Growth, Influence, and Team Dynamics in QSR

It's definitely time to grow when, you know, it could be something as simple as this store is so busy that we can't even maybe the sales just we could even if we had a store, you know, ten minutes down the street. So maybe we see that there's a market there. Hi Hi there. Welcome to IQ talk. I'm Savannah Jones with our guest today, Mandy Ristick. She's a franchisee and operating partner with the OAM Group. Hi, Mandy. Thanks for joining me. Hi. Hey. Hi. How are you? I'm so excited. I know. This is gonna be great. I can't wait to hear about all of all of your success and how many stores you've got now, what the plans are. So why don't you give us a little bit of background on your career and how you ended up where you are now? Well, I started actually in the food industry. Just they have a really, quick little recap like you asked. I did start when I was very young, sixteen. And I went to my local Baskin Robbins in town and, got a job at the local Baskin Robbins and ended up meeting my husband there. His family owned it, end up marrying him, and we ended up buying that Baskin Robbins. And that was, like, so long ago. So, so we own and operated that through twenty seventeen, so for a very long time. And and prior to that, throughout the growing pains of, growing our own family and, you know, just growing up in life. We I kinda wanted to do, more and just really got a side job as, a cake decorator in a local Dunkin' that was comboed with the Baskin, and that was a short twelve years ago. Made cakes for that operator, and, he had seven units at the time. He asked me to be a restaurant manager, and I decided to take it. And that was in, like I said, it was about twenty twelve. And I never ran a drive through restaurant before. I never wore, like, a headset. I, didn't do anything to that scale of of one Dunkin' Baskin operation, but, I mean, it was kind of exciting. It made a little extra income for the home. It got me out of the house, out of the business, and, really kind of fell into it from day one from there. I was a very, I guess, fast learner, when it came to running that business, and then soon enough, I wanted more. And he he ended up, giving me about three units. This it seemed like a lot. Started from a very small you know, like I said, couldn't even answer a drive through and all of a sudden running three of his restaurants. And they all had the Baskin and the Dunkin' in them. And then, you know, just kinda outgrew him, went on to another franchise group, ran seven units for them. I thought that was a lot. They had some growing pains to do, and, geographically, it wasn't working out. Went on to meet who I am with now, group, that's, founded by two brothers, and they're out of Chicago. And they started in the Dunkin' world and, met up with them in twenty sixteen. They had two units. They were buying six more, and they needed my help. And, we met then and became there, and now we're at I just in my group, we're at fifty restaurants. That is crazy growth. That started in twenty I met the brothers in twenty sixteen. Wow. Well, throughout your time at Dunkin' and the Homegrown, you've gone from a few to that many locations, and you've gained a lot of recognition along the way. Why don't you share some of our in your insights into your journey of growing the franchise business within your world? And that that that is a lot. Right. It is a lot. I think I really think what started to pave my way and to really put my foot down and get excited is, hey. I part partnered with, whom my business partners are fantastic, but they, wanted to grow. Right? They had they have the fire in them, and they they wanted to grow Detroit. And they had the the means to help grow. So it was like getting into Detroit market, getting more stores, building them, taking over more. Like, they weren't shy to it, and I kinda like the excitement. And what really started to take off is when Detroit started to turn around their numbers, more stores started to, be built, you know, that people were starting to be like, who's doing this? And, you know, wait. Wait. What's going on? And, you know, what is this group all about? And, you know, who is running it? And I think that's partly where this kinda started. Started to get really excited about own group and our growth and would start, as, you know, posting on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram, but LinkedIn really seems to be the platform for this. And then from there, I didn't even realize, but kinda started a little bit of a small following and just really started to see that people would reach out and say, wow. We really love what you're doing and, you know, would love to connect with you. And then, sometimes when you're at the same type of function, whether, you know, it's a Dunkin' function, you would run into these people. And they're like, oh my god. I we follow you and, you know, and just kinda went from there. That's And I think just started to build in the cities. You know, you learn city officials. You start you just start working with a bunch of different people. Oh, that's ex that's really exciting. Yeah. And you expand your horizons and start Yep. Working with other people in under other industries that are also interested in growth. What are the signs that it's time to grow? Well, for for us in the you mean, like, the brand and the and the Dunkin' sense of it or even even in own group in general. But with Dunkin', especially, I think to me, it's just you have to grow a brand in a certain sense. Like, if there's not a lot of your brand, it's hard because then people don't recognize it or they're not gonna come as often. The more stores that you build, whether it's me or another franchise partner, just gives more people like, wow. Duncan's really, you know, coming to my neighborhood, this neighborhood, and then people that maybe only got it for work, and now there's one maybe at in their