Homes for Our Troops and the Dunkin’ Brands Community Foundation Host Three-Day Build Brigade to Construct Specially Adapted Home for Army SPC Alex Knapp

Homes for Our Troops and the Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation will host a three-day
Build Brigade beginning today October 30 through November 1 to provide Army SPC David (Alex) Knapp with a brand new specially adapted barrier free home. The Build Brigade will take place at 15625 Downing Street in Macomb Township, Michigan.

Larry Gill, Homes for Our Troops Veterans Liaison, along with local General Contractor Sam Palazzolo from Palazzolo Brothers Custom Homes will raise the first wall at 8:30AM on Friday, October 30.

Throughout the Build Brigade, professional tradespeople will volunteer their time, skills and materials to frame the home, install doors, windows, a roof and siding to make it air-tight to the weather.

Army SPC David (Alex) Knapp was on his final mission in Iraq before going on leave when he lost both legs in an IED explosion on March 14, 2008. His convoy was hit with an IED injuring soldiers and trapping SPC Knapp in the vehicle. After being removed from the truck by his squad, Alex was triaged for medevac and tried to refuse treatment when he learned his team leader was also
severely injured.

 

After arriving at the Casualty Extraction Point, he fell unconscious and awoke nine days later to find himself at Walter Reed, not knowing he had arrived there via Landstuhl, Germany. Alex remains at Walter Reed, as he receives therapy and treatments that will allow him to improve his mobility.

Alex hopes to eventually work in Counter-Terrorism. He enjoys mono-skiing, sled hockey and wheelchair basketball and looks forward to transitioning to civilian life and one day starting a family. 

“The mission of Homes for Our Troops is to provide severely injured veterans who have sacrificed so much for our country with specially adapted homes. A barrier free home will enable Alex to be more independent so he can pursue his dreams for the sacrifice he made on behalf of our country,” said John Gonsalves, President and Founder of Homes for Our Troops.  “Build Brigades are
a great way for everyone in the community to show their support for these brave American heroes.”

“The Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation is committed to giving back in the communities we serve,” said Stephan Shelton, Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee and Co-Chair of the Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation. “We are proud to partner with Homes for Our Troops to help provide SPC Alex Knapp with a barrier free home adapted to meet his specific needs. He is a true American hero.”

Homes for Our Troops has completed 43 specially adapted homes since its inception in 2004. Currently there are 30 homes in various stages of construction throughout the United States. The financial support from organizations like the Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation and volunteer commitment from General Contractor Sam Palazzolo significantly decreases building time by 25 percent, from ground breaking to the presentation of the keys taking approximately six months. The average cost of
each home, depending on location is approximately $275,000. All homes are presented to the veteran at no cost.

About Homes for Our Troops
Homes for Our Troops is a national non-profit 501(c) 3 organization based in Taunton, MA founded by John Gonsalves in 2004. Homes for Our Troops’ mission is to build specially adapted homes for severely injured veterans who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan. All specially adapted homes are built at no cost to the veteran thanks to donations from thousands of individuals, foundation grants, corporate sponsors, professional tradespeople and generous support from countless volunteers.

Quiznos Loans Franchisees Capital for Reimage Program

David Farkas reports in Chain Leader that to revitalize its brand, Quiznos is rolling out a new decor package and upgraded training. To get franchisees to buy in, the restaurant chain is loaning them the money.
 
Quiznos is tempting franchisees with a low-interest rate on small loans to be used for remodeling the restaurants.
 
Among the items Quiznos franchisees must purchase with the $3,750 loan are wallpaper and installation, counter surfaces, graphics and menu boards.

Quiznos recently announced a loan program that offers franchisees an interest rate below conventional lenders. Company officials say they are making loans of about $3,750 to franchisees for the purchase of a new upgrade package and charging a fixed interest rate of 5.25 percent.

That works out to an interest cost of roughly $197, or about $100 less than a conventional commercial loan at 8 percent. A third party is underwriting and servicing the loans, Quiznos says. The restaurant chain operates and franchises more than 4,000 units.

“We want to see that money work in the marketplace,” Quiznos CEO Rick Schaden said in a prepared statement.

