THE
T H E M A G A Z I N E O F F R A N C H I S E B U S I N E S S S E R V I C E S | 2020 ISSUE 4
lead High 5 Hospitality to Franchisee of the Year honors
FRANCHISEE SPOTLIGHT, PAGE 12
Steve Wheat &
Steve Wheat &
Bobby Pancake
Bobby Pancake
Steve Wheat &
Steve Wheat &
Bobby Pancake
Bobby Pancake
©2020 McLane Company, Inc. All rights reserved.
All of us at McLane Foodservice would like to extend
our well wishes to the entire BUFFALO WILD WINGS
franchise community, their businesses, and especially
their families during these trying times. We look forward
to coming through COVID-19 and building on our
strong partnership for the future.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FBS Board of Directors
Wray Hutchinson
Chairman
Mark Jones
Vice Chairman
Jenny Beaudoin
Director
James Bitzonis
Director
Brian Carmody
Director
Steve Grube
Director
Roz Mallet
Director
Bobby Pancake
Director
Larry Podlogar
Director
Christy Williams
Executive Director
FBS Editorial Board
Jessica Loeding
Editor-in-Chief
jessical@myfbsonline.org
Sean Ireland
Managing Editor
seani@myfbsonline.org
Rachel Jackson
Associate Editor
rachelj@myfbsonline.org
Advertising Sales
Jeff Reynolds
Director of Business Partner Relations
jeffr@myfbsonline.org
678-797-5163
Montserrat Almaraz
Sales & Development Manager
montserrata@myfbsonline.org
678-439-2284
Design and Layout
Kristen Thomas
KT Graphic Design
ktgraphicdesign@gmail.com
Headquarters
1701 Barrett Lakes Blvd. NW
Suite 180
Kennesaw, GA 30144
Phone: 678-797-5161
Fax: 678-797-5171
Franchise Business Services publishes The SCORE.
Any reproduction, in whole or in part, of the
contents of this publication is prohibited without
prior written consent of Franchise Business
Services. All Rights Reserved.
In keeping with our commitment to the
environment, this publication is printed
on certified, environmentally-friendly recycled
paper using eco-friendly inks.
Copyright© 2020
Printed in the U.S.A.
www.myfbsonline.org
ON THE COVER
From corporate managers to independent
franchisees, Bobby Pancake and Steve Wheat have
guided High 5 Hospitality from its founding to its
latest and greatest achievement: BWW Franchisee
of the Year recognition. Read about their journey in
this issue’s Franchisee Spotlight on page 12.
COLUMNS
2
Chairman’s Column
DEPARTMENTS
4
FBS Member News
7
Event Calendar
11 One Topic: 10 Facts
8
Look, Listen, Read
12 Franchisee Spotlight
FEATURES
10 Spotlight on the 116th Congress: Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK-01)
14 Local Sports Connections Draw Fans Back to B-Dubs
by Sean Ireland, FBS associate director of communications
17 Get to Know Buffalo Wild Wings Chief Marketing Officer Rita Patel
18 Franchisees Face Challenge of Finding Enough Willing Workers
by Sean Ireland
21 Win Customer Loyalty Even in Challenging Times
by Dennis Snow, Snow & Associates Inc.
22 Should You Require Employees to Take a COVID-19 Vaccine?
by Douglas Duerr, Elarbee Thompson
24 EPLI: Protecting Your Restaurant in the Age of #MeToo
by Lockton Affinity
26 Build the Fellowship of the Quest
by Dan Coughlin, The Coughlin Co.
28 How Your Income Tax Situation Might Be Impacted
By COVID-19 Funding
by Stacy Smith, Mize Restaurant Group
30 Stumbling Into Proficiency: Four Ways Mistakes Can Improve
Your Productivity
by Laura Stack, The Productivity Pro®
DIRECTORIES
9
Associate Member Listing
32 Advertisers Guide and Editorial Calendar
2020 Issue 4
2020 Issue 4
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THESCORE
From the Chairman
But as
remarkable as
his impressive
coaching record
is, today he is
remembered
more for the life
lessons he taught
and the way he
taught them.
Early in his
career, Wooden developed what he called
the “pyramid of success” – a blueprint
that plotted how foundational building
blocks such as enthusiasm, cooperation
and industriousness, combined with other
good personal habits and a strong work
ethic, could build a path to competitive
greatness and personal fulfillment. He
taught the pyramid to his players, and
later, featured it at business speaking
engagements.
