Discover the fascinating journey of Veggie Grill founder and executive chairman, TK Pillan, in this captivating episode of Eye On Franchising hosted by Lance Graulich. Learn how TK Pillan transformed a holistic dietitian's vision into a revolutionary plant-based restaurant concept that has taken the country by storm. Explore how Veggie Grill is optimizing their delivery of delicious, nutritious, and sustainable plant-based food to make the world a better place. Join the plant- TK Pillan's journey from a back-end technology guy to leading the plant-based revolution in the restaurant industry.- The advantages of franchising with Veggie Grill, such as the support and training they provide to their franchisees.- The importance of marketing for restaurant success, including leveraging the local community, having brand assets and programs, and utilizing social media channels.- The power of social media for Veggie Grill and the need KEY POINTS Approximately mentioned @ 00:05:03 Seeking franchisees to invest and optimize plant-based food delivery through delicious burgers, sandwiches, salads, bowls, appetizers and desserts. No animal products. Investment requirements, square footage and more discussed. Approximately mentioned @ 00:07:22 TK Pillan founded the plant-based restaurant chain in 2006 with a vision of creating a brand that would make plant-based food more approachable and part of American culture, for the benefit of people's health and the planet. Approximately mentioned @ 00:10:42 The US is the most obese developed nation in the world, highlighting a need for health and wellness initiatives and business opportunities such as plant-based franchises. Approximately mentioned @ 00:16:35 Veggie Grill offers delicious, plant-based dishes that appeal to carnivores and herbivores alike. Popular items include vegan sandwiches, salads, and bowls crafted with imaginative ingredients. Approximately mentioned @ 00:17:08 Effective marketing and comprehensive training are essential to the success of Veggie Grill, a restaurant chain specializing in plant-based cuisine. A dedicated team provides resources to franchise owners, ensuring they can deliver the best of the vegan world to customers. Approximately mentioned @ 00:33:04 Franchising provides an efficient platform for marketing, as seen in the success of Veggie Grill. Their goal is to sign great franchisees in 2021 and focus on building out locations in various markets in 2024. Have you heard the news? We are officially on YouTube. Come check out a few videos have have and give me a follow! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwoAdrkPZmveJt5AQRDk8WA --- Lance Graulich Franchise Consulting Services from ION Franchising Eye On Franchising
Discover the fascinating journey of Veggie Grill founder and executive chairman, TK Pillan, in this captivating episode of Eye On Franchising hosted by Lance Graulich. Learn how TK Pillan transformed a holistic dietitian's vision into a revolutionary plant-based restaurant concept that has taken the country by storm. Explore how Veggie Grill is optimizing their delivery of delicious, nutritious, and sustainable plant-based food to make the world a better place. Join the plant
- TK Pillan's journey from a back-end technology guy to leading the plant-based revolution in the restaurant industry.
- The advantages of franchising with Veggie Grill, such as the support and training they provide to their franchisees.
- The importance of marketing for restaurant success, including leveraging the local community, having brand assets and programs, and utilizing social media channels.
- The power of social media for Veggie Grill and the need
KEY POINTS
Approximately mentioned @ 00:05:03
Seeking franchisees to invest and optimize plant-based food delivery through delicious burgers, sandwiches, salads, bowls, appetizers and desserts. No animal products. Investment requirements, square footage and more discussed.
Approximately mentioned @ 00:07:22
TK Pillan founded the plant-based restaurant chain in 2006 with a vision of creating a brand that would make plant-based food more approachable and part of American culture, for the benefit of people's health and the planet.
Approximately mentioned @ 00:10:42
The US is the most obese developed nation in the world, highlighting a need for health and wellness initiatives and business opportunities such as plant-based franchises.
Approximately mentioned @ 00:16:35
Veggie Grill offers delicious, plant-based dishes that appeal to carnivores and herbivores alike. Popular items include vegan sandwiches, salads, and bowls crafted with imaginative ingredients.
