Why Restaurant Franchises Love Multi-Unit Franchisors

EXPANSION | When you want someone for a big job, turn to those with big experience.

- STEPHANIE SCHOMER

Some franchisees own only one location. Some own a handful. Others own dozens, maybe even hundreds or thousands-and those owners can be especially popular with food brands.

To be clear, food brands aren't the only kind of franchisors who love multi-unit franchisees. But these companies-and particularly the ones with retail locations and full kitchens-have some unique reasons why. Restaurants are expensive to build and complicated to run. There are countless moving pieces, including staff, food, and often a lot of menu items that must be recreated to perfection each time. If someone owns dozens or hundreds of restaurants already, it's likely because they've already figured out how to maximize these systems-and they have the financing available to build out multiple new units at once.

But there are other reasons, too. Here, we offer two case studies: Pollo Campero and Dunkin' explain why multiunit owners fit neatly into their broader strategies, and we hear from two multi-unit owners about why they love being a part of these brands.

POLLO CAMPERO Plays Offense in the Chicken Wars

QUICK-SERVICE chicken restaurants have become a booming, hyper-competitive space in recent years. Although Sam Wong spent 10 years of his career at Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, he was happy to put all his eggs in the Pollo Campero basket.

From 2020 to October 2021, Wong was the director of franchising at Pollo Campero, which has grown to more than 350 locations around the world since it started as a family-owned restaurant in Guatemala in 1971. Now, the brand's beloved traditional recipes create such excitement that new locations in the U.S. often draw five-hour lines upon opening.