neighborhood where they live, they now become, you know, my afternoon or, you know, weekend drinker along with their kids, their family, and and and whatever. So we get that a lot where people would say, oh, I go to Dunkin', but it's only by my, you know, work. You know? And I'm like, oh, well, where is that at? You know? You know? Stuff like that. You see the need that it's time to get in some of these cities and communities, and you gotta listen to the community. A lot of people, you know, tell you, like, hey. You should build one here. And, you know, you have to do some research about it. You can't just, like, go everywhere. But it's definitely time to grow when you know, it could be something as simple as this store is so busy that we can't even you know, maybe the sales just we we could even if we had a store, you know, ten minutes down the street. So maybe we see that there's a market there too. You know? Or, really, the guests will tell you. You know? And if you build it, they will come. Yes. Not always, but so far for me. Right. Well I've taken I've I've taken some risks. I've gone into, I wanted to do anything to get dunking in everyone's hand in Detroit. We have some competitors out here. And I I built in some places that, you know, like Detroit Medical Center in downtown. It it's in the center of Southern hospitals. I said, anyone that comes to this hospital that goes to this food court, it's gonna say Dunkin'. You know? And not everyone would do, you know, little we call them nontraditional. We're in a airport. We're in a wholesale or just our group. We're in a wholesale. I did a casino. I've done a hotel. And those kind of projects excite me too, but we're gonna keep going with those nontraditionals. I got some stuff up my sleeve, next couple years. Oh, that's I just can't talk about it. Well, so still growth on the horizon is what you're saying. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. You're not We're paced to do about ten to fifteen units a year with our brands Wow. Right now. That's that's an if not more. Amazing Yeah. Growth. And as you continue to grow, what are some of the key lessons that you've learned about maintaining quality and consistency? I would be honest to say it's very hard to do. The consistency is just kind of really being aware, being surrounding yourself with the good people, which is a big part of my whole success. But you just have to be aware. You have to be you do have to be on top of things whether it is something digitally, like, where one of my partners is DTIQ. Like, just being on the ground and being like, hey. Are are they, you know, is their speed the same as the other store? Is their complaints the same? Are they less? Are they more? I mean, you really have to visit a lot of stores, and I always will visit a store anytime I can just to make sure. And I don't really say much just to make sure we are getting that consistent quality. But I I will tell you, you know, guest will tell you. You know? It will always be your number one key, but, you know, your turnover will tell you stuff like that will tell you, but it's it's it's not easy, and you gotta stay at it. You gotta talk about it. You gotta communicate with people and in throughout the whole entire organization. So everybody understands what the mission is and and what's what's really important to all of us. What communication is huge in our group. Well, as you continue to expand, what are some of the biggest challenges you're running into or have you run into and have you tackled them? I would say I'm trying to get ahead of things at the moment, but, obviously, there was a time where I didn't really know. I mean, from my background, I started with, you know, one location and thought the first Dunkin' combo was a big operation. So to look at a higher scale is there was a time that I ran into a little bit of, like, a wall, so to speak, to go wait. You know? Like, how I mean, I'm in two states. Like, how you know? We also in this Michigan Detroit area, we have some out outlier that are sometimes two hours away for me to touch. And and I you seem a little overwhelmed, and you feel like it's too much. But I literally have felt that it's been what was challenging for me was and still is is what I used to do with ten units and give my big impact to them was harder on a bigger scale. And and then it used to just be again, I can't touch, you know, you know, ten restaurants, and now I eat five twenty five. And then I start to look at the calendar, and I would be like, even if I had thirty days in a week, I can't even hit a store a day. And it's just it it would that that was my struggle. I couldn't once I got past that twenty five units, it got a little bit easier a different way. And I know it sounds crazy, but it I learned how to now touch on stores maybe in an area, maybe not touch on every single store, but really had to learn to lean on your people to be letting you know some of these things, letting you in on things, staying staying in connection in a way so that people don't think that, you know, the touch is still there, you know, even though I can't get to a a store every month. And nowadays, it's hard to get to even one in every three months. You know? So it's it's gonna continue to be a a problem. It's not easy to do, but we're trying our best. I'm trying my best. Yeah. Yeah. Challenges come with scale, and you have to Yeah. Challenges scale. Like I said, the scale is just keeping everybody happy all the time. It's like keeping the same thing going and still give them that mom and pop feel, which we're very, you know, family feel in I know know it's gonna continue to be that way even when I hit two hundred units. It's it's not gonna be easier. Wow. So Big goals. Oh, yeah. Is it exciting? We just started. We just started. Well, in in the competitive I'm looking at a board that shows how many stores are being built. That's why I need to pay for it. Yeah. So it's constantly