Approximately mentioned @ 00:17:08
Effective marketing and comprehensive training are essential to the success of Veggie Grill, a restaurant chain specializing in plant-based cuisine. A dedicated team provides resources to franchise owners, ensuring they can deliver the best of the vegan world to customers.
Approximately mentioned @ 00:33:04
Franchising provides an efficient platform for marketing, as seen in the success of Veggie Grill. Their goal is to sign great franchisees in 2021 and focus on building out locations in various markets in 2024.
Have you heard the news? We are officially on YouTube. Come check out a few videos have have and give me a follow!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwoAdrkPZmveJt5AQRDk8WA
---
Franchise Consulting Services from ION Franchising
Lance Graulich 00:00:00
Lance Graulich 00:00:02 Welcome to Eyeon Franchising. Are you looking for business opportunities? Well, you are in the right place. We represent over 650 franchises and business opportunities. We will help you find your perfect franchise for free. We even have a free assessment on our website that will help us determine what the best businesses for you based on your investment level mindset, skill set and life experiences. This is Ion Franchising where we share our vision for your franchise future. I'm your host, Lance Graulich. Each week we will speak to fascinating folks from the world of franchising, franchisors and founders, franchise funders and franchisees. Are you looking to find your perfect franchise? Or perhaps you are an independent business owner looking to grow and scale your business by setting up a franchise? Either way, our team can help you Ion Franchising, where you will learn the A to Z's of franchise.
Speaker 3 00:01:07 Hello everyone and welcome back to another fabulous episode of Eyeon Franchising. I'm your host, Lance Graulich. So today we're going back to the restaurant business. I say that because although those are my roots, owning restaurant franchises and I started up Pink Box Donuts in Las Vegas, this is a hot, hot business right here.
Lance Graulich 00:01:32 Okay?
Speaker 3 00:01:32 So welcome to the plant based party. This brand is so hot, it just set up for franchising. So you want to make an investment in a plant based amazing concept. Let's talk about veggie grill.
Lance Graulich 00:01:47 Today.
Speaker 3 00:01:47 I have Mr. Tk Pillan. He is the founder and executive chairman of Veggie Grill. So Tk, welcome to the show.
Lance Graulich 00:01:55 Lance, nice to be here. Yeah, I like it. Plant based party. Let's do it.
Speaker 3 00:02:00 Plant based party. So, let's take us way back, take everybody here listening way back to uh, let's talk about you before you ever even got into franchising because a lot of people want to understand how do people get into franchising? People. I want to be a lawyer. I want to be an astronaut. I want to be a firefighter. I want to be a policeman. Nobody says I want to be in franchising, right?
Lance Graulich 00:02:24 That's true.
Speaker 3 00:02:25 How did it happen for you? And , take us way back to all that.
Lance Graulich 00:02:30 Sure. So I actually, started out, in technology. I went to MIT Undergrad and had a career as a, um, systems engineer, an analyst, and then ended up starting an ecommerce development firm in the mid 90s, so I became an entrepreneur in the mid ninety s and ran, and grew a successful business that did quite well during the first, wave of the internet boom. And, I sold that business, took a little time off and decided spent some time trying to figure out what I wanted to do next. And, I came. My mother was actually a holistic, dietitian, registered nutritionist. I always had a health and wellness, background. And I was looking at what was going on, in the country with, the healthcare issues we were having around obesity, diabetes, dependence on pharmaceuticals, and I knew there was a better way through, with food. so I started focusing on, trying to make, helping to lead the country in the right direction as my next business pursuit.
Speaker 3 00:03:45 And boy, does this country need a lot of help with that. And we saw that through the pandemic, right? Yeah, pretty incredible when I saw stats that the US. Is the most obese developed country, and, it's pretty shocking and frightening at the same time.