Coach Wooden left behind a plethora
of sayings to which people still often refer.
As a difficult year draws to a close, this one
often comes to mind: “Things turn out
best for those who make the best of the
way things turn out.”
In the face of 2020’s challenges, many
of you have intuitively followed Coach
Wooden’s advice. Among the actions
many of you took to make the best of
this year was participating in the financial
analysis of the Buffalo Wild Wings®
franchise system. The results were shared
in a conference call earlier this fall, and
they present a picture of where Franchise
Business Services (FBS) members stand
and what we need to do to emerge
successfully when the crisis ends.
Some of the numbers are difficult
to see. The analysis showed that our
comparable same-store sales numbers
dropped sharply, with double-digit
declines at the beginning of the pandemic.
They improved somewhat over the
summer to single-digit losses, but those
steep declines are having a lasting impact
on franchisees’ financial condition.
Not surprisingly, the analysis
indicated that there are differences in
the performances of franchisees based on
geography. BWW® locations in areas of
the country with fewer restrictions are
doing better than those in areas with more
restrictions.
There are glimmers of good news.
BWW franchisees managed exceptionally
well through the crisis relative to other
casual dining brands. The improvement
in sales results over the summer and into
the early fall was extremely encouraging,
and Congress approved a new round of
relief in the form of Paycheck Protection
Program loans in late December – loans
that will be a lifeline for many restaurants.
Trinity Capital, our partner in the
financial analysis, had recommendations
for making the best of where we stand
today. Among them:
• Franchisees with significantly
impaired cash flow due to the pandemic
should conserve cash until conditions
improve.
• When conditions do improve,
and we hope that will be soon now that
vaccinations have started, franchisees
should focus on rebuilding sales in existing
restaurants rather than building new
stores.
Given these findings, FBS has
been engaging with brand leaders
about the need to tailor expectations
for 2021 around the individual needs
and capabilities of each franchise group.
While they are anxious to move the
brand forward and believe strongly that
refreshing and remodeling the appearance
of our sports bars is a key step toward that
goal, they are committed to not putting
franchise organizations in financial peril to
accomplish it.
Friends, as we enter 2021, I want to
thank each of you for your efforts to make
the best of the past year. I wish each of you
a safe, happy and better new year ahead.
Wray Hutchinson
A
s hard as it is to believe, John Wooden
has been gone now for 10 years. The
former UCLA basketball coach, who
lived to be 99, won 10 collegiate
national basketball championships, including seven
straight titles from 1967 to 1973. At one point his
teams won 88 straight games, a record no other
school has ever approached.
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2020 Issue 4
|
THESCORE
MEMBER NEWS
orld Wide Wings (WWW),
operated by franchisee Wray
Hutchinson, has 67 Buffalo Wild
Wings® restaurants in seven states
across the country. Many of these
restaurants are along the West Coast in
Oregon, Washington and California,
where wildfires have burned millions
of acres of land and displaced residents
from their homes.
WWW supported the heroes who
have spent countless hours fighting
the wildfires. The fires began in
mid-August and, as of mid-December,
had burned over 10.25 million acres
up and down the coast. The WWW
teams in downtown Portland, Lloyd
Center and Medford, Oregon, came
together on a weekend in September
to provide meals to the men and
women battling the fires. In just two
days, the teams served 230 meals to
firefighters.
Chief Gherky from the Clackamas
County Fire Department called to
thank the staff for its delivery. “When
the team came off the line tonight,
they were so excited to see BWW®
there for them! We truly cannot thank
you guys enough,” said Gherky.
B-Dubs® also received a thank-you
call from the wife of a firefighter at
the department in Medford who saw
photos of the meal delivery. She was
very appreciative of the kindness shown
to her husband and his colleagues. S
World Wide Wings Feeds Oregon Firefighters
The teams at World Wide Wings’ restaurants in Oregon donated meals to the men and women fighting the fires in their areas.
he Awesome Holdings LLC
Buffalo Wild Wings® restaurant in
Manchester, New Hampshire, raised more
than $2,000 in October for the Team Up
for Kids effort to support youth sports
initiatives.
One of the biggest contributions
came from the restaurant’s Pie Your
Manager Day on Oct. 28, a chance for
the restaurant’s staff and families to have
a little Halloween fun at the restaurant.
