During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Consolidated Restaurant Operations, the parent company of restaurant brands El Chico, Cantina Laredo, III Forks, Luckys and Silver Fox, focused on surviving.
The company was forced to close four franchise locations during the pandemic and did what it could to consolidate both restaurant and employee personnel including streamlining menus and considering curbside and delivery options.
Mike Flippo, CRO’s president of franchise operations, said CRO has seen sales improve and is now focusing on growth.
“We started to see what we consider improvement in March or April of this year,” Flippo said. “The first part of the year is typically slower anyways. But we started seeing growth, and we were excited about it probably around March.”
One of CRO’s key growth strategies is focusing on expanding its franchise market. The company currently operates 50 restaurants, and Flippo said the company wants to increase its Cantina Laredo footprint by 30 stores. The goal is to have 50 stores in the next five years and target the top 50 markets in the United States.
“We want to do that through franchising,” Flippo said. “We think that there is an opportunity right now for everyone. It helps bring new franchisees on board and existing franchisees to help with their expansions.”
To further their franchise development, CRO created a franchise referral program for employees, partners, vendors, existing franchisees and even friends of employees. The referral program gives anyone who refers someone who becomes a new franchisee $25,000.
CRO also wants to grow its presence abroad. The business partnered with a restaurant company in the United Arab Emirates that had already begun franchising with other brands and currently has a Cantina Laredo in Abu Dhabi. CRO has another restaurant scheduled to open in Qatar next year.
“There are operators out there,” Flippo said. “We just need to find people that we can introduce our brands to that will work in whatever international market it may be. “
Now is the best time to start franchising, Flippo said. Landlords are willing to work with tenants to create favorable deals for both the tenant and landlords.
“I think the time for franchising is now,” Flippo said. “It typically takes anywhere from nine months to 18 months to get a restaurant open. if you wait six months from now, you're just going to be far behind the start to finish program. We think now is the opportunity.”
# of Domestic Franchises 2019
| Rank | Prior Rank | Company |
|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Pizza Hut |
2 | 2 | Wingstop Inc. |
3 | 3 | HomeVestors of America Inc. |