Lance Graulich 00:04:05 Yes. So, having grown up in the US, born and raised in the US. And kind of eating more of a standard American diet, but then being influenced by my mother, specifically around what a, uh, better way to eat was. And then I could see both sides of it and, knew that, the country could be led in a different direction, and, it would help, alleviate a lot of the big health care, crises we have. so I wanted to, uh, create a business that would help do that. And, uh, I also ate out a lot. I didn't cook and ate, uh, a lot of fast food and was not happy with the choices I had. And, um, uh, at the time, I would eat at Subway a lot and get their turkey sub, is what I thought was healthy. And one day I was reading an article in the La business Journal, the top ten franchisees in La county, and, they were all either, um, pizza, burgers, or Subway. And I kind of scratched my head and I said, well, why can't somebody create a franchise business around restaurants and quick service restaurants that would help people eat delicious, healthy and convenient food? Because I was a big fan of convenient food and I was a big fan of delicious food. And you could get that, but you couldn't get healthy food as well. so I scratched my head and I said, that would be a problem I'd like to solve. so I set out to try and solve it. And, um, one thing led to another and I started really this was 2005, and the research on the benefits of plant based eating was just starting to come out there was a book called The China Study. the American Dietetic Association just published a paper saying not only can you get all the nutrients you need, except for, B twelve, which you should, take a supplement, but you can get all the other nutrients you need. Because there was doubt before that that you could get the protein and calcium, but the American Dietetic Association did their study and said, hey, you can get all the nutrients you need, and you're going to reduce your chance of several major diseases, including heart disease and, uh, several different forms of cancer. And that was really eye opening for me. Uh, and there was a few other books and studies I read and got to a point where I said I should try this myself. So I became a plant based eater, going from eating meat and dairy to plant based. And I lost £20. My cholesterol went from over 200 to under 140. I was a college athlete. I played baseball and basketball. And then I'm now 37 and £20 over my college weight and losing my speed when I go
Lance Graulich 00:06:49 for my runs and my poor performance in the gyms. And all of a sudden, it all came back like, I just felt a lot more energetic, a lot awesome. Yeah. So it just worked for me. Um, and so I became a big believer. Hey, plant based. The data is there. personally, it works for me, and that's a great way to eat. And then I learned about factory farming and, all the destruction it creates from an environmental standpoint, which is now pretty, uh, there's a lot of different very credible sources that validate the environmental inefficiency that factory farming, uh, creates. And, uh, then there's also, uh, an animal welfare piece of it that's certainly, uh, publicized. But I saw that back in 2005, along with the health benefits, and said, if I could create a restaurant concept that made it fun, friendly, and approachable to eat plant based food, and really made it part of American culture and create a brand, because America loves its restaurant, uh, brands and its fast food brands. Well, let's do something that gives, uh, people that the delicious, convenient piece of it, ubut do it in something that's really benefiting people's health and the planet. And so that was the vision, and I had enough passion around it to really go after it. And I brought some good partners on board.
Speaker 3 00:08:22 so let me ask you. So, 2006, you opened the first location in Irvine.
Lance Graulich 00:08:26 Correct.
Speaker 3 00:08:27 And how did that end up coming about? So you committed to the plant based lifestyle. You obviously created some items specifically that you enjoyed that tasted, good and were healthy, and you're like, Wait, other people would like this if they knew it was so much healthier. It's not going to jack up your cholesterol or whatever it might be. So the question is, how did a guy that's not exactly a chef that really never worked in a commercial kitchen, as far as I know, how did that become opening in Irvine in 2006?
