Rachel Davis of Sharon displays the winner

Beginning next week, QSR Magazine reports that donut devotees can go bananas over the winner of Dunkin’ Donuts’ “Create Dunkin’s Next Donut” contest. “Monkey-See Monkey-Donut,” a bananas foster-filled donut topped with chocolate icing and chopped Reese’s Peanut Butter chips, will be available through September 12 at participating Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants nationwide.

 Created by Rachel Davis of Sharon, Massachusetts, “Monkey-See Monkey-Donut” was chosen from nearly 90,000 contest submissions. As the grand prize winner, Davis received $12,000 along with the opportunity to have her donut sold in participating Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants throughout the country. The 12 contest finalists received $1,200 and traveled to Dunkin’ Donuts’ University in Braintree, Massachusetts, for a bake-off presided over by the Dunkin’ Donuts’ culinary team and company leaders. The winning donut was selected based on the vote of the bake-off judging panel, as well as America’s online vote.

Davis says creating her grand prize-winning donut was a lot of fun, but not so easy that even a monkey could do it. “I love chocolate covered bananas dipped in peanut butter so I used that as inspiration to create the perfect donut,” she says. “I’m really excited for people across the country to have a chance to try the ‘Monkey-See Monkey Donut’ for themselves, and I hope they enjoy it as much as I do.”

Stan Frankenthaler, executive chef for Dunkin’ Brands, served as one of three contest judges. “We were thrilled with the response to this year’s donut contest and the level of creativity and originality people have displayed through their own personalized donut creations,” he says. “The ‘Monkey-See Monkey-Donut’ stood out as a winning combination of banana and peanut butter flavors, and we believe it will satisfy anyone looking for a sweet treat.”

 The location opened on the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and stands in the exact location of a Baskin-Robbins shop that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The original shop, along with five other local-area Baskin-Robbins locations, closed due to damages sustained during the hurricane.

The new Baskin-Robbins shop located at 1515 E. Judge Perez Drive in Chalmette, just south of the Ninth Ward, is owned by William and Catherine McIntyre, who are local to the New Orleans area. William McIntyre is also the partial owner of the Saltwater Grill, located on Carrollton Avenue in New Orleans.

“We saw this as a great opportunity to help revitalize an area that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina,” William McIntyre says. “We have confidence in the continued regrowth of the community and continue to do all we can to help restore the city and make it even better than before Katrina struck.”

“There is a great resurgence in this city, and we’re humbled and proud to open our newest Baskin-Robbins shop in Chalmette on the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina,” says Janet Astor, vice president of development for Baskin-Robbins. “Baskin-Robbins has been part of the community for more than 30 years, and we look forward to serving our ice cream enthusiasts our signature 31 flavors and other ice cream treats with lots of smiles.”

The McIntyres are excited to be part of the global Baskin-Robbins family and hope the new Baskin-Robbins opening will bring a resurgence of the Baskin-Robbins locations in the market. “Our opening day was really busy,” McIntyre says. “We hope it’s a sign of things to come—not just for our Baskin-Robbins store, but for the area as a whole.”

Burger King Holdings Inc agreed to sell itself to investment firm 3G Capital for $3.26 billion. Image: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Steve Rosenbush writes at Portfolio.com here’s something for Burger King Franchisees to consider as the restaurant chain is sold to yet another private equity owner. Who will pay for the $2.8 billion in bank loans that are financing the buyout, worth an estimated $4 billion, including debt and equity?

3G Capital, a heretofore obscure investment company with holdings in CSX and Coca-Cola Bottling, is offering $3.26 billion for the company, a 46 percent premium to its pre-announcement market price. The new owners are taking on Burger King’s existing debt, bringing the total cost of the deal to $4 billion. About $2.8 billion will be financed with bank loans. 3G is run by Brazilian billionaire Jorge Paulo Lemann, a veteran of private equity firm GP Investments, America Latina Logistica, and Anheuser-Busch, where he has a seat on the board.

Burger King has been fried by the recession. It has gone through a series of ownership changes since 2002, when private equity players TPG, Goldman Sachs and Bain bought the company from British booze giant Diageo.

It went public in 2006, although the private equity group still holds nearly one third of the shares.

Those three private equity companies—regarded as among the best in the business—have failed to prevent a decline at Burger King. The recession has hit its core customers, who are in their late teens to early 30s. Revenues are down about 1 percent, while McDonald’s has a broader menu, double digit revenue growth, and a market cap of $80 billion.

