Expanding the Franchise Portfolio from Sandwich Shops to Sports Restaurant

“I get up between 5 and 5:30 in the morning and make coffee.”

That’s how Glenn Schaible starts every day. The multi-unit franchisee for Lennys Grill & Subs owns three locations in northwest Florida and supervises many more locations as an area developer for the Memphis-based sandwich franchise. However, Schaible and his family recently expanded outside of subs to wings, signing up and opening a Buffalo Wings & Rings franchise location in the first quarter of 2017.

Adding a Fort Walton Beach unit of the Cincinnati-based elevated sports restaurant franchise concept has meant that after he’s done with his morning coffee and catching up on emails, his routine is much different these days.

“Every day I deal with the Lennys business, but I probably spend more time in my Buffalo Wings & Rings these days because it’s newer, it’s a little bit more complex and there are more people involved,” said Schaible. “I’m still learning with Buffalo Wings & Rings. When you make a policy change, you need to make sure that it moves through. Due to the different schedule with a full-service restaurant, you can’t pop in one or two days and see everybody. So, you need to make sure that the message is consistent in every shift and that everyone gets the situation. Getting to know everybody is important, too. I used to know every single employee’s name. But we’re getting there.”

For Schaible, success at his Fort Myers Buffalo Wings & Rings came shortly after opening doors in late February.

“They opened very strong,” said Dan Doulen, Director of Franchise Development for Buffalo Wings & Rings. “Glenn’s background in the industry helped move things along. He really understood the real estate and site selection piece. So, he was ahead of the game not only looking for solid locations, but going through the lease negotiations. He knows where a restaurant location can thrive within the market and he understands how to hire good people.”

“I didn’t realize how hectic it would be right away,” said Schaible. “When we opened up, I didn’t anticipate the sheer volume of business that we had. We had double the volume we expected. And it’s stayed that way for three weeks.”

But, as has been the case since opening his first Lennys location in 2003, his family has been a pivotal part of the success. His son, Chris, who started working at Lennys in 2002, became a corporate trainer in 2004, and has acted as General Manager for the family’s three Panhandle Lennys locations, has taken on management at the Buffalo Wings & Rings.

“It’s us learning all of the intricacies with this new concept together--how to keep on top of the bar, how to keep on top of the kitchen and make sure they run smoothly together. We set what we’re going to focus on, and we both look at it together and determine the best way to go about it. Today is a kitchen day, to increase operational efficiencies. Tomorrow we may take a deeper look at the bar,” said Schaible.

While Schaible and his team continue to improve on operations and settle into the routine with the new Buffalo Wings & Rings restaurant, the corporate team for the brand is right there with them.

“Our Franchise Business Managers are very active leading up to and after the opening to make sure that everything is running smoothly, especially in the first several weeks,” said Doulen. “They are on the phone with the franchisee regularly to talk through any issues and make sure they are getting the support that they need. There is also follow up and continuing calibration as part of our checklist, including ‘secret shopper’ visits, receipt questionnaires, and social media monitoring, all so that we have additional indicators to provide feedback to the franchisee and make sure they’re on track.”

The juggling act is one that Schaible has learned as a franchise industry veteran. Since starting with Lennys, he’s directly owned and operated six franchise locations, but has helped in the opening of more than 70 locations as part of his area developer work. So, effectively splitting time is not a new skill. In addition to his son’s management, Schaible counts himself lucky that he’s hired and developed high quality managers who can effectively run his locations while he is tending to other business. He works hard to make sure that he’s attentive to his managers, and clearly lays out his expectations and provides them the tools to be successful.

While coffee and emails will always be the way that he kicks off his days, after putting the work in to make sure his Lennys locations and new Buffalo Wings & Rings are running smoothly, Schaible makes sure that he ends his days the same way, too.

“I try to get everything done so that I can spend time with my wife from dinner time on. That’s important.”