Lance Graulich 00:09:03 Yeah, well, it's a great question and kind of a good segue into franchising, because I had zero experience in the restaurant world. And, uh, so I did a lot of research. I visited, every healthy restaurant I could find in Southern California, and I stumbled upon a couple vegan restaurants. And that was part of why I started researching the benefits of plant based eating, uh, because I stumbled upon a couple of these restaurants enjoyed the food, thought it might solve that problem, and started doing the research and, uh, made my dietary transition and became a big fan of plant based food. And so I went back to the owner of, one of those restaurants and I said, hey, listen, I think your food could, really, if it's formatted in a slightly different way and we put it into more, of a fun, friendly, approachable environment because he really had more of a niche restaurant, uh, serving vegans and vegetarians. And I was working with another partner, at the time, and we together had this vision about taking this type of food and bringing it to the non vegans and vegetarians who are just trying to eat healthy. And to do that, we had to really package it in a fun, friendly, approachable way, and choose the right locations and create the overall brand ambiance concept that supported the food, uh, and the vision. We talked to Ray White, who was the owner of that restaurant, or co owner. And, Kevin, my partner, and I talked to Ray and said, hey, here's our vision. Here's what we want to do. We'd love for you to be our restaurant operating partner. Do it. You know how to deliver great food. We've got a vision for the brand and a scalable business to bring this all across the country and really bring delicious plant based food to the masses and help inspire and empower plant based eating. And Ray had the exact same vision, um, but didn't have the capital and, some of the business building resources to take it across the country like we wanted to do. And so we partnered with him. And so, in essence, I learned the restaurant business, leveraging off what Ray had created with his first restaurant.but then we created our brand. So I applied my own business skills because I had got my MBA.
Speaker 3 00:11:29 Uh, you're an MIT guy. I had an uncle who went to MIT. Super bright. I know where you went.
Lance Graulich 00:11:36 So I applied all of my skills not around delivering the food, because I knew Ray, and I brought a lot of people to his restaurant. I said, hey, am I kidding myself? Is this food delicious? would you eat this? And I got a lot of feedback from non vegetarians that, yeah, wow. Who knew? This food is really good. I'd eat it twice a week. I just don't feel a little uncomfortable coming in here. It feels like I have to be a vegan. So that was kind of the light bulb. It's like, hey, if we make this fun, friendly and approachable, isn't it fun.
Speaker 3 00:12:07 Fooling carnivores when you give them something plant based and say, hey, taste this.
Lance Graulich 00:12:11 Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:12:12 Wow, this is great, and they don't even know there's no meat in it.
Lance Graulich 00:12:16 Yeah. That, always, never gets old.
Speaker 3 00:12:21 So, 2006, you launched the first store. And I love the story, because really, that's what franchising is all about, is just creating a great team. Nobody can do things all on their own. You're always going to hire people that know things that you don't know, whatever that is. And you just laid that out. So let's, uh, kind of fast forward a little bit. today there's 33 locations. And are you in just California right now?
Lance Graulich 00:12:51 No, we're in California, we're also in Seattle, Washington. Portland, Oregon Boston, Massachusetts. And we're in New York City. Love it.
Speaker 3 00:13:01 So you escaped California. You planted a flag, so to speak, in a couple of other states, and now you're set up for franchising. So essentially, when any new brand I mean, you're not new anymore since 2006, but you set up in a bunch of different cities. We like to call that proof of concept. So clearly you set up a franchise system, and now you're ready. So let's roll through that. Who are you looking for? And you know what? Before we get to who you're looking for, describe what Veggie Grill has. I know you have sandwiches and salads and bowls, and it's plant based, but there probably needs to be a little bit more description to that we know your inspiration, but talk about the menu a little bit.
Lance Graulich 00:13:44 Sure.
Speaker 3 00:13:44 What are the most popular things?
