How Melting Pot Crossed the 100-Unit Mark by Giving Every Guest a Great Night Out

By BROOKE WYLIE In the 1970s the fondue craze was sweeping the nation. In homes across the U.S. and even on nightly TV programs, everyone seemed to be on the fondue bandwagon. Not to miss out on the opportunity, Roy Nelson and Bruce Knoechel opened the very first Melting Pot in Maitland, Florida in 1975. A quaint restaurant at the start, the original location had just five menu items and 14 tables. But it wasn’t long before they opened additional locations in Florida and introduced franchising opportunities to the brand. Working as a waiter at The Melting Pot, Mark Johnston also saw the value of the brand and its immense popularity, so he joined forces with his brothers Michael and Bob to open the second location in Tallahassee and later the third in Tampa. However, these brothers soon saw beyond the founders’ original vision of a few select stores in Florida and saw the viability of the brand as a national concept. In 1984 the Johnston brothers purchased the concept from Nelson and Knoechel and started planning Melting Pot’s expansion beyond Florida’s borders. After taking control of The Melting Pot, the Johnston brothers began planning the brand’s development and set a goal of 30 stores across the country. Although the brothers had been franchisees themselves, this was their first attempt at running an entire franchise and things were not as fast-growing and fruitful as they had imagined. With just 19 stores by the end of their first decade in business – and several stores closed along the way – the Johnstons knew they needed to make a change. They took a step back and evaluated the business and how they had managed it. While they had spent the last 10 years very focused on the bottom line, the realized they lacked knowledge on customer markets and demographics. Most of all, they recognized the lack of a strong company culture. Their emphasis on dollars and cents had actually detracted from running a business with dedicated values, and this focus on the details had deflected their vision of the mission for the company. In 1995, the Johnston brothers established a set of core values and principles that the company would use in decision making not only on a corporate level but also in local stores across the country. The goal was giving “every guest the perfect night out.” “As elementary as it seems, this sense of culture wasn’t a part of the process,” said Dan Stone, Vice President of Franchise Development for The Melting Pot. “While some franchisees were skeptical at first, low and behold, this focus on company values worked and in the second 10 years of the company’s development we opened our 100th store.” These MVPs – mission value principles – encapsulate everything from providing support for employees who experience hard times through a foundation funded by franchise locations to establishing a committee of voted-in franchisee representatives who help in system-wide decision making. They also extend to the brand’s charity work with St. Jude’s, donating nearly six million dollars since partnering in 2003 and becoming the highest contributing company on a per location/per employee basis. After reaching the 100 unit mark in 2005, a new store design modernized the look of Melting Pot locations. The brand has come a long way since its original 14-table model. With 142 stores across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, the average restaurant today nearly triples that number of tables. But they aren’t done yet. “We want to continue to expand our brand’s presence in new markets across the U.S. as well as internationally,” Stone said. “We launched our international program in 2009 as the first national fondue brand to go international and now have 36 units either already open or planned to be open soon. We will be opening a store in Saudi Arabia and are looking to Asia and the Middle East for further expansion.” Stone recognizes that having franchise owners with non-traditional restaurant backgrounds has also contributed to the company’s growth. “What makes this an interesting business opportunity is that franchise owners don’t have to have extensive experience in the restaurant world to be successful. Since there is minimal cooking equipment, this is a great opportunity for fans of the brand or individuals who want to be a business owner.” Stone advises other brands to think big picture when looking to hit the 100 unit mark. “It is important to have a very clear vision and culture within the organization and to strive to work towards achieving that vision every day without compromising,” he said. “In food, we tend to overcomplicate things, but at the end of the day it’s about serving hot food hot, cold food cold and to make sure guests have a good experience in a clean environment. Everything else is just details and we can get caught up in these details and overcomplicate the vision. At The Melting Pot, we’re very clear on our standards. It’s not to give most guests a good meal – it is to give every guest a great night out.”