“We had an open invite for all
team members to come and have an
opportunity to ‘pie their manager’ for $20
or two managers for $30,” said Ben Lee,
regional manager for the restaurant. “We
had about 10 team members contribute.
They loved the chance to pie their
regional manager in the face. We also gave
complimentary kids meals to any team
members who brought kids and had candy
packs for them as a Halloween treat.”
About 25 team members and their
children attended the event, which raised
another $340 for the Team Up for Kids
fundraiser. The effort was spearheaded at
the restaurant by bar manager Heather
Strong, who was once a manager for
a corporate location in San Antonio,
Texas. “I had a positive experience at a
corporate store in San Antonio where
we volunteered our time to help build a
playground for our local Boys & Girls
Club,” she said. “Just the feeling knowing
you are helping other people, especially
children, is a great feeling.”
The event not only supported a
good cause, but also boosted staff spirit,
raising morale and building camaraderie.
It was so successful that the restaurant
planned a Christmas event around the
holidays. “The team appreciated the
efforts of our management team hosting
this,” Lee said.
“Our franchise group is committed
to helping our community,” he said of
Awesome Holdings and franchisees Martti
Matheson and Aaron Miller. “It has been
tough this year with everything happening
in our world. I’m very proud of Heather
and the rest of the team members who
made this a focus for the month.” S
Manchester, New Hampshire, BWW
Managers Get Pied for a Cause
Guests at the Pie Your Manager event had a
great time raising money for Team Up for Kids.
THESCORE |
2020 Issue 4
MEMBER NEWS
his October, Buffalo Wild
Wings® franchisees in the metro
Washington, D.C., area partnered
with the Washington Football Team
of the National Football League
(NFL) to sponsor the United Service
Organizations’ (USO) Touching Base
Tour. Three franchisees, Ganse/Beaudoin
Group, Belle Holdings Inc. and BW
Wings Management, were thrilled about
this partnership because it helped support
troops and their local NFL team.
USO is an organization that supports
service members throughout their time
in the military. The Touching Base
Tour consisted of trips to 15 military
installations throughout Virginia,
Maryland and Washington, D.C. The
Washington Football Team travelled to
connect with 1,500 service members and
thank them for their service throughout the
COVID-19 pandemic. They visited several
different branches of the military, including
the Marines, Coast Guard and Air Force.
At each stop, team members gave
service members goodie bags that
included Buffalo Wild Wings gift cards
and free appetizer cards along with other
Washington Football Team swag items.
BWW® was included on all
advertising and PR efforts and was
tagged in social media relating to the
tour program. “We also have a unique
code on the coupon cards and will be
tracking redemption to see how many are
redeemed,” explained Amy Zorn, BWW
field marketing manager.
The program was a great way for the
brand to show its support for the troops
in an especially hard year and provide
them with an awesome meal from
B-Dubs®. S
BWW Restaurants in Washington, D.C.,
Sponsor USO Touching Base Tour
Military service members across the Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., areas received gift bags with BWW gift cards and spent time
with players on the Washington Football Team.
igh 5 Hospitality, owned by
franchisees Bobby Pancake and Steve
Wheat, has raised over $16,000 for its
Feed the Frontline Program, which was
established to raise funds to feed those
on the front lines during the coronavirus
pandemic.
Since school has started back in
areas across the country this fall, High 5
Hospitality’s leaders decided to recognize
local teachers. The restaurant in Dover,
Delaware, donated meals to the faculty
of Nellie Stokes Elementary School. Over
the years, the restaurant has developed
strong ties to many community members
and has close relationships with several
teachers at the school.
“What I love about this program is
we are thinking outside the box,” said
Lori Ewald, marketing manager for High
5 Hospitality. “We have been considering
what occupations have been stretched thin
or are having hard days. Teachers certainly
fall into that category right now.”
The Dover BWW® team donated 80
meals, which each consisted of a wrap and
side salad. The principal and the rest of
the staff were surprised to hear that they
would be receiving a free lunch. “After
lunch, I received many text messages
and emails thanking us and saying how
delicious everything was,” said Ewald.
The High 5 Hospitality team always
enjoys giving back to its community,
but it is especially rewarding to show
appreciation for those who have been
working extra hard during a hard time.
The team looks forward to continuing
to raise funds and provide meals for
front-line workers throughout the rest of
the year. S
High 5 Hospitality Shows Appreciation for Local Teachers
Faculty members at Nellie Stokes Elementary School were excited to receive a free lunch
from their local BWW.
