Why This Longtime Melting Pot Franchisee Has Continually Reinvested in the Brand

Not many people envision their college job turning into a life-long career, not even Brian Neel — but that’s exactly what happened to him. In the early ‘80s, Neel needed cash while attending Florida State and started as a dishwasher at the first Melting Pot location in Tallahassee, Florida. 

He moved up to a server position and then eventually manager, as the brand was starting to expand and grow into a franchise. After several years, Neel decided to take a leap of faith and open up his own location of the Melting Pot in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was one of the eatery’s first ten locations; the brand has now grown to nearly 100. 

Over the next 40 years, Neel has been a franchise owner of 16 Melting Pots across the United States. He and a partner opened several more in South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Today, he is involved in seven franchise locations and is interested in adding to his portfolio.

“We just kept growing and grew organically through our connections: friends, people that have dined in the restaurants that we've met, people we would meet at franchise meetings and  conventions,” said Neel. “It's been a thrill the entire time. I've really enjoyed the growth both professionally and personally.”

Being a part of the brand since its inception as a franchise, Neel has seen the Melting Pot go through tremendous growth. In his four decades with the company, not only has it grown in scale and footprint in the nation but also in its offerings. 

“The menu itself has expanded dramatically as far as all the different types of food we offer. 

We have many more recipes and a lot of varieties of entrees, meats, seafood, vegetables and vegan entrees. Our dessert fondues have grown to about 20 recipes,” Neel explained. “And when we started, most of the restaurants were only doing beer and wine, but now pretty much all Melting Pots have a bar. We've changed with the times.”

His role as an owner has also adapted as the brand has grown. In the early days, Neel had to prep the food each day because there wasn’t enough staff. There weren’t computer reservations back then, so he would monitor the phone and write down guest parties. 

“We had to wear many hats and put ourselves in pretty much every position of every department within the franchise on a given day and night,” he said. “It sounds like a long, hard day, but we had a lot of fun doing it, and I really enjoyed it myself because I enjoyed the diversity of my workday.”

Nowadays, his role is more in the advising and financial side of the business. He often travels between his locations and still enjoys interacting with the guests. His wife Kay is a strong influence on him and has helped him in his endeavors over the years.

The concept has worked so well for so long, Neel thinks, because it is a healthy franchise system. Like himself and CEO Bob Johnston, many key players in the business started with the company as young kids. All Melting Pot locations but two are franchisee-owned, and there is great communication between them and the franchisor. 

“Bob Johnston and the Melting Pot team over the years have done a very good job cultivating that relationship and keeping the trust between franchisor and franchisee. They always listen to us and have avenues of communication,” said Neel.

And the close-knit operations have proven to be very important, carrying Melting Pot owners out of COVID, where they are outperforming years prior. The brand has seen big increases in sales lately, with the system’s weekly net sales in July up 44.3%, 37%, 54%, 65% and 20% from the same period pre-pandemic. 

Those who are interested in joining the amazingly unique concept are invited to reach out to the brand for more information. Melting Pot is eager to continue to welcome new franchisees into the system to enjoy its successes. 

Total investments range from $1.3 to 1.6 million. For more information, visit https://www.meltingpotfranchise.com/.

About Melting Pot

Founded in 1975, Melting Pot has offered a unique fondue dining experience for more than 45 years. As the premier fondue restaurant franchise, Melting Pot has 96 restaurants in 31 U.S. states and Canada. Known for offering a variety of fondue cooking styles and unique entrées, Melting Pot’s menu also features cheese fondues, salads, fine wines, spirits and chocolate fondue desserts. Fondue fans can join Melting Pot’s Club Fondue for exclusive promotions, special events and advance holiday reservation privileges. Melting Pot is an affiliate of Front Burner Brands, a restaurant management company headquartered in Tampa, Florida. For more information, visit www.meltingpot.com. To learn more about franchise opportunities with Melting Pot, please visit www.meltingpotfranchise.com.