Iced coffee with an extra shot of joy. That’s what was featured on the Dunkin’ menu on May 25th when franchisees across the country celebrated the brand’s first National Iced Coffee Day and committed to donating $1 from every iced coffee sold to the Dunkin’ Joy in Childhood Foundation (Dunkin’ Joy.) The result was a…
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What a time to be in business. As the pandemic recedes and we emerge from the past two years of COVID, many are looking for silver linings in the economic cloud. The job market is robust, the unemployment rate has fallen close to pre-pandemic levels at 3.6 percent, wages are rising and consumer spending is…
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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…
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While the labor shortage has impacted businesses across the board, franchisees know firsthand how the hospitality space is getting hit especially hard. Many workers in hospitality, who lost their jobs during the pandemic, don’t intend to return to work in the industry, according to research from the career site Joblist that examined the second quarter…
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At no point since Independent Joe began publishing in 2012 has there been as strong a push to unionize quick-service restaurants as there is today. In the last edition of this magazine, with the cover echoing patriot Paul Revere’s call, “The unions are coming! The unions are coming!” we saw how a nascent effort to…
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In the face of a historic labor shortage, there are several levers franchisees can pull to help recruit and retain workers. One that may not be top of mind is to communicate their plight to state and federal lawmakers. “They are aware of the labor shortage, but they need specific examples from their constituents,” says…
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“You have to ask yourself, ‘Do we really even need dining rooms?’” That question, from Florida franchisee John Griffey, is on the mind of virtually every QSR operator. “I think the world has changed forever. More and more, people don’t really want to come inside the stores, and Covid moved everybody to the digital world,”…
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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,…
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The Build Back Better (BBB) Act is a signature piece of legislation that President Joe Biden put forth ahead of his inauguration. In Nov. 2021, the House of Representatives approved the $2 trillion plan that initially included funds for Covid-19 relief, social services, welfare, infrastructure and reducing the effects of climate change. But, Democratic Senator…
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For Army veteran George Hart, a second career as a Dunkin’ franchisee began as a joke. “I’m from New Jersey originally, and I grew up on Dunkin’. To me, that’s what coffee tastes like, but when I was in the Army, I couldn’t get a good cup of coffee anywhere,” laughs Hart. “I would joke…
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