2020 Issue 4
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MEMBER NEWS
otters Wings, owned by franchisees Brian Jordan, Bill Hall
and Jason Hall, opened a new restaurant in Foley, Alabama,
this fall. The BWW® opened Nov. 3, making it the seventh
restaurant owned by the trio.
Although the pandemic and Hurricane Zeta posed some
challenges, the team was excited to open the Foley BWW
and get it running before the holiday season. The company
prepared the community for the restaurant opening through
social media outlets. Facebook was used to stay connected with
customers, keeping them updated on the grand-opening date
and encouraging them to visit with gift-card giveaways.
Team members had a ribbon-cutting ceremony Nov. 3 and
welcomed guests from the community to enjoy some wings.
Potters Wings plans on continuing its partnership with Deuce
Drones to deliver wings across Foley and the surrounding area
via drone. S
Potters Wings Opens New Restaurant in Foley, Alabama
Potters Wings opened its Foley, Alabama, location Nov. 3.
s 2020 closes and the pandemic rages on, Four M restaurants
across the Northeast have stayed connected with their
community partners.
Four M Franchising owner James Bitzonis and the rest of his
team know that first responders have been some of the busiest
employees this year, still executing day-to-day duties while also
supporting those affected by COVID-19.
Teams at the BWW® restaurants in New Rochelle and Valley
Stream, New York, donated wings to their local police officers.
The New Rochelle Police Department’s annual golf outing serves
as one of the largest department fundraisers of the year, and
BWW helped ensure golfers had a terrific experience by donating
200 boneless wings.
Team Valley Stream spent time with its 105th precinct to
show gratitude and appreciation for the officers’ hard work in the
community. The team dropped off care packages of wings, and
the police officers were very thankful.
“It is important during these tough and uncertain times to
connect with each other to keep building positive environments
and safer, more inclusive communities,” said O’Neil Washington,
a Four M training general manager.
The local firefighters and EMTs in Stamford, Connecticut,
received a lunch delivery from their Buffalo Wild Wings® sports
bar. “We do not feel like we did anything special to deserve this,”
an appreciative firefighter told a BWW team member.
In addition to supporting first responders, Four M teams have
also been backing other community organizations in their areas.
The team in White Plains, New York, has been working
with the Culinary Tech Center to host internships for aspiring
chefs. The program gives students a chance to work in the
B-Dubs® kitchen 25 hours per week learning the ropes of the
restaurant industry.
The team from the Hicksville, New York, restaurant chose
to show support for the Great Strides Program at Old Westbury
College for the restaurant’s Community Heroes Appreciation
Day. The program provides a variety of supportive activities such
as therapeutic horseback riding for people with disabilities and
educational initiatives for inner-city students. Great Strides also
works closely with The Wounded Warrior Project. BWW provided
30 boxed meals for participants in the program to enjoy. S
Four M Strengthens Relationships in Its Communities
Four M Franchising’s teams in New York and Connecticut have
enjoyed rewarding hard workers in their communities with Buffalo
Wild Wings.
THESCORE |
2020 Issue 4
MEMBER NEWS
any business owners across the nation paid tribute to
veterans on Nov. 11. High 5 Hospitality was one of them,
showing support by partnering with nonprofit organization
Jump for Valor.
Jump for Valor offers military veterans, including combat,
retired and disabled veterans, access to a community that brings
them joy and a sense of freedom through a daring activity:
skydiving. By involving themselves in activities with other
veterans, friends and family, the program provides participants
with many therapeutic benefits.
On the weekend following Veterans Day, Jump for Valor
hosted a huge skydiving event in Ridgely, Maryland, to raise
money for the organization. Buffalo Wild Wings® donated 70
boxed lunches to event registrants and volunteers. Each included
a chicken sandwich, side salad and a bag of chips. Participants
enjoyed food, beer from a local brewery and live music, all while
supporting veterans.
High 5 Hospitality, operated by Bobby Pancake and Steve
Wheat, was glad to show support for the organization this Veterans
Day. “There comes great satisfaction in finding those unique
pockets of people who qualify for our Feed the Frontline program,
but most don’t think about, and who are pleasantly surprised by
our show of appreciation,” said Lori Ewald, marketing manager.
