1851

When Rose Le partnered with her brother-in-law to own her first <a href="http://www.togos.com/franchising/why-togos/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=franchisee-rose-le-approaches-a-decade-with-togos-2705604" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Togo&rsquo;s franchise restaurant</a>, she planned to be an absentee owner, committing her money to the business but leaving the day-to-day operations to her partner. Nine years later, Le is not only working full-time on the business, she oversees five Togo&rsquo;s stores, making a point of personally visiting each, every week.

Le said it didn&rsquo;t take long for her to reevaluate her involvement with the brand. After seeing her first store in action, Le wanted to get involved.

&ldquo;I had never worked in the restaurant business, so I didn&rsquo;t think running a Togo&rsquo;s would make any sense for me,&rdquo; Le said. &ldquo;When I saw how the business was run and what the work looked like, I started to realize it was something that I was suited for.&rdquo;

Before investing in Togo&rsquo;s, Le had worked in public relations, an industry that made good use of her enthusiasm for working closely with other people. To her surprise, Le found that Togo&rsquo;s offered a business model that similarly complemented her people skills.

&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve always been a people-person,&rdquo; Le said &ldquo;I like helping and working with people. When I started to look at how Togo&rsquo;s was run, I realized it was a great opportunity for me to work with people in all sorts of different ways, from customer service to training and managing employees to working with the corporate team. The more I learned about the business, the more I wanted to get involved.&rdquo;

Still, Le was concerned that her lack of experience in the industry would hinder her success as a store operator. Those fears were quickly resolved as Le began the process of opening her store.

&ldquo;As soon as you start the process of opening a <a href="https://1851franchise.com/togos/info/index.html" target="_blank">Togo&rsquo;s, the corporate team sets you up with all sorts of training and support</a>,&rdquo; Le said. &ldquo;Even after we opened, we had a field manager helping in our store for two full weeks. Day in and day out, he was there to help with every aspect of the operations until we felt we were totally on our feet. Even now, nine years later, any help we need is just a phone call away.&rdquo;

Since opening that first store, Le has gone on to open four additional Togo&rsquo;s restaurants, and she doesn&rsquo;t have plans to slow down anytime soon. Le said the key to her growth has been a practice of setting goals and moving forward.

&ldquo;We wouldn&rsquo;t have reached five stores if we weren&rsquo;t in the habit of setting goals and working hard to achieve them,&rdquo; Le said. &ldquo;We are always thinking about the next step, whether that&rsquo;s another store or an improvement we want to make with one of our existing stores or anything else.&rdquo;

Right now, Le has two goals for her business. The first is to hire two new high-level staff positions, and the second is to adopt Togo&rsquo;s new pay-first operational model in two of her restaurants.

&ldquo;At the top of our list is hiring a district manager and a marketing coordinator,&rdquo; Le said. &ldquo;Those positions will help us oversee some of the daily operations that affect all five of our stores. The other thing we&rsquo;re excited about is implementing the pay-first model. We see a lot of advantages with that design, and we&rsquo;re hoping to update two of our stores soon.&rdquo;

The speed line model is an operational adjustment that Togo&rsquo;s has been rolling out to select restaurants over the past year. Previously, all Togo&rsquo;s restaurants used a pay-last model, where customers place an order at one station, watch as their meal is prepared at the next station, and finally pay at the third station when their meal is ready. The speed line model combines the first and third stations, allowing customers to pay as they order, saving time and reducing communication errors.

According to Togo&rsquo;s President Glenn Lunde, Le might not have to wait long to implement the pay-first model at her stores.

&ldquo;Speed line&nbsp;is the cornerstone of our future design concept,&rdquo; said Lunde. &ldquo;In everything we do, we are measuring the impact on labor, speed of service, and operational simplicity. The execution at our corporate location has been great, and we&rsquo;re excited to roll out the changes to franchisees. We surveyed franchisees about the new model, and they overwhelmingly support the improvements we have made.&rdquo;

The speed line is just one of a number of recent upgrades Togo&rsquo;s has rolled out to their franchisees. Le said that the franchise&rsquo;s recent partnership with mobile-ordering platform Olo has been a particularly successful improvement.

&ldquo;We do a lot of catering, so having a good system to manage that is essential,&rdquo; Le said. &ldquo;Olo has been a great tool for us. I can keep track of all the catering orders between my five stores each day, and if we have a really big order we need to prepare for at one store, we can shift our resources and staff accordingly.&rdquo;

Managing resources is a big part of the job for Le, who runs her five stores as a single operation.

&ldquo;I look at the business as a whole,&rdquo; Le said. &ldquo;Every day, I start by looking at what&rsquo;s going on at each store and make sure each has everything it needs. We have a floater position who I will send out to whichever store could use the extra help. Once I have a sense of where each store is at for the day, I&rsquo;ll go out and visit a couple of them to put some face-time in and make sure everything is running properly. I&rsquo;ll work on customer service, operations, whatever&rsquo;s needed.&rdquo;

In hindsight, Le said the absentee model she had originally envisioned for herself would not have worked for the operation, even if she hadn&rsquo;t discovered a personal passion for the business.