The company says it is also is funding a “working capital loan” of up to $14,000 at the same rate to shore up the cash flow of struggling franchisees.

What the Money Buys

The smaller loan is to be used to purchase wallpaper and installation, a graphics package, menu boards, professional cleaning services, uniforms, the resurfacing of customer areas, and a DVD for training purposes.

Quiznos Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications Ellen Kramer says a new “customer focused” training program is being rolled out along with the reimage program, though she won’t share details.

The upgraded decor and training are expected to be completed throughout the system in early 2010.

Franchisee Support

Earlier this year the Denver-based chain made news by providing franchisees access to third-party lease negotiators to help trim rents. Schaden said the effort was prompted by the down economy, in which landlords were likely to negotiate lower rents to help tenants remain in business.

James Walker, chief development officer of fast-casual restaurant chain Baja Fresh, isn’t surprised by Quiznos programs given the economy. “Even those franchisees that would qualify for loans are finding the time it takes to get a loan is four times longer today [than it was 18 months ago],” he says. Baja Fresh has no such program because franchisees tend to be well-funded, he claims.

Fuddruckers’ Senior Vice President of Franchise Development P.J. Evans believes it’s Quiznos’ duty to help franchisees at a time like this. “As a 100 percent franchised system, Quiznos has an obligation to build the brand because franchisees are bearing the risk,” he says. “It is in the franchisor’s best interest to help spur growth.”

Quiznos arch-rival Subway, which does not have a loan program for franchisees, is wrapping up a reimage program begun a year-and-a-half ago, says Jeff Moody, CEO of Subway’s Franchisee Advertising Fund Trust. Nearly all franchisees have updated their stores. “We are not asking franchisees to spend more money in this environment,” he adds.

Read more at: Chain Leader

The Secrets Behind Qdoba’s Success: Multi Concept Franchisees

Todd Owen, Qdoba’s vice president of franchise development, tells QSR about how the more-than-500-unit Mexican chain uses multi-concept franchisees to grow its business and what the chain’s strategy is to attract the best franchisees.

How does having multi-concept franchisees play into Qdoba’s growth strategy?

A franchisee we have in North Carolina who has 22 Qdobas is a former COO at Hardee’s and a former president at Bojangles’. This story is somewhat rare, to have that level of senior executives come over to the franchise side.

He’d never, to my understanding, been really involved as a franchisee in any other system, but decided that instead of pursuing life on the corporate side of the restaurant business, that he would become a multiunit franchisee in the Qdoba system.

That kind of speaks very clearly to our overall development strategy, that while you’re fishing in certainly a smaller pool of applicants, because of their experience and capital, we believe that it’s the healthiest strategic way in which to grow our franchisee base.

How does Qdoba attract franchisees who own other brands?

I don’t know that it’s intentional that they’re from so many different brands. We have a restriction basically that you can’t be in a Mexican or wrap-type competitor. But other than that there’s no restriction in our franchise agreement.

There are probably three reasons that a franchisee is looking at us. One is, perhaps they’ve built out their market. We’ll use as example Papa John’s. They’ve saturated their market in Cincinnati and they don’t want to go to Columbus. They just assume to do something in Cincinnati where they know real estate, they’ve got people, they’ve got banking relationships.

Maybe it’s diversification. As we know in our economy, especially in restaurants, casual dining has been hit harder than fast casual or fast food. It kind of allows them to diversify [by franchising a quick serve].

And, of course, we like to believe that we have a very competitive economic model, that for the risk that anybody takes in starting a business, that they would find perhaps a better return at Qdoba than, say, a Burger King.

With any investment it’s, “OK, if I’m going to take a risk with an investment, where is the best return for the risk I’m taking?” We’re getting large enough now, to some of these franchisees, we’ve become a pretty substantial part of their business portfolio.

What’s the advantage of having multi-concept franchisees?

The restaurant business isn’t necessarily rocket science; however, we do believe it takes a special type of person to be successful in it, and we believe that one of the greatest indicators of that is past performance in other restaurant systems.

