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Blue Coast owner poised for growth
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| Richard Martin | |
trendsetters in franchising
Gordon Davenport, 49
* Franchise: Burger King.
* Claim to fame: Co-owns 18 area Burger King locations with his cousin Elliot Davenport.
* He said: "What makes franchising fun is being part of a big system, a big chain. You get to be part of the energy and the big public relations and marketing push that these big chains have. At Burger King, we've had an unbelievable run with marketing and public relations, and it's fun to be around that kind of energy."
Shannon Brown, 44
* Franchise: Zaxby's.
* Claim to fame: Co-owns five area Zaxby's restaurants with his wife, Julie.
* He said: "I'm an engineer by education and understand the value of a system. If I didn't buy a franchise, I would have created one. One of the things we teach our staff is that the first thing you have to have to be successful outside of drive and determination is a system. Most businesses fail because they don't have a system. That system must be duplicatable. Those are the two principles that a franchise brings to the table."
Mitchell Bell, 55
* Franchise: Sweet Peppers Deli.
* Claim to fame: First franchisee for the Sweet Peppers chain in the Chattanooga area.
* He said: "What drew me to (Sweet Peppers) was the quality of the service and the atmosphere they create. It's a very fun, happy atmosphere. One step beyond that is that choosing the right franchisor is of utmost importance. The support (Sweet Peppers) gives us is unparalleled. I have other friends in the franchise business, and they've said that the support we get from our corporate folks is unheard of."
In an economic climate that has many established businesses struggling to cut their budgets, Richard Martin is reaping the benefits of investing in growth.
Mr. Martin, 35, is a franchise owner with the Nashville-based Blue Coast Burrito restaurant chain. Last October, he opened a store in the Warehouse Row outlet mall, his second Blue Coast location in less than two years.
Thanks to high lunchtime traffic from office workers, adding a downtown location to complement his first store in Hixson has paid off. Despite the shaky economy, sales are up, Mr. Martin said.
The trick is making the experience enjoyable enough to become a necessity, not a luxury.
"We know that every day we've got to continue to provide a quality product and good customer service," Mr. Martin said. "People have a choice with where they go to spend their hard-earned dollars, and we want to ensure we're on the top of that list."
With a lifetime of experience in the food industry, from an entry-level position in a fast-food restaurant to being general manager of several stores, Mr. Martin said the move to ownership was a natural choice.
After carefully weighing several other corporations' franchise investments, the fresh, in-house preparation of Blue Coast's food convinced him to invest, Mr. Martin said.
Mr. Martin said that things have been going well enough at his first two locations that he's considering expanding to a third location in the future.
Franchise ownership is hard work, but if you believe in the product, the long hours are worth it, Mr. Martin said.
"At the end of the day, for you to own a business and for it to grow the way you want to, you've got to love what you're doing," he said. "You've really got to put the work into it ... to make sure you're able to nurture and grow your business to where it needs to go."
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