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Right at Home Targets Suttons Bay and Nearby Rural Communities for In-Home Care Growth

Former Firefighter Builds New Future with The Brass Tap in Colorado Springs

How Screenmobile Solved a Major Pain Point for Homeowners 

How to Read an FDD Like an Investor, Not Just a Buyer

Inside BooXkeeping's Franchise Signings, Recognition and Support Programs Driving 2026 Growth

Layne’s Chicken Fingers Brings the Crunch to Cypress with a July 18 Grand Opening and Free Layne’s for a Year

Franchise Opportunity Deep Dive: Newk’s Eatery is a fast-casual restaurant brand serving made-from-scratch sandwiches, salads, soups and pizzas rooted in Southern hospitality.

Newk’s Eatery Franchise Costs, Fees, Profit and Data for 2026

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<a href="https://www.mellowmushroom.com/franchising/">Mellow Mushroom</a> is continuing its expansion across Kentucky through a new three-unit development agreement with John and Whitney Bowling, who plan to bring additional locations to Lexington, Richmond and eventually London as they build the brand’s regional presence in the state.Known for its imaginative pizzas, hand-tossed stone-baked dough and unique psychedelic atmosphere,&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/mellow-mushroom/info">Mellow Mushroom</a> appealed to John and Whitney both as fans of the brand and as operators looking for a business they could grow long term. The couple currently owns and operates Bowling Markets, a group of gas stations in Kentucky, where they have built experience in customer service, team management and day-to-day operations.That experience gave them confidence in the operational side of the business, but the decision to pursue Mellow Mushroom was also personal. John and Whitney saw the three-unit agreement as a way to build something with long-term value for their family.“That’s the main driver behind everything for us — our kids,” John said. “We’re trying to push to give them more opportunities, and hopefully Mellow Mushroom affords us the chance to give them those opportunities.”Whitney said that a long-term mindset was part of the reason the couple pursued multiple units from the start. “We have two kids, so we want more than just one location,” she said. “We don’t want them to have to share a business, instead own and operate independently.”<h2>Targeting Lexington, Richmond and London</h2>The Bowlings are now looking at sites in Lexington, including a possible first restaurant in the Hamburg area near Sir Barton Road. After that, they hope to move into Richmond and eventually work their way toward London, though the final breakdown of the three-unit agreement is still being finalized.“Right now, we’re in talks for Hamburg in Lexington,” John said. “We’re doing a letter of intent in the next few days to a few weeks on a location in Hamburg, right off Sir Barton Road. Hopefully, that will be our first location. After that, we just have to look for property and see where it would be the best fit. Our hope and goal is to go to Richmond next and work our way down toward London later.”The current development timeline calls for Lexington to open toward the end of the year, Richmond around summer 2027 and London sometime in 2028.<h2>Why These Kentucky Markets Stood Out</h2>For John and Whitney, Lexington offers a combination of university traffic, retail activity and existing brand familiarity. Richmond and London also stood out as markets with room for more restaurant options and long-term potential.“Lexington is a popular destination in Kentucky, particularly for shopping” John said. The city is home to the University of Kentucky and known for basketball, as well as Kentucky Derby. Lexington previously had a successful Mellow Mushroom location that served as a favorite among college students and locals alike for well over ten years. The community is looking forward to having it back.”Beyond Lexington, the family’s existing ties to the region and the lack of comparable restaurant options in nearby markets helped make Richmond and London feel like natural next steps.“We have work here and travel for our kids’ sports, so the area is a big part of our life,” John said. “Richmond and London don’t really have much food-wise, but they’ve got the people and the drive. Richmond also has a big university there. I just look at them as great potential markets.”The couple is looking closely at traffic, income levels, surrounding housing and nearby demand drivers as they evaluate potential sites. In Lexington, the possible Hamburg location benefits from nearby retail anchors, university activity and strong visibility.“When looking at potential locations, we consider various key factors including demographics, local economic indicators such as median income, traffic volume, and existing residential and commercial properties in the area," John said. "Notably, our site of interest is situated adjacent to Cabela's and one of the state's largest shopping malls, presenting a potentially prime opportunity."Whitney emphasized that traffic is a top priority in their site selection process. "Our goal is to be where our target audience is at," she said. "We aim to locate where our business can thrive and achieve great success."<h2>Building Around Long-Term Regional Growth</h2>The deal positions Mellow Mushroom for continued momentum in Kentucky, particularly in mid-sized growth markets where established restaurant brands can benefit from strong local demand and limited competition in certain trade areas. John said he sees Kentucky as a market with room for additional restaurant development as more national concepts begin entering the state.“Kentucky is still playing catch-up with the rest of the country,” John said. “CAVA is just recently coming into Kentucky, and I think CAVA is one of the hottest brands in the world right now. We’re just now getting it. I think Kentucky is prime for growth.”For the Bowlings, the next few years are about finding markets where&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/mellow-mushroom/craft-culture-and-expansion-inside-mellow-mushrooms-franchise-growth-strategy-with-jamie-cecil-2730376">Mellow Mushroom can grow the right way</a>. They were drawn to the brand’s focus on quality, guest experience and steady development rather than expansion for its own sake.“Mellow isn’t just all about fast growth,” Whitney said.&nbsp; "They Prioritized quality and successful restaurants over rapid expansion. Focusing on great food, rather than opening a large number of locations. This has reflected in their dining experience. This aspect has been why we chose the brand, along with our love for Mellow Mushroom food.”&nbsp;As they look ahead, John and Whitney said the goal is to grow Mellow Mushroom across Kentucky while maintaining the quality and customer experience that made them fans in the first place."We just want to make sure, with our goal to grow even beyond the three development areas, quality and customer service remains top priority," Whitney said.To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/mellow-mushroom">https://1851franchise.com/mellow-mushroom</a>.