This event is one of many through which High 5
Hospitality and BWW® show support for the military. This
is due in part to both Ewald and Pancake’s involvement with
Dover Air Force Base (DAFB). They have completed the
Honorary Commander Program and now serve as National
Civic Leaders for DAFB, representing the base at a national level
and advocating for military members. The team looks forward
to continuing its involvement with DAFB, Jump for Valor and
other organizations that help United States veterans. S
High 5 Hospitality Honors Former
Servicemen on Veterans Day
Jump for Valor’s skydiving event on Veterans Day weekend raised
funds and awareness for the organization. Many people faced their
fears and went skydiving for a good cause.
EVENT CALENDAR
FBS Summit
Aug. 4-6
Las Vegas, Nevada
NEW STORE OPENINGS
No. 3860 Kingston, New York
George Banta | Banta BWW
MDT LLC
No. 3861 Aberdeen, South
Dakota
Todd and Susan LaHaise |
LaHaise Management LLC
No. 3869 Temecula, California
Pinal Sitaram | Isha
Investments
No. 3879 Foley, Alabama
Bill Hall, Jason Hall and Brian
Jordan | Potters Wings LLC
2020 Issue 4
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THESCORE
ook, Listen, Read is a quarterly compilation of some of
the most highly rated and reviewed apps, podcasts, books,
websites and other resources. FBS does not support or
endorse the use of these tools, which merely serve as a guide to
exploring a new level of knowledge and productivity for your
business.
Scoro is an
award-winning
end-to-end project and
business management solution that enables you to control your
entire workflow in one place. In addition to project management
features, Scoro provides all the tools you need to fully manage your
business: work and task scheduling and tracking; collaboration;
contact database and CRM; quoting and billing; advanced
reporting; real-time dashboards; and much more.
Pat Flynn hosts this award-winning weekly
podcast. “Smart Passive Income” offers
interviews, strategies and tactics on how to
increase profits and grow your online business. If
you’re interested in learning about ways you can build atomic
habits, create evergreen sales funnels, buy and sell businesses
online, tap into niches or grow your YouTube presence, then
this is going to be a great resource.
Eighty percent of small
businesses fail. A big reason
for that is that being
incredibly proficient in a craft is not the same
thing as running a business. You may be one of
the most skilled people in your industry, but
that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be able to
build a successful company. Originally published in
1988, “The E-Myth Revisited“ is an updated entrepreneurial
guidebook written by Michael Gerber that explores why so
many small businesses fail and gives entrepreneurs tips on how
they can avoid suffering a similar fate.
Written by cognitive
scientist Dr. Carmen
Simon, “Impossible to
Ignore“ explores what we can do to
influence people in today’s fast-paced world
that exposes us to countless messages every
day – or even every minute. In general, your
small-business audience will forget 90% of
your messaging. To succeed, you need to cut
through the noise and make sure that your key messages hit
home – and stay there.
Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends
and Influence People“ is a time-tested
classic that’s sold more than 30 million copies
since it was released in 1936 – making it one of the bestselling
books of all time. Once a successful salesman, Carnegie
eventually left his sales career and took up public speaking, and
the advice from his seminars was compiled into this book. Read
it and learn how to get people to like you, how to convince
others that your reasoning is the right way of looking at an issue
and how to change folks without them hating you for it.
Those of you who have enjoyed “The New
Business Podcast” by British entrepreneur and
bestselling author Chris Ducker will be excited to
check out his newest venture in podcasting. ”Youpreneur” is
dedicated to helping entrepreneurs understand what it means to
develop their personal brand in the 21st century. Ducker covers
every topic from delegating to launching online products and
establishing industry authority in his weekly podcast and offers key
insight, advice and tactics to help business owners succeed.
Andy Grove, the former
chairman and CEO of
Intel, knows a thing or
two about management. “High Output
Management,“ written in 1995, is Grove’s
highly regarded guide small-business owners
have relied on for two-plus decades to
become better managers and help their
companies get more done more effectively.
Wrike’s mission
is to help
organizations
thrive in the digital age by transforming the way they plan,
manage and complete work. Its SaaS-based, work management
platform features engaging collaboration, workflow and project
management tools built into an intuitive online workspace.
Every day, millions of users at over 15,000 companies use
Wrike to drive top-line processes across their organizations. In
2017, Wrike was named to the Deloitte Fast 500 list of the
fastest-growing companies in North America for the third
consecutive year. S
L O O K
L I S T E N
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