Burger King is in need of new technology, a facelift for its aging stores, and probably an overhaul of its menu and general strategy. Its marketing campaign—featuring a bizarre-looking character—probably hasn’t helped, either. Needless to say, relations with franchisees could be better.

It’s not clear what 3G will bring to the table, so to speak. It once had minor holdings in Wendy’s and Jack in the Box, but that’s not the same thing as financial control, let alone operating responsibility.

What is clear, is that that debt is on the rise. It appears that less than $500 million of equity will go into the deal. That’s less than 20 percent of the purchase price, and about 12.5 percent of the value of the deal, including the assumption of existing debt. The economy remains weak. Any turnaround will require investment in the business.

Debt is cheap right now, and if the new owners can raise enough, they stand to make a profit by acquiring the company now, when equity values and interest rates are low.

But they need a great strategy to turn around sales and position the company for an upturn in the economy. That isn’t clear. What is clear is that the restaurants will have to support a higher level of debt.

Portfolio.com

Eric H. Karp

David J. Meretta

From time time DDIFO is pleased to present Guest Commentary from valued contributors. The following is an Analysis of  a recent 11th District Court Decisions regarding Burger King written and submitted by Eric Karp and David J. Meretta of 

Witmer, Karp, Warner & Ryan LLP  

22 Batterymarch Street,  Boston, MA 02109 Tel: 617-423-7250

Following the Supreme Court’s holding in State Oil Co. v. Khan, 522 U.S. 3 (1997) that maximum price fixing was no longer a per se antitrust violation, some franchisors have imposed deep discounting on their  franchisees through resale price caps.  Among the better known examples of this are the “value menu” pricing systems adopted by many fast food franchisors in which all designated  ”value” items must be sold at or below a specified price.

In certain instances, franchisees have embraced such maximum pricing caps, particularly where those schemes have maintained or actually increased the franchisees’ bottom line profitability.  Where pricing restrictions are viewed by franchisees as harmful to their profitability, however, substantial system discord and even litigation can ensue.

A fascinating recent example of the latter scenario can be found in National Franchisee Association v. Burger King Corp., 2010 WL 2102993 (S.D.Fla. 2010), which concerns Burger King’s system-wide $1 double-cheeseburger (DCB) promotion.  This case epitomizes the collision between the divergent interests of franchisors, for which the top-line revenue of the franchisees is paramount, and franchisees, who live off the bottom line.

The DCB promotion has long been the subject of heated debate between Burger King and its franchisees, which maintain that because it costs more than $1 to produce the DCB – something that is not true of any other item previously placed on the Value Menu – the promotion requires them to sell the DCB at a loss and could lead to bankruptcy of some franchisees.  The franchisees were also mindful that Burger King’s marketing of the DCB promotion was being funded by the franchisees’ advertising contributions.  Burger King’s decision to implement the promotion in the fall of 2009 marked the first time that it had imposed a maximum price on its franchisees without obtaining their majority consent, the franchise community having twice voted against it. 

In November 2009 the National Franchisee Association (NFA), which consists of approximately 83% of all Burger King franchisees in the United States and Canada, filed suit against Burger King in federal court in Florida.  The NFA alleges that (1) Burger King does not have the right to set maximum prices under the franchise agreement, and (2) the DCB promotion violates Burger King’s duty of good faith under both the express terms of the franchise agreement and the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing under Florida law.

In response, Burger King moved to dismiss the complaint, challenging the NFA’s standing to sue on behalf of individual Burger King franchisees, and arguing that the Eleventh Circuit had previously confirmed Burger King’s authority to set maximum prices under the franchise agreement.

While the court agreed that it was bound to follow the previous Eleventh Circuit determination that Burger King does have the right to set maximum prices under the franchise agreement, the court declined to deny the NFA standing to bring its action at the current stage of the litigation, and it ordered that the case proceed with respect to the NFA’s claim that Burger King’s decision to impose the DCB promotion violated its contractual or implied duty of good faith.  Both aspects of the court’s decision are significant.

In reaching its decision, the court noted the longstanding principle that an association has standing to sue on behalf of its members when: (a) its members would otherwise have standing to sue in their own right; (b) the interests it seeks to protect are germane to the organization’s purpose; and (c) neither the claim asserted nor the relief requested requires the participation of individual members in the lawsuit.  In this case, Burger King challenged the NFA’s associational standing with respect to the first and third elements.

