visionary behind two of the most unique franchise brands in the U.S., that insight began in the dish room of a Columbus, Ohio, steak house.

Antonio Swad, the creator of Pizza Patrón and Wingstop, discovered his passion for the restaurant industry as a 15-year-old dishwasher for a family-style restaurant. Dedicated to becoming an expert at his craft, Swad learned each job at the establishment, gaining insight into how the industry works.

By the time he was 21 years old, he had become the establishment’s general manager.

Swed would hold a number of different jobs in the restaurant industry in the coming years. However, he was inspired to pursue the American dream in Dallas, Texas.

There, the Italian-Lebanese businessman had an unprecedented vision: create the go-to pizza place for the Hispanic community. In 1986, his ambition to be a business owner led him to opening Pizza Patrón.

“We basically took a product that was widely consumed and brought it to the Hispanic markets,” Swad told the FoodChannel.

Swad had created a niche concept in a wildly popular industry. Backed by a philosophy focused on fresh dough, low prices and its trademark “friendly, bicultural service,” demand for the product grew. After opening four additional locations within the first eight years, he decided to parlay his success into a new, untapped market—chicken wings.

In 1994, Swad opened Wingstop in Garland, Texas. Consumers salivated over the concept that prides itself on flavor, so the next natural step was to open additional locations. The first franchise location opened in 1997 in Highland Village, Texas.

Wingstop grew to 88 restaurants and generated $35 million in sales after five short years. However, Swad chose to sell Wingstop in 2003 to focus on growing Pizza Patrón through franchising opportunities.

In a statement published on Reuters, Swad said he is thrilled to see the brand’s continued success.

"When I sold the company, it was already around 100 units open with a bunch under construction,” Swad said. “It was a fully developed brand with great food and a silky smooth operating system—still is. I can see many parallels between where we were with Wingstop then, and where we are with Pizza Patrón now. Both brands are unique, and both still have a ton of headroom to grow."

His decision has paid dividends.

Through a number of successful initiatives—such as developing dine-in and drive-through units, creating a presence in airports and shopping malls, and launching the controversial Pizza por Pesos campaign—the brand was able to reach new consumers it previously had not targeted.

Pizza Patrón now stands at more than 90 restaurants in six states, with additional units currently in development. It also set all-time sales records in 46 percent of its stores during the first three quarters of 2015, following a successful 2014.

Pizza Patrón announced in October 2015 that it had officially sold fifty million pizzas, or as the brand stated, “…enough to feed a slice to every man, woman and child in Mexico and the United States combined.”

With Latinos representing the fastest growing demographic in the U.S., the future never looked brighter for the Hispanic-focused pizza brand as it continues to identify new target markets throughout the country.

How Antonio Swad Doubled Down on Franchise Concepts

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