It can be indicative of future success in Qdoba. Having restaurant experience and a track record of success doesn’t guarantee that they’ll be successful at Qdoba, it just increases the odds.

How is Qdoba attracting franchisees, especially in the recession?

We’re certainly not the Golden Arches, but we are building a brand and have a good amount of runway ahead of us to continue to expand and build upon our credible name.

So there’s a strong future ahead for the category and especially for Qdoba as one of the top leaders in that fast-casual category. And lastly, we’ve not made headcount reductions here. We continue to invest in the future of our business.
What is the perfect franchisee?

An entrepreneur that follows the rules. I didn’t create that phrase, but I do like it. An entrepreneur is somebody that obviously wants to make up their own rules, is a visionary who can come up with all of these ideas, but in the franchising world, you have to follow the rules, you have to follow the system.

They’re entrepreneurially minded but are willing to acquiesce to the company, the marketing plan that we’ve got out there, the store design, and the spec we make on our chicken. They’ve got a million other things to think about every week to make their business successful and are willing to give up some of the control. Ideally, somebody can have the business experience, they can have the restaurant experience, they can have boat loads of money, but boy if that relationship between franchisee and franchisor is not good, it’s going to be a long and painful marriage, and God hope you don’t get a divorce.

It’s Buyer Beware for Franchisees

Letter to the Editor of the Boston Globe by Stephen Frenkel director of negotiation programs at MWI. Stephen will be speaking at the New England Franchise Association’s November 17th meeting. Click here for more information.

Dear Boston Globe Editor:

THE BENEFITS of owning a franchise are made clear in “Buying into a franchise can take uncertainty out of getting started’’ (Business, Oct. 11). But, based on our experience at Mediation Works Inc. with franchises, potential hazards inherent in these businesses should also be addressed.

A clear picture should be portrayed so that prospective franchisees can accurately assess the investment.

First, while franchise owners “own’’ their business, they answer to the franchisor, who can demand changes, such as renovations or new fees, without input from franchisees.

Some franchisors have more franchisee-friendly terms than others. For example, how are major changes handled? Are the terms fair to both parties?

Second, what are business relationships like with other franchisees? How are disagreements handled? Franchises represent the epitome of long-term working relationships. Differences must be worked out in a collaborative, respectful manner. Conflict or lawsuits between parties locked together over the long term can turn ugly.

Owning a franchise business may seem like a great opportunity with support and low risk, and often it is.

Potential franchisees, however, should read the fine print and research the history and climate of the company and its relationships.

Stephen Frenkel
Boston
The writer is director of negotiation programs at MWI.

Boston May Ban Styrofoam Containers in Restaurants

Anna Rice writes in the Hunington News that Styrofoam, also known as expanded polystyrene, could be banned in restaurants and other food service businesses if a proposal by City Councilor-At-Large Steven Murphy passes.

Murphy said he proposed the ordinance at a hearing Oct. 15 because styrofoam containers cannot be easily recycled.

The ordinance would apply to food service businesses that have over 5,000 square feet of retail or wholesale space or more than five locations in Boston.

Boston would not be the first US city to implement such a ban; San Francisco, Portland, Ore., and Seattle have already done so.

Jim Hunt, chief of environmental and energy services for the city of Boston, testified in support of the polystyrene ban at the hearing.

Hunt said it is possible to recycle polystyrene citing the Strive program at Brighton High School, which recycles styrofoam into reusable plastic trays. But it is not as cost-effective as recycling other materials and cannot be recycled in Boston’s single-stream recycling program, he said.

“It doesn’t break down,” Hunt said. “It will be here for hundreds of years in landfills or wherever the material may end up.”

But some local businesses do not support the ban. Representatives from several organizations that would be affected voiced their opposition at the hearing.

Scott Murphy, vice president of strategic manufacturing for Dunkin’ Brands, which owns Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin Robbins, said the proposed ordinance would have a negative impact on small business owners in Boston.

He said there are approximately 130 Dunkin’ Donuts stores in Boston, each operated by local franchisees. Switching from styrofoam cups to paper cups would cost about $10,000 per year, he said, which would likely result in increased coffee prices.