The court rejected Burger King’s arguments that the NFA’s standing is contingent upon (i) all Burger King franchisees being members of the NFA, and (ii) the identification of an individual franchisee that has standing.  Observing that the NFA brought the action “on behalf of its members and on behalf of a class comprised of all the Franchisees”, the court found that, at the current stage, the action is only on behalf of NFA’s franchisee members and would only be extended to all Burger King franchisees should the NFA succeed in certifying a class.  The court likewise found that the allegation that “at least one” NFA member would be harmed by the DCB promotion satisfied the first element of associational standing.

With respect to the third element of associational standing, the NFA maintained that the participation of individual franchisees in the lawsuit is unnecessary, because the NFA could prove bad faith through Burger King’s own internal documents and data, and through expert testimony.  The court agreed and concluded that the NFA had sufficiently alleged associational standing at this early stage of the litigation.  The court cautioned, however, that because of the nature of the NFA’s claims, it must prove, on a franchisee-wide basis, that Burger King imposed the DCB promotion in bad faith, and “it remains to be seen” whether the NFA can prove such bad faith “without resort to individual determinations”.

Burger King’s duty of good faith to its franchisees is both contractual and implied by law.  The franchise agreement provides that Burger King can only make changes and additions to its operating system which Burger King “in the good faith exercise of its judgment believes to be desirable and reasonably necessary . . .”  Toward this end, under Florida law, the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing prevents a party from capriciously exercising discretion accorded it under the contract “so as to thwart the contracting parties’ reasonable expectations.”

Addressing the NFA’s claim for breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing, the court found that, construed in a light most favorable to the NFA, its allegations plausibly state a claim that Burger King breached its duty of good faith by setting the maximum price at $1, forcing the franchisees to sell the DCB at a loss. The court also noted the NFA’s allegation that Burger King has admitted that the sale of the DCB at $1 could lead to bankruptcy of its franchisees.

In our view, in addition to demonstrating the perils of implementing key system changes in the absence of franchisee buy-in, this case should serve as a lesson to franchisors that this kind of overreaching rarely survives legal challenge.  Can it really be good faith to require that franchisees sell a key product at a loss?  Would Burger King, if it was a chain comprised solely of company owned outlets, impose this promotion on itself?  Toward this end, we note that in April 2010 Burger King removed the DCB from its $1 value menu and re-priced it at $1.29.  This step has not eliminated the controversy, however, as Burger King now requires the sale for $1 of the “Buck Double” – which differs from the DCB only in that it has a single slice of cheese instead of two – a product that, according to the franchisees, still costs more than $1 to produce.

The case also serves as validation of franchisee associations in general and confirms, contrary to the statements of some franchisor advocates, that the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing is very much alive and well.

Travis says. “Our relationship with our franchisees is spectacularly good. If you focus on a collaborative relationship, everything else will follow.”

In QSR Magazine’s September issue cover story, Carolyn Walkup writes: the midst of the worst recession in decades may seem like a tough time to take the reins of a restaurant company that sells discretionary treats not needed in the everyday diet. However, Nigel Travis, whom Dunkin’ Brands hired to head its Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins brands in January 2009, quickly showed he was up to the task.

Fresh from a four-year record of achieving excellent results at Papa John’s, Travis set out to do the same at the privately held, 60-year-old treats company. Dunkin’ Brands’ board of directors chose Travis to succeed CEO and industry veteran Jon Luther. Luther, who joined Dunkin’ Brands in 2003, remains as executive chairman of the board and worked with the board to develop an orderly succession plan.

In announcing Travis’ appointment, Luther singled out his accomplishments in several companies he headed of building strong franchisee networks, improving sales, and furthering global growth.

In spite of the economic downturn, Dunkin’ Donuts opened 350 new stores worldwide in 2009, with 250 of those in the U.S. When counting sister Dunkin’ Brands treats concept Baskin-Robbins, franchisees opened 550 stores last year. Dunkin’ Donuts units alone number nearly 6,400 in the U.S. and 2,700 overseas.

“We think this trend will continue and get better,” says Travis, who predicts that Dunkin’ Donuts brand openings this year will exceed last year’s to total 500 newcomers worldwide.

“The recession caused some difficulties,” he says. “High unemployment had a negative impact. The biggest impact has been the lending environment and getting new people to come in.”

He’s optimistic, though, about recent talks with banks, and has found some that “seem very positive about our brand.”

“The recession is just a problem you have to attack with vigor,” he says. “We are focused on the top line and are reducing costs of operating and construction. Our franchisees worked with their store economics.”

