How a Local Florida Bartender Transitioned to Two-Unit Restaurant Ownership with Beef ‘O’ Brady’s

At just 26 years old, Louis Dirocco already has over a decade of hands-on experience in the franchise world. The now two-unit owner got his start in the hospitality industry at 15 as a McDonald's shift lead, growing from waiting tables and bartending to running full restaurant operations as a general manager. Rather than taking the traditional college route, Dirocco chose to master every role in the house—a decision that paved his way to business ownership.

After buying his first Beef ‘O’ Brady’s in Mount Dora, Florida, last October, Dirocco started looking at what might come next. With his family’s support and years of experience inside the brand, he acquired the St. Cloud location this month. He now oversees about 60 employees across the two restaurants and is working toward his long-term goal of owning four Beef ‘O’ Brady’s locations in Florida.

Dirocco sat down with 1851 Franchise to discuss all of this and more. Here’s what he had to say:

1851 Franchise: Frame your personal story for us. What do you want us to know?

Louis Dirocco: When I was 18 years old, I started working for one of my older cousins at Keke’s Breakfast Cafe. I spent four years with them, but I decided that the mornings and the high-stress environment of breakfast wasn't really working for me. In 2021, I heard that Mr. Ed Conland was purchasing the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s in Mount Dora, so I asked to see if I could get a job working for him. He hired me on as a server on November 1st, 2021.

I really liked the concept. I understood how the restaurant business works very well, so I was able to float to the top pretty easily. I served tables for probably six months until I became a bartender, and then Mr. Ed decided to make me the general manager sometime in 2022. Once I became the GM, I started understanding things a lot better as far as how profitable franchising is, and how well it works for individuals who already have a really good understanding of the restaurant industry and can apply it to their own system. Obviously, you make a paycheck as a W-2 employee and that's great, but it doesn't really provide for you the way it does as if you were the owner of that establishment.

On May 1st of 2025, I was pressure washing the outside patio at the Mount Dora location, and Mr. Ed came to me and asked if I would be interested in purchasing the restaurant. I spoke with my parents, who are close to retirement and were willing to invest as a cash deal. On October 1st of 2025, we officially took over the Mount Dora location.

I was still hungry. We had a nice chunk of change put up over the past six months and were trying to figure out what to put it back into. I called our area franchise director, Bill Masten, and told him to keep his ear to the ground if he found any locations coming up for sale in the Central Florida area. He called me back like two weeks later with three locations, and St. Cloud was just the best deal. We did our due diligence, checking the AC units, cold systems, and making sure there were no tax liens. Everything checked out, it got a good bill of health, and here we are closing on our second one. It all happened so fast.

1851: What did you do before franchising, and how did you decide franchising made sense for you?

Dirocco: I got my first job at McDonald's when I was 15 years old and became a shift lead at 16. I knew right then that this is what I wanted to do, and I didn't really ever have any plans on going to college. College life just wasn't for me, but I saw a good path that I could take, something that I could get better at and learn everything about.

A lot of people who come into franchises haven't spent 10 years working in every single applicable space in the restaurant like I have. I’ve been a server, a cook, a bartender, and a general manager. I can literally run every single position in the restaurant, so it didn't take time to learn the flow or understand how sales cut. I already knew hiring and firing because I'd been doing it for four years. I know a lot of people franchise who have never been anybody’s boss in their entire life—they’ve been a W2 employee their whole life, and they've never been in charge of workplace disputes or firing. It takes them a while to get their bearings. I didn't really have to get my bearings. It took me almost six years to build my reputation in this restaurant, and being able to purchase it and make it my own was just the cherry on top.

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?

Dirocco: My perception of franchising before I franchised was that it's the golden ticket. It has to be the golden ticket where there's no way you can fail and it always has to work out. But the harsh reality of that unfortunately is this is a very volatile industry. You cannot overleverage anything, and you cannot assume that everything's going to be great. I always thought that it was just easy—you spend the money to get the franchise, you buy it, and everything else just works itself out. It unfortunately does not just work itself out. You have to make it work.

Franchises sell a dream, and a lot of times I don't think people realize what that dream takes. There are sleepless nights, maybe you go two months or six months without a paycheck, or maybe you take a loss on your first year in business and you just have to stomach that until the good times come back. There are no guarantees. Even though they do make it seem almost perfect, like there's no room for failure, there is a lot of room for failure. When I was just a general manager, my paycheck came every Friday whether the store did great or did terrible. Transitioning to ownership was a big reality check.

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

Dirocco: I love the family-friendly aspect of things. I love that we are done and out of the door by 10 p.m. every night. I have some friends who own a bar that's open until 2:00 a.m., and I've seen the other side of this industry where it makes it hard for parents to spend time with their kids. Beef 'O' Brady's seemed like the most consistent model with less room for error. I don't have to be here until 2:00 o'clock in the morning, I can still have time for my family, and I don't have to be here seven days a week. It’s pretty straightforward. On a ground level, things like the Coke Freestyle machine are amazing and pull customers more than anybody could imagine. Plus, I’ve been going to Beef 'O' Brady's since I was four years old. I grew up in it, worked in it, attended two retreats before purchasing, so I already knew the people, and then I bought it.

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

Dirocco: The Mount Dora location is a $1.8 million producing store, which is great, but it's pretty maxed out because we don't have the kitchen infrastructure, grill space, or dining room capacity to do much more than $2.5 million. It’s consistent and does the same thing every week, so I’m comfortable with where it’s at right now, especially as I take a massive responsibility jump moving into two stores. The St. Cloud location doesn't perform quite as well right now—I think they're at a $1.3 million store. It's an older location outside of the amusement parks with a lot of come-and-go traffic and a smaller regular base. My goal over there is just to push them up and get them as close to $2 million as I can. As we recoup more of the initial investment, the total goal is to own four Beef ‘O’ Brady’s. Once I have four, I'll probably stop.

1851: Is there anything else about your story you want us to know?

Dirocco: This is not easy. The work that we do inside of this building is not light by any means. There are a lot of very high-stress situations that we have to handle. Having 30 employees is a lot, and thinking about bumping up to 60 employees with the second store is even more mind-boggling. But the best thing I can say that I've learned so far is just stay focused, stay humble, and work hard, and everything else just seems to kind of work itself out.

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

Dirocco: If you’ve never been in the restaurant business before, jumping right into buying a restaurant franchise might not be for you. If you own a restaurant, you have to be married to this industry. You can't come and go as you please. You might not get to travel to Italy for two weeks out of the year and do all of these extravagant things, but what you can build in the meantime is very rewarding. It is a very rewarding business and it's worth it to me. Anybody doing it should do a boatload of research, make sure they have somebody they are confident in and can trust, cross your fingers, and pray.

ABOUT BEEF 'O' BRADY’S:

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s is a franchise of family sports pubs that provides the perfect atmosphere for friends and families to watch the game and grab a bite. With a focus on providing value without sacrificing quality, the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s menu features delicious family favorites like award-winning wings, fresh Angus burgers, crisp salads, USDA Choice cut sirloin, and grilled salmon, along with a kids’ menu and a full bar for the adults. Beef 'O' Brady's is strongly dedicated to community involvement through ongoing partnerships with local schools, youth sports leagues and other community groups. Beef 'O' Brady's currently operates 120 locations in 21 states. For more information about franchising opportunities, visit http://www.beefobradysfranchise.com/.