image of mellow mushroom pizza franchise interior of restaurant 

John and Whitney Bowling are starting their three-unit plan in Lexington, with Richmond and London also in view as they build on years in Kentucky food service.

Mellow Mushroom Franchisees Look Beyond Louisville for Their Kentucky Growth Plans

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Franchise Legal Player:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslie-curran-28b877b/">Leslie Curran</a> Firm:&nbsp;<a href="https://plavekoch.com/">Plave Koch PLC</a><a href="https://plavekoch.com/attorney/curran-leslie-d/">Leslie Curran</a> has built a reputation as a trusted advisor to franchise brands navigating growth, compliance, and long-term risk. With experience advising emerging and growing franchisors across a wide range of consumer-facing and service-based brands, Curran brings a practical, business-minded approach to franchise law. Her work focuses on helping brands scale responsibly while protecting both the franchisor and franchisee experience.1851 Franchise connected with Curran to discuss what franchisors often overlook, where legal risk hides during expansion, and the lessons that continue to shape their advisory philosophy.1851: What originally drew you to franchise law, and what has kept you engaged in the space over time?Curran: I found my way into the franchise practice by accident. At a large D.C. law firm, my office was with the lawyers in that practice group, but I didn’t start out working with them. I got to know the lawyers who sat near me, and they were great people, as well as talented lawyers. The practice was very interesting. They were working with brands I knew, and they were helping those brands grow and expand into new markets.And 25-plus years later, I am still working with franchisors and other brand owners to achieve those same goals of growth and expansion, alongside building great legal and business systems to support that growth. I have stayed engaged because of the people who have crossed my path along the way — the people I work with at Plave Koch, the clients who have trusted me to be part of their teams, suppliers I have built relationships with and, yes, even many franchisor-attorney competitors and franchisee attorneys I have had the pleasure of collaborating with over the years in a variety of contexts. For me, this practice and what we do is about building great relationships all around and helping build up an industry that knows no limits in terms of growth with integrity.1851: As franchising continues to evolve, what legal issue do you see brands most often underestimating today?Curran:&nbsp;Franchise sales have gotten tighter and tighter from an absolute numbers perspective. Each year, we see more brands enter the market that want to sell franchises. However, there does not seem to be a corresponding increase in the number of prospective franchisees who want to buy franchised businesses. In a competitive franchise sales environment, in addition to traditional in-house franchise sales teams, we see a variety of outside franchise sales organizations and other third parties pushing to help franchisors close deals.&nbsp;The legal challenges presented by this intersection include ensuring disclosure documents are not only legally compliant but, where possible, also provide information that can assist with the franchise sales process. It also includes ensuring all franchise sales groups are following legal requirements, including possible upcoming broker regulation, and indemnifying the franchisor for any issues arising from sellers’ actions. It also means ensuring the brand is actually ready, from a legal and business standpoint, to onboard prospects. Brands should be aware of the legal and business issues that surround the various players in the franchise sales process and carefully review the agreements with all third-party sellers.1851: In your experience, where do emerging franchisors tend to get tripped up from a compliance or documentation standpoint?Curran: They fail to do due diligence on the legal, financial, business, franchise sales and other advisors they bring on board to help them get started. Each aspect of the startup is important, and mistakes can be very costly for an emerging franchisor. The franchisor team should take time to vet and interview each service provider and get comfortable with the people you will be working with. It’s an expensive endeavor and it’s not quick, so you’d better like those folks. Also, reach out to other franchisors and service providers for advice and recommendations.For the legal documents, franchise agreements often have a term of 5 to 10 years, so documentation that is poorly drafted is going to stick with the brand for a bit.1851: How should franchisors be thinking about risk management as they scale into new markets or add new unit growth strategies?Curran: First, ensure that the brand is able to enter the market from a franchise sales and disclosure law standpoint, either by use of registration or exemption or exclusion. From the business side, some considerations are: Does the franchisor have the operational systems in place to support the new markets or growth strategy? Has the franchisor assessed the financial viability of the new market or the growth strategy? Does the franchisor know what possible brand changes may be necessary for the franchisee to succeed in the new market? Have systems standards, including supply chain issues, been reviewed and updated as necessary?The risk of failure in a new market, especially for an emerging brand, is very significant. Failure in one growth market beyond a brand’s core current market can make it very difficult to expand further in later efforts. In addition, a lack of planning can lead to increased complaints from franchisees who sign up and assert that the franchisor’s foresight and support may be less than anticipated. Those failures and complaints can divert resources and are likely to make additional growth plans take a back seat.1851: What distinguishes your approach or philosophy when working with franchise clients?&nbsp;Curran: Hospitality is important to me. By that, I mean focusing on what is important to each client. I strive to meet clients where they are in terms of knowledge and expertise. No two clients are equal in that sense. While every client is different, at the simplest level, every client wants to be heard and helped when they need you.It sounds simple, but we must listen first to what the client is trying to achieve and only then formulate a reply with all of the options, along with the risks. Never assume you know better than your clients or dismiss their concerns. The advice needs to be relevant, practical and actionable.1851: Looking back, what lesson from your legal career has had the greatest impact on how you advise clients today?&nbsp;Curran: It’s a lesson that sounds simple: Smart lawyers keep clients by being useful. Figure out how to be useful. That will impress your clients and more will follow.Every great franchisee had help buying a franchise. Want to learn more about how 1851 helps franchisees find the right franchise opportunity? Visit&nbsp;<a href="http://www.1851growthclub.com/">www.1851growthclub.com</a> and start your journey.