there. Nice. Watching watching your future grow. In the competitive fast food industry, building influence and collaboration is crucial. Could you discuss your role in influencing not only your own Dunkin' stores, but also your interactions and partnerships with other operators within the fast food industry? So I I do like to network a lot. Networking always gets you to a lot of different places. And, you know, it's I we have to stay relevant with not only our competitors that are around us as neighbors, but, you know, also in this food industry because a lot of our employees that are in our QSR space are the same employees of maybe, you know, your your neighbors. So it's good to see, like, small things like, oh, what are what are you paying them? What is an employee benefit? What is what do they like? What do they dislike about working? And, you know, I just think that's really relevant. But, also, when I network with other leaders that are just in the Dunkin' space, it's nice to see how was your infrastructure or how what's what struggles do you have? Or if they're doing something that's even maybe a cool technology piece, it's kind of interesting to go, oh, you know, that's very interesting to learn. It it just kinda keeps you relevant, and it's also good sources, but you never know when people apply. You're like, wait. I know someone at at such and such, and let me give them a call. Right. I just it has to it's you have to keep relevant. But no. Definitely. I learn a lot from other people. I mean, like like, from my background, I I don't don't have that corporate, ladder or that type of education. And, you know, I used to doubt myself, but now I I I don't anymore. But I there used to be times where I would ask a lot of questions because I wanted to learn the industry, and I wanted to learn, you know, how this should look like, like, as we grow too. So Well, working with all the other partners and and building other relationships, do you have any specific examples of how you leverage these relationships to drive innovation and operational improvements? I mean, I would say, like, the partners that I work with, which is, like, DTIQ is one, who introduced us together. Keeping, like, a relationship with them is important or or or we have a lot of relationships with people that, we have different services with, whether it's with employment, with our, you know, drive through technology, whether it's, like, the eye in the sky with the surveillance. But it's it's good to all be on the same page with a lot of things. Like, like, you don't wanna have to call all the time and reexplain yourself about, hey. I need this now. We're building a location. You know, I might need this service from you or that. And, also, there was there's some of our vendors that we they were all kind of growing at the same time, so it's, like, been really nice to see some of that growth. Like, just like, hey. Remember when we used to do this, but now we have to get here. And, you know, I I think it's I love the relationships, and I know I probably have so many more people to meet in my life. But, definitely take things and take things to another like, learning something, taking something that a vendor has taught us, a relationship, and taking it into your everyday is is crucial. What do you feel is your recipe to success to keeping your staff happy? Listen. Times have been hard. We've been through COVID. We've been through a pandemic, and then we went through what we call, we have different names for it, but, like, the staffing crisis and, you know, the, you know, all these things of after the, you know, pandemic. And it's you know, being in this space where we're at in the QSR or people wanna call it fast food, whatever people wanna say is one of the is is a very hard sector. Sector, the hospitality in general since COVID and the pandemic. And I will say, you know, not to brag, but I didn't have a huge problem, with some of my I mean, obviously, there's problems, but I never closed a single restaurant, pandemic, when we were in shelter in place. We never closed a single restaurant once. Yeah, we had to reduce some hours and and get a little creative, you know, with availability, but, you know, we We had to reduce some hours and and get a little creative, you know, with availability. But I I think what the number one thing is, I I try to make people happy. We listen to people. It has to be a great place to work. You have to be relatable. You have to understand, what people are going through. I think so far and hopefully in my path and even even if I were to be even a bigger operator and a bigger, you know, title, I don't I don't think that really matters a whole lot with us because a lot of people relate to me or my team because I I'm no different than I mean, I didn't start that long long ago, and I literally was a barista cake decorator. So, I mean, you just have to stay relatable. So and you have to talk to a lot of people. You have to figure out, like, what makes people happy. And today, right now, in March twenty twenty four isn't always money. It isn't always what everyone thinks. You know? People don't want a pizza party anymore. They used to be really exciting. You know, maybe four years ago, they're excited about pizza. Now they're like, pizza, that's what you wanna give me? And, you know, I just you you just have to stay I think what just you have to know your employees. I can't even tell you how many times if I've seen other operators walk past people and don't even know who they are. It's just it's not us. And I don't think that makes for, you know, an environment. I try and be really, you know, relatable. And if someone has a problem, whether it's something on a frontline or it's a back office issue, I understand it. So let's let's talk about it. Let's work through it. And, you know, just my big thing that own group and hopefully what I'm known about is I grow people. And, you can start off as a