The brand does seem to be faring well, according to restaurant consultant Aaron Allen, founder and chief executive of Aaron Allen Restaurant Consultants, who credits Dunkin’ with doing a good job of keeping costs in line.

Dunkin’s policy of allowing franchise agreements with no minimum number of store openings required, along with its flexible unit designs utilizing smaller footprints, encouraged franchise development in these challenging times. Design choices include kiosks, gas stations, in-line units, and end caps, as well as free-standing stores.

Read more: QSR Magazine

Canton-based Dunkin’ Donuts reported on Wednesday that it enjoyed a net increase of 338 new locations worldwide in the first six months of 2010, including 75 new stores in the United States. The company currently boasts of more than 9,000 locations worldwide.

The chain, run by Dunkin’ Brands Inc., changed its policy to allow new franchisees to sign a development agreement for as few as one to three locations. Previously, Dunkin’ had required first-time franchisees to sign development agreements for at least five locations.

Grant Benson, vice president of franchising and market planning at Dunkin’ Brands, said the company made the change about a year ago, partly to help new Dunkin’ franchisees land the financing they need. Benson said the change certainly helped continue to propel the chain’s expansion through the headwinds of an economic downturn.

“We have provided franchisee candidates more flexibility by allowing smaller development commitments,” Benson said. “In some cases, it could be as few as one, (but) we would like to be able to see at least two or three.”

Benson said much of the recent U.S. growth took place in the Southeast and in the Midwest, while overseas growth was strong in Korea and China.

Benson attributed the flexibility of the Dunkin’ Donuts model – shops can be opened in hospitals, train depots or gas stations – as a key element of its success. “That flexibility doesn’t exist with a lot of other concepts,” Benson said.

Jim Coen, president of the Dunkin’ Donuts Independent Franchise Owners association, said this is the first time he’s seen Dunkin’ Donuts allow development agreements for one-location franchises since he’s been involved with the chain. However, Coen said he expects most franchisees will continue to pursue multiple locations.

“The average franchisee nationwide owns at least six shops,” Coen said. “There’s an economy of scale, a point where you reach critical mass, that you really need.”

The company didn’t provide comparable growth numbers for the same six-month period in 2009. Benson said there were 171 net new locations in the U.S. in all of 2009, and 351 net new locations worldwide.

“It speaks to the staying power of the brand and the profitability of the brand,” Benson said. “It’s not a fad. It’s here to stay and built to ride out some of the turbulent times.”

The Patriot Ledger

Checkers signed the multi-unit store development agreement with Kerrim Jivani, previously a Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins franchisee with eight locations in the New York City area.  Jivani sold his Dunkin’ Donuts network in 2009, a news release said. Lynette McKee the Chief Development Officer at Checkers previously held a similar postion at Dunkin’ Brands.

Checkers in July announced a five-unit deal for the vicinity of Hartford, Conn. The rest of Connecticut, including New Haven, is still open for expansion, the news release said.

Based in Tampa, Checkers develops, owns, operates and franchises Checkers and Rally’s hamburger restaurants.

Checkers has more than 800 locations across the United States, including locations at “non-traditional” sites such as airports, universities and turnpike plazas.

Read more: Checkers expands with former Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee – Tampa Bay Business Journal

Click Artwork to Register!

Over the past year, DDIFO has enjoyed tremendous growth. With the inclusion of the Midwest Dunkin’ Donuts Franchise Association (MWDDFA) and the Independent Association of Franchise Owners (IAFO), an association of Dunkin’ franchise owners from the Mid-Atlantic market, DDIFO now represents over 2400 shops in the U.S.  According to DDIFO President Jim Coen, this will be one of the themes celebrated at the upcoming National Members Meeting on September 21, 2010 in the Cabaret Theatre at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut.

But it’s also more than that. “We are designing the meeting around the concept that DDIFO is ‘United Now…More Than Ever’ because we all know that with greater numbers and greater unity comes greater strength for the organization,” said Coen.

 “The DDIFO National Members Meeting is the showcase event for our association,” said Kevin McCarthy, DDIFO Chairman. “With the robust growth of DDIFO we can now say we are closer to national representation. We are expecting good turnout from members throughout the Dunkin’ Brands development triangle of New England to Illinois to Florida. The meeting will provide members with interesting and relevant information plus the opportunity to network and share stories from the front lines.”