2026 Top Franchise Lawyers You Should Know: Leslie Curran — Plave Koch PLC

1851 Franchise’s annual roundup of the Top Franchise Lawyers You Should Know is back for 2026, spotlighting the legal minds helping shape the future of franchising. 

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Every franchise system will eventually face the same difficult question: How do I support struggling franchisees before problems spiral into something bigger? Whether the issue is operational, financial or personal, the way a franchisor responds can determine whether an owner recovers or creates larger problems across the system.Franchisees usually don’t fall behind all at once. The warning signs often show up in missed check-ins, slower follow-through or a shift in how openly an owner communicates.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-grant/">Lauren Grant</a>, senior franchise consultant for&nbsp;<a href="https://franchiseconnectors.com/">Franchise Connectors</a>, said franchisors have a better chance of helping when they notice those changes early and respond with both structure and candor.<h2>Identify Problems Early Before They Become Systemwide Issues</h2>One of the biggest mistakes franchisors make is waiting too long to address warning signs. Grant says struggling franchisees often reveal themselves through subtle changes in communication, consistency and accountability long before the numbers fully collapse.“Some franchisees are going to be strong communicators and raise their hand and say, ‘Hey, I need help.’ Others might avoid it and may not be proactive or communicative about the challenges they’re facing,” Grant said. “My recommendation is having weekly meetings, especially early in the process of starting the business. Those meetings should focus on accountability — both from the franchisor and the franchisee — around what they’re trying to accomplish weekly and monthly.”That structure matters because it gives franchisors visibility into whether owners are actually following through on action steps, meeting benchmarks and staying engaged in the business. It also creates an opportunity to identify whether the issue is operational or something deeper.“The key is identifying whether they’re meeting the benchmarks expected by the franchise system and by themselves,” Grant said. “Sometimes people are actually doing better than they think and are just being hard on themselves. Other times, they’re not taking the necessary action steps or there are other areas where they need additional direction and support.”For franchisors, the first step is usually a regular check-in rhythm. When owners know they will be talking through goals, benchmarks and next steps each week, it becomes easier to catch problems early and harder for missed expectations to go unnoticed.<h2>What Effective Franchisee Support Looks Like in Practice</h2>Once a franchisee begins falling behind, support has to become more practical and targeted, but that does not mean the franchisor steps in to solve the problem for them. Grant recommends starting with the root cause, then connecting franchisees with the right resources, whether that means coaching, peer mentorship or outside expertise.“Support can mean connecting them with other franchisees who have successfully overcome similar challenges,” Grant said. “Shadowing other owners, along with working closely with a coach, can be very effective.”That support also requires franchisors to understand whether the issue is within the owner’s control or whether outside circumstances are affecting performance. “The important thing is really listening to your owners and figuring out where the line falls,” Grant said. “Is the franchisee not doing what they’re supposed to be doing? Is their focus somewhere else because something is going on in their personal life? Or is it something the franchisor can truly help solve?”That distinction can help franchisors avoid one of the hardest traps in franchise support: caring more about the business than the franchisee does.