“The truth is we need more time to figure out the right solution,” Scott Murphy said.

Mike Levy, executive director of the Plastics Foodservice Packaging Group, also opposed the ban. He said more waste would be generated by banning styrofoam because people would “double cup” paper cups or use cardboard sleeves, since paper cups are not good insulators.

“I would argue that more people should be using foam cups, because you’ll have a lighter carbon footprint,” Levy said.

He said he urges the city to add polystyrene to its single-stream recycling program and said several other cities, including Los Angeles and Toronto, had done so.

Ray Ehrlich, spokesperson for Dart Container Corporation, a leading manufacturer of food service products, agreed with Levy. He said replacing styrofoam cups with paper cups was not a solution to Boston’s waste problems.

“I continue to not understand why polystyrene is looked at in a vacuum and other food service materials aren’t,” Ehrlich said.

At the meeting’s conclusion, Steven Murphy and City Council President Maureen Feeney said they had a much better understanding of the issues surrounding a polystyrene ban and that they hoped to host a less formal discussion with stakeholders in the near future.

Seth McCoy, communications director for Steven Murphy, told The News the city will be moving forward with the ordinance slowly.

“The hearing is the first step in a long process,” she said.

Some Northeastern students, like sophomore physical therapy major Jill Lampl, said they support Steven Murphy’s initiative.

“If it’s going to benefit the city, why not?” Lampl said. “There’s other things they can use besides styrofoam.”

Others, like Bill Morrison, a middler economics major, said they disagree, and that styrofoam is the most effective material for coffee cups and other food service containers.

“I don’t know what they would use [for coffee cups] instead,” Morrison said.

Canadian Fast Food Giant Expands Southward

Noreen O’Leary writes in Brandweek that Tim Hortons the donut and sandwich chain, huge in Canada, but largely unknown here, has been expanding its U.S. footprint of late and appears to be using the market as a testing ground. So far, Tim Hortons spend has been modest. Its outlay on measured media last year was $12 million in the U.S., which is a good $100 million shy of what Dunkin’ Donuts spent. But the chain, named after a star hockey player, has been throwing body checks at its rival lately.

This summer, for instance, Tim Hortons entered New York City by buying up old Dunkin’ locations. The move gives it a presence in highly visible locations like Times Square, Penn Station and Herald Square, and capturing the attention of bloggers and media, including several articles in The New York Times.

Tim Hortons (the name lacks an apostrophe) opened its first U.S. location in Buffalo, N.Y., in 1984, but lately its U.S. expansion has been picking up.

David Clanachan, Tim Hortons’ chief operations officer, U.S. and international, said he’s seeking out high-traffic areas in airports, hospitals, colleges and sports stadiums. (Two weeks ago, Tim Hortons opened a restaurant at Fort Knox, the first U.S. military location for a company that already has operations on seven Canadian bases and in Kandahar, Afghanistan.)

As for brand positioning, Hortons will attempt to lure Dunkin’ customers with an emphasis on fresh products. In Canada, the ubiquitous brand—where a “double double” (coffee, two creams, two sugars) and cruller is a morning ritual—uses the tag “Always fresh. Always Tim Hortons.” In the U.S., it’s “Tim Hortons: Where quality meets value,” and advertising features product shots of the latest promotional items. (JWT, Toronto, handles both campaigns.)

The brand also got a shout-out last week when it was integrated into an episode of CBS’ How I Met Your Mother, with its setting in Canada. The placement was initiated by a writer on the show who comes from Canada.

Glen Hollis, vp-national advertising, said there’s more to the brand than freshness, in Canada, at least. “There’s more of an emotional attachment and sense of belonging in the way we connect with our customers,” said Hollis. “Tim Hortons is always a part of your life, which is a little different from just a focus on freshness.”

Read more at: Brandweek

Caribou Coffee Tests Oatmeal, In-store Pastry Ovens

John Vomhof Jr. reports in the Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal that Caribou Coffee Co. Inc. is testing ways to perk up its breakfast offerings and soon will launch an enhanced line of chocolate beverages.