Mohegan Sun is situated on 240 acres along the banks of the Thames River in the scenic foothills of southeastern Connecticut. Coen says DDIFO chose this site for the National Members Meeting because the venue offers wonderful amenities at a reasonable price. Plus it is within driving distance for members located along the east coast. Mohegan Sun is 225 miles from Philadelphia, 125 miles from Midtown Manhattan and 105 miles from Boston.

The event will be punctuated by a top-notch list of speakers featuring:

U.S. Senator Scott Brown (R) MA. Senator Brown was elected by the people of Massachusetts on January 19, 2010 to fill the term of the late Senator Ted Kennedy. He serves on the Senate Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.  Prior to his election to the U.S. Senate, Brown served in the Massachusetts State Senate.  Senator Brown is a 30-year member of the Massachusetts Army National Guard and currently holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps. Brown was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for meritorious service in homeland security following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.  Scott’s first job as a teenager was at a Dunkin’ Donuts in Wakefield, MA, he particularly remembers cleaning out the grease trap.

Scott Carter, principal of Supply Chain Associates, Norcross, Georgia. Carter has over 20 years of management, finance, operations and consulting experience.  He has worked in executive positions in industry and consulting and has successfully built two global business strategy and operations consulting firms, UPS Consulting and Supply Chain Associates, LLC (SCA).  He is a member of the board of directors for two quick service restaurant co-operatives representing over 13,000 North American store locations. Carter served as interim CEO for the National DCP and now serves as a strategic advisor.  

Eric Karp, Esq. Karp is a partner at the Boston law firm Witmer, Karp, Warner & Ryan LLP. He serves as counsel to numerous franchisee associations in such chains as McDonald’s, Choice Hotels, Dunkin Donuts, Popeye’s Chicken, Cartridge World, TCBY Yogurt, Portable On Demand Storage, Fitness Together, Resort Maps, and Massage Envy. In that capacity, he provides a broad range of advice and guidance to the leadership of the associations on matters including the franchise disclosure documents, franchise agreements and issues that affect the relationship between the franchisee community and the franchisor as well as vendors and suppliers to the system. He has represented franchisees throughout the country in a myriad of franchise issues including sales, purchases, relocations, remodels, transfers, defaults and terminations and lease issues. 

Perry Ludy, Carolina Restaurant Partners LLC, a Dunkin’ Donuts franchise operator in Myrtle Beach and Florence, South Carolina.  Aside from operating a network of Dunkin’ stores, Ludy is the author of several business books including Profit Building: Cutting Costs without Cutting People, an award-winning management book that is translated into several languages and sold worldwide. Ludy is also a contributing writer to DDIFO’s Independent Joe magazine. His column, “Profit Building” includes many of the topics included in his books. Ludy

Dennis Gramm, FNC Restaurants, a two store franchisee in Northwest Suburban Chicago. He has been part of the Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin Robbins businesses for 14 years. He began his Dunkin’ Donuts career in May 1996 as a General Manager of Operations in Boston. He experienced quickly the strength of the Dunkin’ Donuts Brand and the importance of franchisee involvement in the independent franchise association, committees and Brand advisory councils.

Dennis has been a franchisee since June of 2007 and a member of the Mid-West Dunkin’ Donuts Franchisee Association and the DDIFO. Prior to becoming a franchisee he held several leadership roles in ADQSR and Dunkin Brands as a Senior Market Executive, Regional Vice President and Vice President of Operations Baskin Robbins USA. In addition to his Dunkin Brands resume Dennis has held executive leadership positions at KFC, Pepsico and Market Day Corporation.  

In addition, the meeting will feature discussions with members of the Brand Advisory Council Panel and the DDIFO Board of Directors. DDIFO Communications Director Matt Ellis will serve as emcee for the meeting.

DDIFO Members Can Register Here

Sponsor support has been significant, booth space has been sold out. Sponsors for the DDIFO National Members Meeting include:

Access to Money;  Adrian Gaspar, CPA; Bederson & Company CPAs; Belshaw Adamatic Bakery Group; Comcast Business Services; Direct Capital Franchise Group; DTT Surveillance; Glacial Energy; HME; HS Brands; IKMS Group; iTech Digital; Jarrett Services; Jim Ventriglia, CPA; New England Repair Service; Paris, Ackerman & Schmierer, LLP; Paris-Kirwan Insurance; Payless Shoe Source; PepsiCo; Performance Business Solutions; RF Technologies, Royston LLC; Secure Energy Solutions; Skal East; Sprint; Starkweather & Shepley Insurance; SureShot Dispensing Systems; The Franchise Pros

DDIFO Members Can Register Here

Ed Wolak, who owns Dunkin’ Donuts franchises in New England and New York, stands at the shop on Gray Road in Falmouth. Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald Staff Photographer

Stephanie Hardiman of the Portland Press Herald writes that when Ed Wolak was 16 in 1967, he was working his first job washing floors in a Manchester, N.H., Dunkin’ Donuts. He didn’t plan on sticking with it long term, particularly when he hit college and developed an allergy to flour, suffering from what he calls “baker’s asthma.”

