Fast
food franchising
Minority
Matters
Major
Issues in Minority Franchising
Viva
Utah!
Taco Del Mar, a Seattle-based food
franchise that bills itself as the "Mexican
version of Subway," announced a five-year,
50 restaurant expansion plan in Utah.
The company, which serves customers healthier
versions of tacos, enchiladas and burritos,
was attracted to Utah for its dedication
to promoting a healthy, active lifestyle
and for its growing Hispanic population.
"What impressed us about Utah was
the fairly high (and ever increasing)
Hispanic population there as well as the
strong interest in fresh Mexican food
concepts," said Taco Del Mar's
Bill Wright. "There are lots of Taco
Time, Taco Bell and Del Taco
restaurants, but there are also a lot
of successful local restaurants like Cafe
Rio." Wright, a former Subway
franchisee who was hired to develop the
Utah market, will join other Taco Del
Mar representatives to tour prospective
real estate in Utah before making any
final decisions regarding the location
of their new restaurants.
Crowning
the New King
When AmeriKing, one of the largest
Burger King restaurant franchisees,
filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection,
Miami-based Core Value Partners was
right there to "pick up the pieces"
and the franchise locations. Core Value
Partners, a private equity group that
is backing the Heartland Foods Corp.,
recently won bankruptcy court approval
to acquire 127 Midwestern Burger
King outlets. The buy was of particular
interest to Core Value Partners because
of the primarily Hispanic and African-American
markets in which the restaurants are
located. The operating partner of Core
Value Partners is Al Cabrera, an experienced
Burger King franchisee and president
of the Hispanic Franchisee Association.
Cabrera and the other Core Value Partners
profess to have extensive experience
in marketing to minority customer bases.
Heartland Food and Core Value Partners
are now the largest minority owners
of franchises in the Burger King
system.
Coverall
Cleans Up!
Coverall Cleaning Concepts, recognized
by Black Enterprise Magazine as one of the
top home-based businesses for African-American
franchisees, has made its way to the top
of more than a couple of high-profile lists.
The commercial cleaning company announced
it has been included in Entrepreneur's 24th
Annual Franchise 500. The 17 year old company
has also worked its way onto the lists of
the top 10 Fastest-Growing Franchises, the
top 20 Low-Investment Franchises and one
of the top 100 Franchises overall. Coverall
Cleaning is also elbow-to-elbow with
companies like Burger King and H&R
Block on the Franchise Times list of
the largest franchise chains. "Low
cost, comprehensive training and guaranteed
customers have attributed to our dramatic
growth over the past year," said
Ted Elliott, President and COO of Coverall.
"We strive to make our franchise
owners successful and in turn our loyalty
has made the Coverall Cleaning Concepts
franchise prosper."
The
company has worked hard to achieve its
recognized success. Since 2000 the company
has seen a 25 percent jump in the number
of franchisees in its system. Its customer
accounts have also climbed a healthy 17
percent and 7,500 franchisees now serve
more than 37,000 clients. Coverall's
franchisees provide 24/7 routine, specialized
and premium cleaning services including
hard floor care, carpet cleaning, window
and blind cleaning, sanitation, ceiling
and wall cleaning and fire and flood restoration.
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