From the Ground Up
This franchisee didn't just wing it: He learned how to run a fast-food restaurant by working there first.
Sometimes employees grumble about their bosses not being able to
relate to them or not understanding the hard work they do. But the
cooks and the delivery and counter people at Brian Cooper's
Wing Zone store in State College, Pennsylvania, can't
grumble-their boss probably has more experience at their positions
than they do.
Cooper, 27, started out as a part-time delivery driver at the
buffalo-wing franchise's first location in Gainesville,
Florida. He worked his way up, cooking, managing and eventually
becoming a general manager overseeing two Wing Zone stores in the
Atlanta area.
Last year, Cooper decided to buy a Wing Zone restaurant of his
own. "I got tired of doing the work for someone else when I
could put the money in my own pocket," he says.
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He moved to State College in December and worked for the next
three months to open his Wing Zone location. His knack for wearing
all hats came in handy during his transition to franchisee-he was
even his new store's contractor.
Cooper's restaurant gained a loyal following soon after its
March opening, breaking volume records for the company in its first
week. Though business slowed during the college town's summer
vacation slump, Cooper is excited about football-season traffic:
"We really go after sporting events-whatever brings people to
drink beer and hang around their house and eat."
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