“You can’t care more about their business than they care about their business, and you can’t do it for them,” Grant said. “You can help and support them. You can help them identify the holes and provide tools and resources, but at the end of the day, it’s still their business.”That balance between support and accountability is one of the hardest parts of franchise leadership. Franchisors need to provide guidance without becoming operators of someone else’s location.<h2>When Support Turns Into Restructuring or Exit</h2>Sometimes, even strong support systems are not enough. Franchisees may lose interest, lack the bandwidth to continue or realize the business is no longer the right fit.Grant says avoiding those conversations often creates bigger problems later.“If you keep someone in the system simply because you haven’t had that difficult conversation, it can become a slow death situation,” Grant said. “It’s better to address it earlier, create a strategy and come up with a plan for how to move forward.”In some situations, that may mean restructuring operations, bringing in another owner or facilitating a resale. The important thing is to handle the process honestly and proactively, rather than waiting for the situation to deteriorate further.“You have to have honest, heart-to-heart conversations with them and make sure they have a clear picture of what success would require,” Grant said. “Then ask them directly whether they truly want to get to the other side of the challenge and whether they’re willing to do what it takes to get there.”For franchise systems trying to figure out how to support struggling franchisees, those conversations are uncomfortable but necessary. Ignoring operational or behavioral problems rarely makes them disappear.<h2>Practical Takeaways for Franchisors</h2>If you’re asking, “How do I support struggling franchisees?” these practical steps can help:<ul><li>Establish structured weekly accountability meetings early, especially during the first stages of ownership or periods of operational stress.</li><li>Use peer mentorship and coaching to help franchisees learn from owners who have successfully navigated similar challenges.</li><li>Address warning signs quickly and honestly rather than delaying difficult conversations about performance, restructuring or exit options.</li></ul>For more information on supporting franchisees, check out these related articles on 1851 Franchise:<ul><li><a href="https://1851franchise.com/what-support-must-franchisors-provide-a-guide-for-franchisees-2731172">What Support Must Franchisors Provide? A Guide for Prospective Franchisees</a></li><li><a href="https://1851franchise.com/strategicfranchising/the-role-of-franchisor-support-in-driving-franchisee-success-2730403#stories">The Role of Franchisor Support in Driving Franchisee Success</a></li><li><a href="https://1851franchise.com/chapter-11-training-and-supporting-your-franchisees-2722733">Training and Supporting Your Franchisees</a></li></ul>

How Do I Support Struggling Franchisees? - Question of the Day - 1851 Franchise

Early communication, structured accountability and honest conversations can help franchisors address performance issues before they become larger systemwide problems.

How Do I Support Struggling Franchisees While Driving Accountability?

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Iron Tribe Fitness Franchise Costs, Fees, Profit and Data for 2026

Franchise Opportunity Deep Dive: Iron Tribe Fitness offers a community-driven, membership-based training franchise with strong unit economics and diversified programming. 

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image of 1851 franchise deep dive on financials and fdd of the coffee bean and tea leaf franchise

Franchise Opportunity Deep Dive: The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is a premium specialty coffee and tea café brand known for handcrafted, made-to-order beverages and global reach.

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