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From the field to the kitchen

Are famous owners the best move in the game of chain survival?

May 19, 2008 by Julie Sturgeon — independent journalist, CEOEditor, Inc.

As the former chairman of the NFL's Player Development and Steering Committee, which oversees players' career transitions, Guy Troupe knows what it takes to successfully move from a field to a job. That's why in his present career as a private consultant, Troupe has begun offering a networking event at the Super Bowl — a trade show, if you will, for businesses and football players to meet.

Wingstop Restaurant wouldn't miss it for the world. In fact, Bev Rich, director of franchise development for the Richardson, Texas-based chain, specifically focuses on getting her message to high-powered professional athletes: Fast casual is the next career for you.

"They are looking to get involved with a company that gives them the same feeling of being part of a team," she said. "A lot of professional athletes choose franchise because they are so team-oriented."

But the list doesn't stop there. Franchise developers drool over the fact that this audience of potential owners is typically high energy, outgoing, diligent, hard-working and competitive.

"It's that kind of personality that wants to keep the restaurant fun," Rich said. "When customers are in that environment, they are happy."

Signing bonuses

Craig Dunaway, president of Penn Station Inc. in Cincinnati, can't explain why most of the athletes who ring his phone hail from the NFL, and he certainly doesn't waste valuable conversation probing the whys. As a man who not only oversees the chain but owns his own units in Louisville, Dunaway knows the benefits of signing these guys. For starters, they bring name recognition to fast casuals' new-kids-on-the-block status in the industry.

He's also seen the impact former Oakland Raiders and Cincinnati Bengals star Max Montoya has on diners at his northern Kentucky locations.

"It's interesting to see customers fawn all over him," Dunaway said. The former Pro Bowl guard works hands-on in his units every day — but no one discounts his fame as another factor that puts his four stores among Penn Station's winners.

Athletes also bring a home team advantage when breaking into new markets. Rich was excited to sign Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle Raheem Brock to a three-store contract in his Philadelphia stomping grounds. The first unit should open nearly four months ahead of schedule on the Temple University campus where Brock's name is legend. "It really pumps up the community," she said.

Even better, a fast-casual concept means the restaurant will appeal to the whole family, where a bar restricts admission. NFL players often cite that as a benefit to their public images — Brock is looking forward to promoting his Brock's Kids foundation via this new business outlet. Not to mention the fact that owning a restaurant is just cool, he said.

"A lot of business people told me real estate is the best way to go, so that was the (first) business I got into. But I wanted to own a restaurant or a bowling alley," he said. "This will be amazing."

But no matter why they sign, most stay because the fast casual scene satisfies the competitive beast. Just ask John Offerdahl, who played eight years with the Miami Dolphins. The biochemistry major and his wife took a business class in the early â€˜90s and launched what became a chain of bagel shops in south Florida before Boston Market bought them out. By 2000, he returned to the restaurant game, this time with Offerdahl's CafÃ© Grill.

"Any time you create, you make a lot of mistakes," he said. "You have to be able to fight through those mistakes and continue to develop systems and better ways of doing things."

And talk about awesome mentors: "Coach (Don) Shula taught me organizational leadership," Offerdahl said. "Everything I learned in sports was usually applied to the restaurant."

The coin flip

Few NFL players majored in business, so a franchise's training program becomes crucial. Brock says he chose Wingstop "because they just help you out so much. Some other franchises expect you to sign an agreement and then you are on your own." Rich credits its simple menu — wings, fries and drinks — with keeping the complexity to a minimum.

Unfortunately, a player's financial wealth can sabotage this stage of the game, in Dunaway's observations. Too often, this category of franchise owners wastes money on trivial things like paying for two cable hook-ups each month so they can show different television programs in the store. "In a 1,600- to 1,800-square-foot space where someone will be for 20 minutes," he says.

"You make money in this business by micromanaging every cost. Peyton Manning may have more money to spend than you and I in 12 lifetimes, but if he builds a restaurant and it isn't as successful as it should be, I don't know if that's a good thing," Dunaway said.

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And for some who spent years in the limelight, the service attitude doesn't come naturally, either. Offerdahl recalls the time his floor began peeling, so he and his wife began stripping it to restain at midnight.

"It was hot, sultry, and who walks in but Dan Marino? He says, â€˜John, what are you doing?' I looked up from my mop and thought, â€˜Yah, what am I doing?' That's the part in this business people don't see."

In the hospitality business you have to care about people in your heart, and it starts with the mop, Offerdahl said.

"The good thing is, I love it. It gets me up every day, which is exactly what I wanted to do after I didn't have sports," Offerdahl says. "I used to trip over my feet all the time. Other than a couple of hang nails, I've stayed healthy out here in the restaurant field — I have yet to trip over the mop."