Lance Graulich 00:13:46 Yeah, so we specialize in delivering the best the plant based world has to offer, right. When it comes to restaurants, there's a reason why Kentucky Fried Chicken does chicken and McDonald's does burgers and you go to one for one and the other for the other, because, uh, they spend all their effort, and everything they do is around optimizing delivering core food around a concept. And we optimize around delicious plant based food, and we're working with the latest and greatest plant based, um, products. And we're then optimizing recipes, looking at how we deliver them in the right menu items at the right food costs at the right speedand so we do that, around burgers, sandwiches, salads, bowls, uh, along with appetizers and desserts. And we really try and deliver delicious plant based food for, a variety of moods. Uh, there's people who eat plant based, who want to stay healthy. And so we have delicious whole food, plant based salads and bowls. And then you can decide if you want to indulge a bit with a, beyond meat topping, or you can stick to tempeh or tofu or we've got, uh, different versions of chicken that people really can't tell isn't chicken. So we give people the option, hey, do you want some of that old familiarity with the healthy, whole food, plant based, veggies or indulge? And then we allow people to really indulge with really indulgent burgers and sandwiches. We have a double mac and cheeseburger we have a, Santa Fe crispy chicken burger, a Buffalo Crispy Buffalo chicken sandwich, so people have certain cravings and needs. They either want they crave healthy or they crave indulgent. And we satisfy both, really, everything, at those two different ends and everything in between with delicious plant based food and a variety of fun, friendly, familiar menu items.
Speaker 3 00:15:48 Sounds great. So for those that have heard of plant based, is there a definition you tend to give people? Because some people I know, the first time I heard somebody mention plant based, I'm like, okay, sounds logical, but what is it really? Does that mean a piece of meat is made, but isn't really meat? It's made of a plant. So where does that come from?
Lance Graulich 00:16:12 Surewell, there's two main terms that people use plant based and veganand, they really mean no animal products. Right. So that's really no dairy, no beef, no chicken, no fish. Um, um, and then you can do that through a variety of different, foods. you could stick to more of the bowls and salads using ancient grains and quinoa and different, kale, spinach, and all the different veggies. And then you can use, either some of the more traditional plant proteins, like tofu and tempeh. And then, of course, we use beans and nuts and seeds. Right. So you have really healthy, delicious items. And then now there's also a big market for because we've innovated in the food system to create. And this was just starting when we started veggie Grill in 2006 is items where they take go through a process to replicate the taste and texture of meat by isolating different plant proteins and coming up with a process to bring them together. Add the right flavor, add the right fat, and that serves an audience that really buys into. Hey, I don't want to eat animal based food, either because I'm trying to cut down on my cholesterol, uh, or I want to be environmentally friendly, or I just don't want to support factory farming and the, lack of animal welfare with that. Um, but a lot of Americans love the taste of meat. Meat is concentrated protein and concentrated fat. Well, you can now get that through these meat alternatives. And there's great chicken alternatives, great beef alternatives. There's a great beyond steak alternative that's coming out, and so there's both of those.
Speaker 3 00:18:07 Well, thank you for sharing that, because now I am certainly more educated in the audience as well. So who are you looking for in a franchisee? Talk about that. Talk about the investment square footage, all that good stuff.
Lance Graulich 00:18:22 Sure. I would say, hey, what's great about us launching a franchise program is it's very similar to where I was 16 years ago. I wanted to do something that was good for people and the planet and leverage all of my business capabilities, uh, to do that. And so we want to start with people who really are passionate about the benefits of bringing delicious plant based food to more people. And that's our, uh, vision to do that across the world and inspire and empower plant based eating. And the best way for us to do that is to partner with great operators, passionate, skilled operators in markets across the country that we're not in. And they know those markets, and if we partner with them, we can achieve, uh, our vision a lot quicker. But there's two key words in there passionate and skilled. You have to have the passion, any entrepreneur has to have passion about what they're doing. But then you have to be skilled. Right? Running restaurants is not for the faint of heart. It's a business that involves a lot of management. And so we need people who have some experience to what it takes to run a restaurant and can bring that to bear as well. And if they have that, if they have, uh, that, we can give them a great playbook. We've got the brand, we've got the menu, we've got the supply chain, we've got the marketing playbook,we've got it all. If they've got the passion and skill to run restaurants in certain markets, we can bring them everything else and develop a great partnership.
Speaker 3 00:19:59 Now can they be,an investor type that hires an appropriate GM or Director of operations, especially if they're looking to do multiple units?
