Twisted Kitchen Franchise information

1851 Franchise connects with the Twisted Kitchen team to learn more about the origins of the pasta bar franchise, why the menu appeals to the Millennial crowd and how the business model positions franchisees for success. 

Twisted Kitchen, the Atlanta-based pasta and salad franchise, is on the cusp of massive growth. Shane Cawthon, a former investor who recently took over as president of the company, is currently at the helm of the ship and has big plans for the future. In order to achieve those plans, Twisted Kitchen has brought in the impressive team of franchise and restaurant industry experts at Goliath Consulting Group. Now, Twisted Kitchen is ready to expand across the country, aiming to sign three franchise agreements and open two locations by the end of the year. 

1851 Franchise spoke with both Cawthon and Reggie Coachman, Chief Consulting Officer at Goliath, to learn more about the concept, the plan for the future and the advantages of the franchise opportunity. 

1851 Franchise: Shane, let's start with you. How did you fall into franchising?

Cawthon: It was actually kind of by accident. I wasn’t the founder of Twisted Kitchen. It was started in 2009 by a friend of a friend. My brother and I invest in various businesses, so we met him for lunch and enjoyed the food. We really liked the concept and decided to invest in 2014. We saw it as another great addition to our investment portfolio. Many franchise buyers likely go through a similar path. 

For various reasons, the direction of the investment changed, leading to an inflection point. The original owner had some issues, but at that point, we were deeply invested in the concept, so it was either shut down and lose everything or take over the whole business and try to grow. We chose to grow, which is when we reached out to Goliath for their expertise since we had no restaurant experience ourselves.

1851 Franchise: Reggie, I have two questions for you. First, can you share your franchise story, how you got into franchising, and then, if franchising can be made easy, as Shane experienced, how can brands grow more easily?

Coachman: I started in the restaurant business when I was in college as a part-time job. I worked with two franchisees in Tampa. One had many years of experience in restaurants, while the other was mostly an investor. They allowed me to be the first part-time manager in their business. At that time, they had about 10 restaurants, and by the time I left, we had grown to 24. That was my introduction to the franchise model. Fast forward, I eventually had the chance to lead a franchising group as part of Focus Brands. Today, I have over 35 years of experience in leadership roles with Concessions International, Cinnabon, Schlotzsky’s, Church’s Chicken and Arby’s.

Over the years, I've been involved in franchising at different levels. I've owned my own franchise and been on both the corporate and franchisee sides. A good relationship between a franchisor and franchisee is crucial. In Twisted Kitchen, we ensure that we have relationships that prioritize people first and business second.

1851 Franchise: When considering something like Twisted Kitchen, is your goal to grow it so that a major company like Focus Brands might be interested in adding it to their portfolio?

Coachman: A business dies when you manage through an FDD. Are you holding onto your franchisee lens and the way you're positioning this business? To the first question, yes. We certainly look at an exit strategy that says if we get up to 50 or 100 units, then we would definitely entertain spinning this off to someone else. Everything's for sale, as they say. Larger franchise systems consider 100 plus units the right size for purchase, but there are other franchisors that will start to take a look at us when we're at that 30 to 50 unit range. What we're mindful of is building an infrastructure that plugs and plays with how they do business. 

Secondly, I've learned from my experiences of bad situations with franchisees. It's no fun if you're sitting at the table getting ready to apply liquidated damages to a franchisee because they are six months behind in paying their royalties. You know that those liquidated damages are probably going to affect them personally. Yet, you still have that contract. I've been successful working with my franchise accounting teams and working with legal to come up with creative ways to have as much of a win-win separation as possible, as opposed to not considering the relationship. 

We, as a franchisor, do a lot of coddling with the franchisee to bring them on board. We don't necessarily make promises, but we certainly allude to what success could look like for them. I've been fortunate to be a part of writing many FDDs. While keeping the franchisor’s best interests in the FDD, I also make sure there are nuggets in there that allow the franchisee the opportunity to create their own growth. One of the successes of franchising, in my opinion, is entering the relationship with everyone's eyes open. 

1851 Franchise: Reggie, you got introduced to Twisted Kitchen when you were doing the evaluation on it. What did you like about this opportunity that made you say there's viability in this business?

Coachman: Typically, in the restaurant business, the first box you need to check is the quality of the food. If you've got good food, then you have a foundation to sell on. Using metrics from Yelp, Google and other avenues, we've found that people love the Twisted Kitchen food. 

The second thing I notice is the structure of the franchise system. Everything on the menu is pretty straightforward at Twisted Kitchen. The suppliers provide items that aren't high-cost, making it very manageable. The footprint is 1,500-square-feet, which means you could set it up in a strip center and don't necessarily need a drive-thru, although that could be an option in the future. 

The cost of entry for this brand is also reasonable, so it's an easy transition for someone leaving corporate America to move into franchising. The labor requirements are simple; with just two to four people, you can effectively run the business. 

I also appreciate the uniqueness of Twisted Kitchen. There are no fryers, so it isn't a freezer-fried concept. If you want a healthy meal, you can easily get one. Plus, with the rise of Millennials and Gen Z's "me society", customers can customize their meals based on preferences. We've addressed different categories, such as plant-based items. The brand is also positioned well for non-traditional locations. 

Those are some of the things that we looked at when we went to Shane and said, "Hey, this is something that you can franchise. People really do like it." A lot of the elements that make or break a restaurant or franchise system, I felt that we could deliver on.

1851 Franchise: Shane, when you hear all this, are you excited about it as an investor? 

Cawthon: I am definitely excited about it. When we took over, I didn't have time to handle the day-to-day due to other business interests. After discussions with Goliath, my excitement for its future potential grew. From an operations perspective, and from my viewpoint as an investor, things seem synergistic. The product's appeal is undeniable. In fact, I'm winding down some of my day-to-day tasks. I've discussed with Goliath about opening a restaurant close to my office so that I can be involved daily. That's how I envision my retirement.

Coachman: My excitement is heightened when Shane and his brother Trent involve their family in the business. Especially with Shane's parents, who were previously in business, it's wonderful to see their support and feedback. 

1851 Franchise: Reggie, one last clarifying question just in case anybody's reading this and is intrigued by the business opportunity. Shane's story is somewhat semi-absentee operator in the model. Nearest restaurant isn’t just down the road, and he owns the business. Can you be semi-absentee in your mind in a restaurant like this or is this owner-operator driven?

Coachman: One ideal franchise owner is a person leaving the corporate world wanting to start their own franchise model. However, we do have another model that says if you are an existing multi-unit franchisee who may be 100 miles away, you could still succeed if you have infrastructure. Our team certainly could support that franchise owner because, basically, he's a multi-unit franchisor. If you have 150 or 200 units, you likely have a structure very similar to the corporate environment, so you certainly could operate this concept 200 miles away. But if that was not the case, we would limit our ability to support a franchisee because we want to touch and feel them. Shane, for example, is probably in Atlanta two to three times a month, visiting the restaurants. So, he's not as absentee as is the typical absentee investor. He's in the business, talking with his staff and watching what's going on.

1851 Franchise: What are your goals for the future?

Coachman: We are focusing our growth efforts in Georgia, the Carolinas and the Southeast U.S. in order to stay closer to our home-base of Atlanta. The plan is to bring in 30 prospects, close three deals and finalize two openings over the next year.

The total investment necessary to begin operation of a Twisted Kitchen franchise is $341,000 to $632,200. For more information, visit: https://tkfranchising.com/