And thats a lesson that my friend Scott Moore learned. And he talks about how you go from being the manager to managing managers and what that looks like. Emboldened by their early results, Moore wrote a business plan for a massive expansion, which called for building 25 locations across the southeastern United States in just 18 months. Please tell me thats gone. Weve always been this scrappy startup, looking for every nickel, dime and dollar to go do that next community store. And that debt load was one of the challenges of course where youre going. As a percentage of an annual compensation, what would it have been? Who would we might lose in this change process? Lets get into the Cracker Barrel negotiations. So its interesting, my pastor had asked me a few years ago, do you struggle with pride? We have a few chartered stores, franchise stores that we have done. Some of them certainly saw us as a growth story and a growth opportunity. And he hears that all the time. And thats why Yelp has, every year ranks the top 100 restaurants to eat at in the United States, based on guest reviews. Is Your Best Customer Hurting Your Companys Value? And did you tell her, did you tell your wife the risk that she was signing up for when you went from whatever it was, eight to 25 stores? We have some frozen butter that we shred and drop in there. By 2018, Johnson had grown Create & Cultivate to eight employees when an acquirer offered her a staggering $40 million. And in retrospect, do you think you left is there a possibility you left money on the table by not doing the classic sort of playing the one off the other? One, they have more leaders they can depend on in their store. At the same time, you have to pay for it. What in the business world they call the first write up, right? To ensure the business could succeed without him, Zorgdrager implemented a four-step system to replace himself as the rainmaker of his company. Somebody was going to own the brand identity and the first to get to critical mass of course, is typically the one that does. I wondered, maybe theyre been a pause on that. Im going to teach you how to think the way that we think about things. One mission, four principles. What I can say is, Piper said, when we came to the final deal, they thought it was a very fair offer, based on the market that were in. Maple Street grew to 28 stores and five franchises. But we had to answer this question. Serve Others. Thats why we keep moving forward. Which was a biscuit with that fried chicken and the pepper jelly on it. I didnt have restaurant background but experiences that God took me through for those 30 years in the grocery business prepared me for the day when I had to go do something on my own. And he asked me that because Maple Street had done so well. ensure everyone is living out our mission and our principles, and that the business is profitable. Theyll get you a to-go box. We have a very lean team. We knew we didnt put a sign up in the stores that we were building out. And theyre across the United States and theyve really filled out with the Cracker Barrel flip [inaudible 00:40:35] in a significant way. And then we started looking ourself, whats the best plan to move forward? People that lean in get it. They would have a joint venture with us and we would split the profits, 51% for the company, 49% for them. Of course they had their Holler and Dash stores to compare it to and one weight of debt our store performance. And if people dont keep our promise that this is going to be a safe place, then Im the person that has to hold them accountable. But its our fresh made biscuit. And if we do it right, it can be a real wow experience. The business snowballed as Zorgdrager onboarded most Fortune 500 giants in his space. I didnt know what that meant but the analysis that I had done gave me enough assurance that we could pull the trigger. Were still, even though we have resources, those things that have made us successful to this point we wont change. I am lets see if I can quit that out there. When we designed this, we wanted to have a concept that was a destination, not just an option. I guess what Im getting at is, is it a multiple of EBIDTA or a multiple of sales? So now the community leader didnt have anybody to back them up. martin guitar service center; white stuff in bottom of canned green beans Maybe they be interested in divesting those stores? We previously talked about, our community leaders get our mission so well. And how do you kind of reconcile that in your mind? And so we put in the plan that we were going to go from basically eight community stores to 25 community stores in an 18 month period across the Southeast of the United States. AMBASSADOR Make all our comfort food with a modern twist from scratch! And so I ended getting responsibilities for operations with HR. So the Squawking Goat is one of our favorite ones that people ask-, Then this will be a favorite. We have not arrived. And how we show grace to our guests. The casual leader announced Friday it's agreed to acquire 33-unit Maple Street Biscuit Company in an all-cash transaction for $36 million. 2022-12-12T14:08:38+00:00 . And so thats our responsibility, was to go find a way to serve in more communities. It currently has 28 company-owned and five franchised fast casual locations across seven states. maple street biscuit franchise cost near missouri. And we have some promises that we make and one of these is, its a safe place. As a community leader, you get to run your own Maple Street. Just because I was in human resources, I ended up working with the operations team and the marketing team and the real estate team. madden 23 franchise deep dive; Sign Up. Some of them got 80% of their annual salary. And they actually convinced me, the restaurant division, that they got who we were. They can certainly go to our website. And it came with when we opened up the first location, they should have failed. I had to think about his question and I came back to him after a few days and told him, I dont think I mean we all struggle with pride in some fashion but I dont think its but then I said, I think what the big danger to me at this stage is, I really have nobody to tell me no, in my life. Any decision in the world that Im living in, store design or as a model, theres nobody to tell me no. And I think that can be a tough thing and maybe a dangerous thing for folks. Yeah, internally we actually call it family members. But you think words are important. And restaurants fail even at a faster pace. I mean, with all the resources in the world, why wouldnt they just compete with you? So I think that parts good. They got their MBAs and so I got to work with all kinds of those in this turnaround process. . We call them family members internally, its because I tell them, I want them to understand were in this life together. We talk about gracious eyes. So they let you use the resources that they bring to the table. Those things cant go away. Then I did a second P&L that said, hey if this thing really took off, would it even be worth it? The menu features items such as biscuits and gravy, fried chicken, and shrimp and grits. I know. What would have happened if the business had failed? Most restaurants that are going to scale are building it so you can go anywhere and not have a bad experience. Prayed about it for a week. Maple Street Biscuit Company. Were we just a regional hit? I gave them 30 some choices on names. Data analytics provider Zodiac was preparing to raise an A investment round for its customer lifetime value software when NIKE decided they wanted to buy the company. Nutrition Facts : Calories 335.2, Fat 13.7, SaturatedFat 2.4, Sodium 870.6, Carbohydrate 48.9, Fiber 1.2, Sugar 18.4, Protein 4.6 And we were taking out these assistant community leaders. And its romancing the food. So youre going to need a knife and fork to eat it. And theyre not near as interested in signing the lease. If I can trust you and youre teachable, we can do a lot of things. I want to get-, Community stores. And I took those numbers and I created three P&Ls. Its Im living out a mission. The executive team got part of the transaction. And so to add this additional diligence to us, was a significant thing. Im the one person that can. As it turns out, the gamble paid off when the restaurant chain Cracker Barrel acquired Maple Street in November 2019 for $36 million in an all-cash transaction. So on our website, theres a section where they tell their story. But theyve not had it with goat cheese and pepper jelly. We take a fresh goat cheese medallion and we take some special breading on it and we put it on the grill. Pete Martin built EntryPoint Consulting to 34 employees when he sold it to KPMG for a staggering 12 times earnings without an earn-out. And so for the first time, we went to a bank and worked through our plan and that really funded the rapid growth for us, at that point. They were the ones who were going to make this happen, if it was going to happen. And so I read the stories of people who had been there and theyd done it and the experiences they went through and the things that they got wrong. Yes, John, thats the idea. And Im going to make you give me an answer. Make all our comfort food with a modern twist from scratch! What gave you the confidence to sign up for that kind of bank debt? How did you announce the acquisition of Maple Street to your team? It sounds amazing but the skeptic in me is also saying, But what happens when you have an employee who drops the ball, whatever? Then we talk about romancing the food, that we talk about it because we love it. But she did say, theres another role were creating and you could post for that, raise your hand for that and if you get it, you can keep your compensation and which as an officer of a Fortune 100 company is fairly significant. It started with one pizzeria still located in Whitehall, Ohio and has expanded to 14 stores located in. But when I go to peoples houses and I have dinner, I pick up my plates and I take them to the kitchen. But we ended up really being that wow P&L and earning the right to go do more. Thats what they do. But now were operating as a free business. Unbelievable. Be a part of the community. And so the Squawking Goat ended up, but it was originally was whats called The Squawk On The Street. So we had at Maple Street, Ill call it family support team, its our corporate headquarters. I will tell you, I did get challenged when we went to Chattanooga, Tennessee. And so because now we went to seven days, that EBIDTA number went up. Yeah. And so we just asked our community to help and they did. So youre building a new community store. And specifically, people who had maybe been on the journey that I He had seen me through that little journey. To me, what does a store manager do? Shed seen the lives that had changed. But the difference is, that role would only have five people reporting to it. So yeah, we dont have store managers. Wow. Fantastic. And they were pretty comfortable with weve been doing it on our own for years. Because what we wanted to do, is to get out and be the market leader. So we started going through that conversation. We taught her how to run a community store. Yum! Its not our go to market strategy. That nobody will be hollering at them. No cussing at anybody, that includes me. 30-year career in the grocery business. And so theres at this point, a whole Maple Street dictionary of words that help us communicate what were trying to do. I mean it cant all be rainbows and unicorns. And so I wanted everybody to get rewarded. And we could work through the lease, be done and move on. And we got to know her and she got to know us and we thought we could go do something. Youve worked in a big company for 30 years. They are not sustainable. And if our missions to go help people, again, we have to be great business people. And I dont want this to sound arrogant because I dont always have everything figured out, John. And if our missions that important. And so I reached out to a guy who worked with me in the grocery business and said, I need to put this five year plan together. I might would have to go hire a CEO to run my company. You have a Family Support Team that will guide you in the way to do things, but the store is YOUR responsibility. So I had built it on, then we went through the proof of concept as well, those first two stores. However, Zorgdrager had a problem. They already had one of those. Be quick and accurate plating our comfort food with a modern twist that guests will be sure to Instagram! And then again, if enough people like our food with an opinion, then they have to come to us to get it. Ive got to ask. And we did 10 months in the first store. And so for where I live theres lots of different diners you can go to and I go to those. Its been, in Atlanta, Georgia, its The Varsity. Its not my story, its theirs. But does that mean it was always easy for her to process? Andy Cabasso co-founded JurisPage, a marketing agency specializing in helping law firms in 2013. In this episode, Stephan Spencer details three strategies he pursued to withdraw from his businesss day-to-day operations. I mean for people who have been in one of your community locations. According to the CEO of Cracker Barrel, Sandra Cochran, they admired the Maple Street . You should, its a community store, everybodys welcome. She was living out of her car and she has a screenshot of her checking account where she had four dollars and fifty three cents to her name. Extreme Ownership. I said I wanted the last half of my like to have more impact. Build, Accelerate and Harvest the Value of Your Company, The one interview question Scott Moore uses to determine the fit of a potential hire, Why some employees broke down in tears when Moore shared the news of Cracker Barrels acquisition, The role of theater at a Maple Street location, A surprising way to discover the value of your business, The secrets behind Maple Streets outlandish profitability, How Moore got customers to clear their own dirty dishes, Moores favourite book about managing people. And she has been true to her word on that, for the four months weve been doing this together. I said, Man, I have to go to some other church. But he had heard that for years, these accolades. Nextkeyboard_arrow_right. Theres two things I talk to the team about all the time is, what can go wrong, how good can we be? We are not at all where we should be. So I told my partner, I said, Were going to spend 35 thousand and were going to remodel it in eight weeks. And so, in going through this, one of my objectives was, we have to keep running the business, growing the brand, executing our model, as well as going through this diligence. So from this little scrappy startup that was every nickel, dime and dollar just to earn the right to go do some more, to be in a position where we have no debt is such a freeing thing. Thats why we have ambassadors and not cashiers. So we fold that in, into layers. There were some restaurant groups that thought it would be a good fit into their portfolio. And I walked outside and I called the gentleman who is our accountant and I said, Hey, I know youre planning to do my taxes at the end of the year for they business but I need reports today. How do you . Founded 2012 in Jacksonville, Florida, by Scott Moore and Gus Evans, the emerging brand has 28 corporate and five franchised units. And that she believed in me enough Because the house is important to her. morton ranch junior high bell schedule. Yes, its a comfort food with a modern twist. They want to be able to be across thousands of units that you go in and you get what you said but its not a bad experience. And a lot of times, leaders think of people at least are at level two ask what to do, that theyll come ask me what to do, theyre taking some initiative and theyre good people and I teach my team, no. But they said, hey I explained to them we were going to market and what our strategy was and they said, Hey, but wed like to talk to you. 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