The Balancing Act of Franchise Ownership

Khai and Kaleb Duong know what it’s like to run on empty.

After purchasing a five-unit deal from MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes in 2012, the brothers got down to business and quickly opened their first two New Orleans restaurants – within six months of each other – in 2014. Making sure the locations ran perfectly became top priority, and putting in 80 to 100 hours of work each week became the norm for Khai and Kaleb Duong, who put their heart and soul into protecting their investment.

The Duongs took home big awards at MOOYAH’s two consecutive conferences since opening: Rookies of the Year in 2014 and Franchisees of the Year in 2015. The hard work clearly paid off, and two years of essentially not sleeping, as Khai put it, brought some time to scale back in 2016.

For the past year and a half, Khai and Kaleb have worked a typical 20-40 hours per week and now act as district managers for their restaurants. The general managers are tasked with running the stores while the brothers oversee day to day issues.

“If I don’t get calls every day, something’s not right,” said Khai, who is in constant contact with his staff.

The Duongs spend most days running from location to location and split administrative duties. While Khai focuses mainly on customer service, Kaleb’s time is spent on the product and ensuring food quality is at its highest. Their strengths lie in opposite areas of what ownership demands, which is what Khai attributes mostly to their success: “If you fused our personalities, we would make one rock star franchisee.”

In addition to MOOYAH, the brothers own two frozen yogurt shops, the purchase that marked their first venture into franchising in 2010. After the initial success with frozen yogurt, they were looking into burger concepts. Kaleb, while visiting Dallas, happened to eat lunch at MOOYAH and immediately called his brother to pitch the brand.

“MOOYAH has a great product and a great concept, and we were pretty sold after meeting the corporate team, with whom we now have great relationship,” said Khai. “They’re always looking out for the success of their franchisees and go above and beyond the standard call of duty.”

Most importantly, though, MOOYAH’s franchise model allows for Khai and Kaleb to build their own schedule and focus on family, church or leisure activities.

“I wake up with my two boys and drop them off at school before I do anything else,” he said. “I also have the flexibility to pick them up at the end of the day, too.”