Last fall, marked 50 years since a college student named Mike Cobler opened a sandwich shack in San Jose, Calif. Togo’s has survived the decades – including its 10-year marriage to, and divorce from, Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins that was arranged by then-owner Allied Domecq. Today, Togo’s boasts more than 100 locations with more in the…
Read More »
For a time last year, Dunkin’ customers across the country were sliding clear plastic straws into their cold beverages. Most probably didn’t notice the typical orange and purple stripes were missing. Others, no doubt, chalked it up to something else that had changed during the pandemic. Indeed, straws are just one piece of a complicated…
Read More »
Increased Worker Stress Creates ‘Fertile Ground’ for Union Organizing The Unions are Coming! The Unions are Coming! Many franchise owners are hearing this Paul Revere-type refrain in their heads after learning that workers at a Starbucks store in Buffalo, N.Y. voted to form a union—making it the first of more than 8,000 corporate Starbucks locations…
Read More »
You would have to look far and wide to find a franchise owner who does not think the nature of the franchisor/franchisee relationship could be improved. Entrepreneurs buy franchised businesses because they believe it gives them the opportunity to be their own boss, join an established chain and build wealth. But as most everyone knows,…
Read More »
The Coalition of Franchisee Associations (CFA) recently held its annual Legal Symposium in Las Vegas. Even with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Legal Symposium enjoyed its highest attendance since the CFA began the annual program in 2015, featuring franchisees from 33 national brands. A featured speaker was Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, who is…
Read More »
April 22, 2021 marked day four of Dealmakers Week, presented by Franchise Times. It was also the day the magazine announced its 2020 Deal of the Year. Not surprisingly, the award went to Inspire Brands for its $11.3 billion purchase of Dunkin’ Brands. On hand to receive the award was David Pipes, Inspire Brands chief…
Read More »
New Dunkin’ owner Inspire Brands is not only one of the largest restaurant companies in the world, it also wants to be a leader in the collection, analysis and use of data. To that end, Inspire’s CEO Paul Brown recently created a new corporate position. Navin Sharma, a senior executive with Inspire since 2018, is…
Read More »
What franchisees should remember about Dunkin’s prior history as a private-equity-owned brand For many, 2020 will be a year to forget. But for the restaurant conglomerate Inspire Brands, it will be a year to remember. Having spent billions to acquire Dunkin’ and Baskin Robbins, Inspire has a tall – or Grande – order to fill:…
Read More »
When Independent Joe reached out to industry-watchers to get their reaction to the Inspire Brands $11 billion purchase of Dunkin’, we heard terms like “stratospheric” and “through the roof” used to describe the $106.50 per share price Inspire agreed to pay for the Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins flag. Jonathan Maze, editor of Restaurant Business magazine, put…
Read More »
According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHA), travel on U.S. roads fell nearly 40 percent in April 2020 compared to the previous April, dropping to the lowest point in 25 years. FHA notes the Northeast region saw the largest drop in miles driven. As COVID-19 upended life’s typical routines – like commuting to work –…
Read More »