Brooklyn Center-based Caribou recently added oatmeal to the menu at 25 stores in the Twin Cities and Washington, D.C., and it’s offering fresh-baked pastries at about 25 locations in the Twin Cities. If the tests are successful, those items might be rolled out companywide.

The coffee chain also will introduce mochas and hot chocolates made from gourmet chocolate at all of its roughly 500 stores in November. As part of that launch, the company will add dark chocolate to its selection of milk- and white-chocolate beverages.

“While I think we have the very best coffee in the industry, we can and should do better in other areas,” said Dan Hurdle, Caribou’s senior vice president of retail operations and product management. “Everything we sell should be on the same level as our coffee, and there are some things in our lineup that are either missing or not as strong as they should be.”

R.J. Hottovy, an analyst at Morningstar Inc. in Chicago, said Caribou is “playing catch-up” in the breakfast segment, where rivals such as Seattle-based Starbucks Coffee Co. and Canton, Mass.-based Dunkin’ Donuts are much more established.

“This is something Caribou absolutely has to do in order to keep up with the industry,” Hottovy said. “It feels like they’re getting in the game a little late, but hopefully they can drive something off it.”

Breakfast tests

Caribou’s new line of fresh-baked treats — everything from scones and muffins to pretzels and cookies — are prepared in TurboChef convection ovens that have been installed at the test stores. Caribou already features many of those menu items at its other locations, but they are baked, sent to stores frozen, then thawed before serving.

“We believe the quality has gone up an enormous magnitude,” Hurdle said of the food that is baked at the stores. The chain is using a different supplier for the test products, but officials declined to name the firm.

Installing the ovens also will allow Caribou to add breakfast and lunch sandwiches to its menu, although there are no plans to do so at this time, Hurdle said.

Meanwhile, Caribou is testing two varieties of oatmeal: one made from oats and another made from a high-protein multigrain blend. Customers can choose from a variety of toppings, including fruit, nuts, raisins, brown sugar, maple syrup and honey.

The oatmeal, which is made from scratch by Caribou’s baristas, costs $2.45 in the Minneapolis market and $2.75 in Washington.

Starbucks added oatmeal to its menu in summer 2008 and it quickly became the company’s top-selling food item. In fact, company officials have called oatmeal the “hero” of its breakfast lineup.

So far, Caribou’s bakery items and oatmeal have been “very well received,” said Hurdle, who spent five years at Starbucks prior to joining Caribou a year ago. If the tests continue to perform well, Caribou plans to add those items at more stores across the chain.

Read more at: Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal

Small Business Faces Sharp Rise in Costs of Health Care

Reed Abelson reports in the New York Times that as Congress nears votes on legislation that would overhaul the health care system, many small businesses say they are facing the steepest rise in insurance premiums they have seen in recent years.

Insurance brokers and benefits consultants say their small business clients are seeing premiums go up an average of about 15 percent for the coming year — double the rate of last year’s increases. That would mean an annual premium that was $4,500 per employee in 2008 and $4,800 this year would rise to $5,500 in 2010.

The higher premiums at least partly reflect the inexorable rise of medical costs, which is forcing Medicare to raise premiums, too. Health insurance bills are also rising for big employers, but because they have more negotiating clout, their increases are generally not as steep.

Higher medical costs aside, some experts say they think the insurance industry, under pressure from Wall Street, is raising premiums to get ahead of any legislative changes that might reduce their profits.

The increases come at a politically fraught time for the insurers, as they try to fight off the creation of a government-run competitor and as they push their case that they have a central role to play in controlling the nation’s health care costs.

President Obama, in his Saturday radio address, said the Democrats’ health insurance overhaul would help small businesses and stimulate the economy by providing relief from “the crushing costs of health care — costs that have forced too many small businesses to cut benefits, shed jobs, or shut their doors for good.”

The insurance industry has already been under sharp attack by Democratic lawmakers who favor creating a government-run insurance plan that would compete with private insurers. Without that competition, proponents say, insurers will continue to price coverage beyond the reach of many Americans.

Small businesses, which employ about 40 percent of the private labor force, are a big constituency for both parties.