cake decorator and and do what I do. And I think that's huge in our company, and we've grown a lot of people. So people have had those stories to say, yeah. I was with her, you know, when I thought she was crazy taking over store, you know, eleven or whatever. You know, we you have to grow your people and give them the sense to be you know, they have to be happy. They they they wanna be able to grow. They wanna feel that they're taken care of. And then it just kinda can resonate throughout all of the stores if all of your leaders feel the same way. Mandy, did you think it was hard to replicate this with all your locations? Yeah. It's very hard. It's still very hard. All what I've learned in my short twelve years is that everyone's me. So, no, they're not gonna think, act, you know, and work like me. People used to say it, and they might still say it, like, if only we could clone you. So you just have to do your best. Like, no. You can't clone me. And you know what? Maybe they don't have to be a hundred percent like me. I'm not a hundred percent perfect. So it's been really hard, but to find those other people that are my right left hand, you know, hands, which I I really do have some very good director of operations that work for me that are are literally my rocks. And you gotta let them know that, hey. Yeah. This is what I believe in. This is our core value. These are my you know, how I feel, how we you know, the, you know, I'm strict on certain things, but they have the same values. They have the same ethics. But both of them are a little different, and then I'm a little different. And it and it's in a good way because something that I might lack, they might have. Something that I need from them that maybe I can't possess. They do. And it just works because as long as they they have that same value and they understand, then all of our locations can run that way because they have the same value. And it's it's that's just how, you know, the best way. I don't even know how to explain it, but it's it's it's not always gonna be exactly a hundred percent, but it it works. It really works. Well, in addition to that, what advice would you give restaurant leaders who are struggling now to maintain those higher levels engage of engagement with their teams? This is actually, one of the questions I get asked the most, recently. I have, like, I've opened up two stores in the last couple weeks, and we've had like, one of them had over fifty five employees, and the other one had, you know, the normal amount for a dump here, like, twenty five. And everyone keeps asking me, like, what can I do? How come, you know, how come this isn't like this? And I and I'll I I don't have the answer. I I I would say people that are struggling to maintain, they they kinda kinda have to go back to basics. I don't know. I I don't think it's hard. I always say you never get bored with the basics. Everyone always asks me the same thing over and over, but just go back to basics. And sometimes, you know, you have to go back from square one and and ask the people that are working for you and say, hey. Let's just sit down. Let's figure this out. You know, why why, you know, figure out in the restaurant, you know, how how can I get this restaurant And just this is just what I do for a living? So how can I get this restaurant or this team or this, you know, area? Like, we're struggling. I can't keep engagement. How how do I do this? And ask them, and you and it's and it's doable because, you know, it it just you have to figure out like, I back to square one. Back to basics because you'll find your answers in there. A lot of people tend to get away from the basics, and that's when you see things just go a little AWOL. And, you know, I walk into restaurants and think, like, well, you can see there's a problem here. You know? The the the employees don't look happy. The floors don't look clean. You know? The bathroom's not stocked, and, you know, you're missing things off your menu. The what is going on here? You know? You kinda have to just go back to square one. Good advice. Yeah. Well, before before we close, is there anything else that you'd like to add? I love what I do. I love, our brands. I love who I work for or who I work with, and I think that I wouldn't have it any other way. I can't wait to see what the next, you know, five, ten years bring. And I'm, hopefully, this won't be the first time you've heard from me, Savannah. So, hopefully, I can make a name for myself too. But no. I I if I could inspire, you know, people to do the same thing, it's not just about doing this, but just there's a lot of people that I am starting to talk to as I'm getting more open and talk about my story is, it's never too late to start something new. I was, what people would say, quote, unquote, later in life to start this career. Never think that, you don't have a skill set just because you didn't go to school or, you know, that you were a stay at home mom or, you know, even, like, me, I owned a business, but I was basically the stay at home mom and and thought, like, oh, I wanna go out and do something. Like, it it doesn't mean there are so many times in my life that in this career part that people have really questioned, like, why did you get this job? Or or why are you here? Or why are you doing this? And it used to make me feel upset that I didn't have that skill or maybe maybe they were right. And the biggest thing was not to doubt yourself. If you have a passion and you're learning and you're excelling in your own, you know, world, you can do anything. Don't don't ever let anyone stop you. Well, thank you, Mandy. I'm, Thank you. Really intrigued by your beginning and your growth and your middle, and it sounds like you have a very exciting future ahead of you. I hope so. Great. Good luck and so much. Thank you so much for joining me today. I appreciate it. I appreciate it. I hope to see you soon. And be watching for our next episode.