While his business is rapidly expanding, Wolak is also a major fixture in the nonprofit sector, donating money back to the Maine communities he serves coffee to each morning.

“I think it’s somewhat of a moral obligation to give back, especially to the folks that support you every year,” Wolak said, adding that he has developed long-standing relationships with some of the charities.

“Without Ed, the place would’ve been closed,” said Tom Doherty, executive director of Scarborough’s Camp Ketcha, where Wolak serves on the board of directors and donates tens of thousands of dollars each year to support its programs.

“He stuck with it when it wasn’t really pretty to stick with it,” Doherty said. Wolak has seen the camp through a devastating fire, staff changeovers and financial difficulties, providing business insight and leadership over the past 20 years.

“He’s one of the backbones of this organization,” Doherty said.

Being a good steward and actively involved in the community is something that’s important to Wolak.

“A lot of people don’t realize we’re locally owned,” Wolak said of the Dunkin’ brand.

All of the proceeds from his Main Street, Yarmouth, store on July 15, up to $5,000, were donated to the Firefighter’s Muster event at the Yarmouth Clam Festival.

The festival had one of its best years on record, said spokesman Sheldon Perkins, partly due to a handful of generous, reliable contributors like Wolak.

He’s incredibly modest and low-key, Doherty said, and doesn’t often talk about his contributions.

Now the YMCA of Cumberland County is seeing the effects of Wolak’s efforts, as all proceeds from V.I.P. mugs sold will go to the organization. Purchasing the $5 mug means free coffee fill-ups every Sunday for the rest of the year.

“Ed is very in touch with the groups he supports,” said Dana Reid, a field marketing manager at Dunkin’ who works in the Maine area. “He’s a great example of a franchisee.”

As Wolak’s business expands, it creates more opportunity for him to give back.

Last week he opened a store in Verona, N.Y., and plans to have another open its doors in the next week or two at Le Moyne College in Syracuse.

This will bring his holdings to 11 Dunkin’ Donuts in Maine, three in New Hampshire and 56 in upstate New York, as well as a donut factory. A large territory in New York including Ithaca and Syracuse is also exclusively set aside for Wolak’s development. The Maine market, he said, is already built out.

When he started with the company there were only about 250 stores. Now there’s more than 9,000. He was one of the first testers of Munchkins and was in the coffeeshop business long before there was a Starbucks on every corner.

Read More at: The Portland Press Herald

Watch the slide show below!

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There was a star studded and information packed agenda, we started Wednesday night when Congressman John Campbell (R) from California’s 48th Congressional District. John lives in Irvine, CA.  joined us for dinner. John has a reputation as a dedicated fiscal conservative, he is an advocate for sensible public policy, and lower taxes for business owners.  As a member of the House Commitee on Financial Sevices, he has taken an active part in addressing the country’s top economic issues, including reducing credit card interchange fees, banking reform, and insurance regulation. He spent a majority of his professional career as a taxation specialist representing several automobile franchisees, in Southern California.

Next US Senator Scott Brown from Massachusetts  joined us at a CFA PAC Lunchon where we had the opportunity to sit and eat with the Senator and discuss small business and franchisee issues. Later that day Senator Brown voted to pass the Financial Services bill which included the Durbin Amendment to reduce Debit Transaction swipe fees.

Some of the other speakers were:

George Will, Washington Post Columnist

Sam Donaldson, Retired ABC Correspondent

Mike Bober , Coalitions Director for the National Republican Congressional Committee

Katie Hays Strong, Executive Director of the US Chamber of Commerce Public Affairs Division

Rick Berman, President of Berman and Company

Douglas Kantor, of Stephen Johnson LLP

David Kreutzer, Ph.D. Research fellow in Energy and Climate Change

Representative Steve Kagen (D-WI) 8th District of Wisconsin

Representative John Boehner (R-OH)8^th District of Ohio

Hudson Riehle, VP Research, National Restaurant Association

James Hammersley, Office of Policy and Strategic Planning at the US Small Business Administration

Robert Skelton, CAE Chief Administrative Officer for the ASAE