The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi of California, said the sharp rise in premiums for small businesses offered the latest evidence that Congress must act swiftly on health care legislation.

“This underlines the urgent need for health insurance reform, including a public option,” she said in an interview. “We need to have competition for the insurance companies to keep premiums down.”

Insurers say there is no need for a government-run insurance plan and argue that their health plans are already responsible for many of the initiatives, like programs to coordinate care for chronic conditions, that ultimately lower costs.

Insurers’ “profits are not responsible for increased health care costs,” said Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for the industry’s trade group, America’s Health Insurance Plans.

Like the insurers, Republican lawmakers, who portray themselves as champions of small business, argue that the proposed legislation would raise premiums across the board because sick people would be more likely to enroll than healthy people.

They also say the taxes and other ways of paying for the program would be passed on to employers in higher premiums, only making matters worse for small businesses.

Read more at: New York Times

Dunkin Donuts Franchise Owners Sign 20-plus Freshii Development in NYC

Obama Asks for SBA Loan Expansion, Franchisees Agree

Don Sniegowski reports at BlueMauMau that President Barack Obama announced plans Wednesday afternoon to shift some of Wall Street’s bailout funds over to community banks in order to spur lending to small businesses, which has slowed to a trickle. With SBA administrator Karen Mills and Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner flanking him, President Obama made several announcements to boost small business.

The President’s speech took place at Metropolitan Archives, a family-operated records storage company in Landover, Maryland.

President Barack Obama, who as a high school student served ice cream in a Honolulu Baskin Robbins franchise, described how small business owners and their tireless work ethic form the backbone of the American economy. “Hewlett-Packard began in a garage. Google began as a research project. McDonald’s started with just one restaurant,” he said.

The President went on to say that although small business creates 65 percent of all new jobs, small businesses have been some of the hardest hit by the recession. “From the middle of 2007 through the end of 2008, small businesses lost 2.4 million jobs,” said the President. “And because banks shrunk from lending in the midst of the financial crisis, it’s been difficult for entrepreneurs to take out the loans they need to start a business. For those who do own a small business, it’s been difficult to finance inventories and make payroll, or expand if things are going well.”

The White House is requesting that Congress increase Small Business Administration 7(a) and 504 loans, used by small business owners to typically buy equipment, land and buildings, from the current cap of $2 million to $5 million.

“These larger loans will help more small business owners and franchisees grow,” Obama declared.

The Administration plans to bring together regulators, congressional leaders, lenders and small businesses to discuss what steps are necessary to get the small business credit pump flowing again.

“I’m confident that the steps we announced today will do that for small business owners across the country, men and women we hear from every day,” said the president.

Obama announces new lending initiatives

The International Franchise Association, representing the needs of some 1,100 franchisors, arranged for franchisor members to invite their franchisees to attend the meeting. Franchisee Vinay Patel of JAI hotels, Meineke dealer Chris Schmitz, and other franchisees were in attendance, many are also members of independent franchisee associations.

Franchisee Chris Schmitz, also president of the Meineke Dealers Association, an independent franchisee association, said, “Ken Walker [CEO of franchisor Meineke] asked me to represent franchisees on behalf of the IFA.” Ken Walker, CEO of Meineke Car Care holding company Driven Brands, Inc., is scheduled to be the next chairman of the International Franchise Association.

Schmitz says that President Obama’s message was good news for all franchisees. “Including those looking for capital to make ends meet, expand their current operations, acquire additional units, or even those looking to sell or divest,” he elaborates. He adds, “Increasing the availability and flow of credit can be an integral part of revitalizing a down economy and stemming the tide of rising unemployment, provided the Congress follows through with the initiative.”

Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee Andy Cabral was also in attendance, and was pointed out in the President’s speech.

“Andy started his business on an SBA loan and now runs 10 stores across Maryland and Virginia that employ 130 people,” President Obama states. “And Andy has already seen one loan fall through the cracks because of the financial crisis and he’s hit the cap on his SBA loans. But the measure we’re announcing today will help Andy and other franchisees pursue their plans to expand and create more jobs.”

Read more at:  Blue MauMau

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