&ldquo;There is a lot of competition out there, and the personal touch really makes all the difference,&rdquo; Le said. &ldquo;If you dedicate yourself to your stores and are there in person to make sure things are running perfectly, you are going to have a significant advantage in this business. If you&rsquo;ve got the passion and work ethic to dedicate yourself to the business, you will be rewarded. I&rsquo;ve <a href="http://www.togos.com/franchising/success-stories/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=franchisee-rose-le-approaches-a-decade-with-togos-2705604" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">found a lot of success with Togo&rsquo;s sandwich franchise</a>, but I&rsquo;ve also found a business that I love to run.&rdquo;

Franchisee Rose Le Approaches a Decade with Togo's

1851 Franchise

After nine years with the sandwich franchise, the five-store owner says the key to growth is always looking forward.

This brand page has been paid for by 1851. Content within this page that is paid will showcase a Sponsored icon. This means the brand has engaged 1851 FRANCHISE to write the content. Content without the Sponsored Icon is aggregated media placements the brand earned. Questions can be sent to editorial@1851franchise.com

franchisee-rose-le-approaches-a-decade-with-togos

TruBlue Home Service Ally

TruBlue’s Home Maintenance Plans: Peace of Mind for Homeowners

trublues-home-maintenance-plans-peace-of-mind-for-homeowners

Caring Transitions

Caring Transitions Targets Peoria, Illinois, for Franchise Growth

caring-transitions-targets-peoria-illinois-for-franchise-growth

Caring Transitions Celebrates a Strong Start to 2025 With 19 New Franchise Sales and Momentum-Building Training Events

caring-transitions-celebrates-a-strong-start-to-2025-with-19-new-franchise-sales-and-momentum-building-training-events

Right at Home

Right at Home 30th Anniversary in Home Care with Right at Home Logo

Celebrating 30 Years of Excellence and Future Innovations in Home Care

celebrating-30-years-of-excellence-and-future-innovations-in-home-care

Why TruBlue is the Ideal Franchise for Multi-Unit Owners: Scalable Growth With a Purpose

why-trublue-is-the-ideal-franchise-for-multi-unit-owners-scalable-growth-with-a-purpose

Buying a Franchise Masterclass

 Franchise Opportunities

Get Support Buying a Franchise

How to Buy a Franchise White Paper

How to Buy a Franchise

How to Sell Franchises

How to Grow a Franchise

Find a Franchise Supplier

1851 Franchise Opportunities

Franchisor News

Franchisor Power Rankings

FranCamp Mastermind Summit

Franchise Resources

What ALEC-Laffer's Report Means for Franchising

Website Awards

Power Rankings

About 1851

Advertise on 1851

Contact 1851 Editorial

Terms of Use

1851 Login

GROWTH CLUB LOGIN

facebook

instagram

twitter

linkedin

youtube

DoorDash Expansion Could Reshape Delivery and Operations for Franchise Brands - 1851 Franchise

DoorDash Expansion Could Reshape Delivery and Operations for Franchise Brands

doordash-acquistions-deliveroo-sevenrooms

Crumbl Franchise Investment - TSG Consumer Partners -  1851 Franchise

TSG Consumer Partners Takes Minority Stake in Crumbl, Signaling Franchise Growth Potential

crumbl-franchise-investment-tsg-consumer

Yum Brands Reports Strong Q1 Results with Big Boost from Taco Bell

yum-brands-reports-strong-q1-results-with-big-boost-from-taco-bell

QSR: McDonald’s Gains Momentum With Chicken Innovation, Value Deals and Franchisee Support

mcdonalds-franchise-recovery-chicken-strategy-value-deals-2025

The Future of Franchising: Trends and Predictions for 2025 and Beyond

the-future-of-franchising-trends-and-predictions-for-2025-and-beyond

Franchisee spotlight image with Randy and Sandy Craft, Children's Lighthouse logo on blue background

The Crafts’ Successful Journey from New Parents to Children’s Lighthouse Franchisees

the-crafts-successful-journey-from-new-parents-to-childrens-lighthouse-franchisees

Franchisee spotlight graphic with photo of Amy Lepke and family and Papa Murphy's logo

After 14 Years as a Stay-At-Home Mom, Amy Lepke Returned to Papa Murphy’s — This Time as an Owner

papa-murphys-franchise-amy-lepke

Franchisee Spotlight with Micki Waters and Papa Murphy's Logo

Work Mom: How Micki Waters Became a Mother Figure to Her Entire Papa Murphy’s Team

work-mom-how-micki-waters-became-a-mother-figure-to-her-entire-papa-murphys-team

Franchisee spotlight image with photo of Robert Trujillo and UWRG logo on blue background

Franchisee Rose Le Approaches a Decade with Togo's

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS