FRANZY THE WEEKLY BRIEFING | | | Hey there, Welcome back to the Franzy Five. Big week in the industry and a bigger one inside our four walls. This week: 7 Brew pays $123M to take over a bankrupt salad chain's drive-thrus, I share what Q4 planning has us fired up about, a batting-cage sports bar is our Brand of the Week, TGI Fridays signs its first U.S. franchisee in a decade, and three red flags from one of our advisors. | In This Edition | 📰 7 Brew's $123M Salad and Go grab | | 🗣️ Q4 planning and what's next at Franzy | | 🏷️ Brand of the Week: Hitters | | 📊 By the Numbers: 78% | | 🎙️ This Week from Franzy: The Exit Plan | | 🔍 Red flags, from the experts |
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| | In the News A bankrupt salad chain just got a $123M bid from a coffee giant.What's happening: A bankruptcy court approved 7 Brew's $123 million bid for at least 60 Salad and Go drive-thru locations across Arizona, Texas, Nevada and Oklahoma, per Restaurant Dive. Dutch Bros had won at $105 million earlier and is now the backup bidder. Why it matters: A drive-thru box is a scarce asset. 7 Brew is paying a premium for real estate that already works, then converting it, which is faster than waiting on permits and builds. It also pays unsecured creditors in full, which is rare in a Chapter 11. The big picture: When a brand fails, the sites rarely go dark for long. Stronger concepts buy the locations, and 7 Brew (800+ stands in 38 states) is racing toward 1,000 units. If you are shopping for a franchise, notice who is hungry for good real estate and who is closing doors. |
| | Heard at Franzy Q4 planning just wrapped, and we are fired up.We just finished Q4 planning, and I could not be more excited about where Franzy is headed. We set some huge, audacious goals for the rest of the year and beyond. We are also building a few new product lines that the entire team is pumped about. I will share more as they get closer, but the energy in the room was something special. None of it happens without the people. We have the absolute best team in the world at Franzy, and I get to work alongside them every day. Thank you to everyone who made this planning cycle great. | | Brand of the Week Hitters A sports bar and entertainment venue built around modern batting cages and golf simulators. Investment Range $741,571 - $946,759 | Avg Gross Sales $642,494 (one outlet, year one) |
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Hitters started in Washington in 2021. Franchisees run a 10,000 to 13,000 square foot space with a full bar, kitchen, private suites and lounge seating. Revenue comes from cage time, food and drink, golf simulators, private events and memberships. It is early. The brand began offering franchises in June 2026 and has two affiliate-owned locations in Spokane and Liberty Lake, WA, with its first two franchised outlets projected for Idaho and Washington. Its Item 19 covers a single affiliate outlet's first year, and cage time was 50.4% of that revenue. Read the fine print. That Item 19 figure is one location, unaudited, and excludes rent and other operating expenses. It is a starting point for questions, not a forecast. Our advisors can walk you through the FDD. | | By the Numbers 78% Drop in TGI Fridays U.S. locations since 2020 |
TGI Fridays went from 329 U.S. locations in 2020 to 71 this September. It just signed its first U.S. franchise development agreement in more than a decade: one existing Long Island restaurant plus five new ones across New York. Shrinking brands can come back, but the franchisees who sign during the turnaround carry the risk. | | This Week from Franzy He said yes to a franchise with zero locations.Kyle Chiasson was 22, on track for his CFP, and withering away inside a nice four-walled banking office. Then his mom dragged him to a happy hour. Three months later, he was asked to become the first franchisee of a restoration brand with no locations and no playbook. He kept a book of pros and cons. He has never opened it. On The Exit Plan, Kyle walks me through the 24 hours he spent shaking in a hotel room, a New Year's Eve alone in a bowed attic pulling out wet insulation, and the $500 radio ad that taught him what getting got feels like. He now runs the brand, past 70 locations across 26 states, and explains why it turns candidates away and why he calls restoration the most recession resistant category in franchising. | | Red Flags: From the Experts Three red flags to look for before you sign. From the experts: Caleb Clayton, Franzy franchise advisor. Closures matter. Transfers are normal. Mature systems turn 10-15% of their units a year because people build businesses to sell them. Our advisor Caleb says closures before a franchisee's term is up are the real flag. Growth that is too fast. A brand that grew 300% in a year does not excite Caleb. It can mean the franchisor outgrew its own support, so vet it carefully. A cagey franchisor. Caleb says the biggest one is a franchisor who gets cagey when you push on the FDD directly. Over a 10 year term there will be disagreements and changes to the system, and the FDD conversation is your first look at how they work through hard conversations. How to send it. Ask pointed FDD questions early and pay attention to how the franchisor responds. That working relationship matters as much as the numbers. | | More from the Industry Three other stories worth your time this week. | Reply if any of these caught your eye. We read everything. - Alex | | | FRANZY Franzy is the modern way to find and own a franchise.
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