Subway and MOOYAH Owners Open First of Multiple Layne’s Chicken Fingers in Wisconsin

Some people say that working with family is impossible, but as Randy Bergeson and his sons Josh and Lucas look to open Wisconsin’s very first Layne’s Chicken Fingers*, the Soon to be FamousTM chicken franchise, they can’t envision doing business any other way. The family affair all started back with Randy growing up in his family’s Italian restaurant, and continued when he began running restaurants of his own. The first restaurant the three of them worked in together was a Subway location when Josh and Lucas were still in middle and high school.

Once the two came back from college, they found their way back into the family business. In 2015, the family opened the first of five MOOYAH locations. Now, the family business is growing and diversifying further, with a new Layne’s Chicken Fingers franchise in Janesville, Wisconsin expected to open spring of 2024, with two more locations coming to Wisconsin in the near future. The family compared many chicken brands, but found that none compared to Layne’s. What made Layne’s stand out in the highly populated chicken industry? The supportive corporate team, a successful business model and, most importantly, the best chicken fingers the Bergeson’s had ever tasted. 

“We decided if we were going to be in such a saturated market, we needed to have the best chicken to be able to say we are as good or better than everybody else in this space. We did a lot of side by side comparisons with other chicken tender concepts, and nothing stood up to Layne’s,” explained Lucas.

1851 franchise spoke with the Bergesons about their journey into franchising and their plans for the future.

1851 Franchise: Frame your personal story for us. What did you do before franchising, and how did you decide franchising made sense for you?

Randy: I started in the restaurant business at a young age. My family had an Italian restaurant when I was in middle and high school, and then after I got married, I was working for Hardee’s and Culvers for 15 to 20 years. After that, I started a Subway in our small community of Darlington, Wisconsin. That’s where the boys got their start in the restaurant world. Once the Subway was established, we went on to grow a few other businesses together, including opening our first MOOYAH in 2015. Luke was the first one that wanted to follow me into the restaurant business, and then Josh thought that was a good idea. I was a little hesitant at first, but we make a great team. 

Having owned both independent businesses and franchises, franchising is much easier to scale. A private concept gives you extra freedom, but there is a lot of added risk. 

Josh: After my dad bought a Subway when I was 11, I started working there more and more up through high school. However, our mother is a teacher, and she was adamant that we needed to go to college and get a degree. It was Lucas who wanted to go into the restaurant business with my dad since high school, but our mother told him he needed to go get a degree, as well. We both went to University of La Crosse - Wisconsin, and I got a degree in business, finance and economics and had no interest in working in restaurants beyond college. 

I worked in a couple different restaurants during college, including some casual dining spaces as a cook, so I understood the industry from that experience. After graduation, I worked in employee health insurance benefits for a couple of years. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't what I wanted to do long term. When my dad and brother found MOOYAH, I thought I might as well ask to join them. Now we're five in with MOOYAH and looking to diversify. 

Lucas: All throughout high school, I loved working with my dad and in the restaurants. I loved taking care of customers, being in the community, working with other employees and taking on a  training role. I had no interest in school. I worked hard and got good grades because our mom made sure we knew that was important, and she was right. 

After graduating college, I worked in sales and marketing for an IT security startup for about nine months while we were still searching for our first location. I really enjoyed it, but it solidified my desire to be in restaurants, not in an office in front of the computer all day. 

Our fourth business partner is Yodani Hernandez. Yodani and I have worked side by side for the last eight years. He's an immigrant from Mexico who was a roofer by trade, but found his calling in our restaurants. It's been amazing to see him grow from line cook all the way to area manager to Director of Operations. We made the decision a couple years ago to make him an equal partner in every new project moving forward. He's like a brother to us, and we couldn't imagine doing this without him.

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?

Josh: Luke and I were naive coming into it. We didn't have a lot of expectations because we were pretty young. I was 26 and Luke was 23. 

Lucas: Our first experience with franchising was with Subway, which has a very robust, streamlined system. There’s not a lot of creativity needed, which is a good thing in terms of scalability. However, when you go into franchising with a younger, newer business, the brand is still figuring some things out and franchisees are more a part of that process. We didn’t initially realize that not all franchises are created the same, but we have also learned that we thrive in the beginning stages. 

Randy: Every franchising experience is different. Some things will be enjoyable and some aspects will be difficult.

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

Lucas: What really drew us to the brand was the leadership team and the food. The Chief Operating Officer is someone who we really respect and trust. He's an expert in operations and supply chains which is pivotal when you’re franchising nationwide. After meeting with him, the CEO and the rest of the leadership team, we knew this was a brand that was ready to explode onto the scene. 

We decided if we were going to be in such a saturated market, we needed to have the best chicken to be able to say we are as good or better than everybody else in this space. We did a lot of side by side comparisons with other chicken tender concepts, and nothing stood up to Layne’s. 

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

Josh: We pursued this opportunity because we already have five MOOYAH locations, and we are looking to diversify. We wanted something a little bit different but still in the same vein. Franchising has allowed us to create a lot of good opportunities for our people because our team grows with us. 

We want to repeat those benefits to our team and community with Layne’s and are looking to grow as soon as we are able. 

1851: What is the one thing about your story you want us to know?

Randy: In business ownership, a lot of people think they'll hire a manager and get the money without having to be too involved. If you have that attitude, you’ll fail. All three of us were in the restaurants pretty much every day, working long shifts, trying to figure out what our mistakes were and keep growing. Now, we have a very stable long-term employee base, and we’re able to open another location with some of our team members as managers. 

Lucas: People always ask us how we can work with family. What works really well is that our strengths and weaknesses complement each other. I couldn't do it without Josh and Randy, and they couldn’t do it without me. Not only are we able to work with family, but we love it and we can't imagine doing this business without family. We also have Yodani, which is quite unique, because we have brought him in as another owner and he is basically my second brother now. We count him as family, too. 

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

Josh: If you're going into the restaurant world, you have to be willing to work at every level of your business to understand it. If you do this, you can walk in and hold people accountable, because you know what doing something right looks like. You will be able to hop in and not have to rely on any one individual. You and your employees will develop a mutual respect for each other through this, too.

ABOUT LAYNE'S CHICKEN FINGERS

Founded in 1994 in College Station, the original location became a Texas A&M legend known for its small-town charm, friendly service, iconic chicken fingers and secret sauce. While opening corporate locations across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the leadership team focused on fine tuning its operations and starting to franchise.  

Franchise opportunities range from $545,000 to $1,190,000 with different buildout options available. Learn more about franchising here.