Lance Graulich 00:20:09 Yeah, absolutely. There are several. We've got a map that we mapped out based on our own, uh, consumer research. And so we know there are certain markets across the country that will support six to ten veggie grills. So there's a great opportunity where you can have, investor bring on a partner with a restaurant, operating partner, just like I did in the early days to launch a veggie grill. And that'll work because you've got the ability to launch multiple locations, there's other markets where,, maybe it could support three veggie grills. It might still work with an investor and an operating partner, but that might work better with more of an operating, more somebody who comes from an operational background.
Speaker 3 00:20:51 Got it. So investment wise and square footage, talk about that.
Lance Graulich 00:20:56 Sure. Our restaurants are generally 1500 to 2000 sqft. We have larger ones, but through changes of consumer, behavior, which is great, we can launch successful veggie grills with smaller dining ones. And so that allows us to build out restaurants for, we're targeting around eight hundred k to build out a restaurant. And generally you probably want a million dollars to give yourself a little cushion around different factors that play into, how costs can change and some operating capital you need once you launch that restaurant. So broad strokes is you'd want a million dollars to launch a veggie grill.
Speaker 3 00:21:38 And you're 33 stores into this. So it's fair to say that you've learned some things.
Lance Graulich 00:21:43 Yes.
Speaker 3 00:21:45 So how did you guys know it was the right time to launch a franchise system? I mean, what inspired that? I want to be the fly on the wall when you guys decided, hey, we got 33 corporate locations, let's franchise. How did you do that research to determine you're ready, it's right for you, et cetera?
Lance Graulich 00:22:06 Yeah, well, two things. We have to be ready to really empower other operators to do what we do. And so, having done 33 in multiple different markets, we now have a playbook and a system. And so that's number one. And number two, the market needs to be ready. And we're at a point now with plant based, where all major metros have consumers out there who are ready, to eat plant based and want to eat plant based. And if you deliver them the best the plant based world has to offer, they will come in and they will come back. And so we started in La, which you would logically think is a great place to start, and it was. And we have 13 Veggie Grills in La County, but we have two Veggie Grills in Seattle, two in Portland, and they do great. Right. And we have one in Boston, and that does great. So we're learning now that these outer markets are really where La was when, we started Veggie Grill and we were thriving there. Now all these other markets are ready for it, based on, how the trends have spread and people really understand the benefits of plant based eating. And so the country is ready, every major metro is ready. And we've got the brand and playbook, and we have skilled operators now that, are ready to do it.
Speaker 3 00:23:31 Yeah, you brought up a really good point, really about demographics, because people always make assumptions.
Lance Graulich 00:23:37 Ah.
Speaker 3 00:23:37 As a franchise broker, when I speak to people about any franchise, whether it's a home services brand or a restaurant, a lot of times people say to me, well, do you think my market is good for that? And it doesn't really matter what you're talking about, whether it's Omaha, Nebraska, or Southern California, or Kansas City, Missouri, the demographics. Maybe you, have more people in Southern California or California in general that are vegan, but then you have a lot more vegan restaurants. But the Veggie Grill customer is obviously all over the country at this point. There's never been more awareness about eating plant based and vegan than now. Is that fair to say?
Lance Graulich 00:24:23 Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 3 00:24:25 Every medical report that I see talks about how we need to eat better. I would imagine. Obviously, your customer is going to be people that are already vegan, but you probably have a lot of people like me that you want to trade that fried chicken or whatever for Veggie Grill once a week or more, right?
Lance Graulich 00:24:51 Yeah, for sure. That's what really has, driven the growth of the market. There's a lot of people who just want to eat more plant based, they realize, hey, I've read the studies, I'm not going to give up meat, but I certainly don't need to eat it every day and I can save it for certain nights out and try to eat more plant based. And, Veggie Grill serves that audience quite well.
Speaker 3 00:25:14 Right.
Lance Graulich 00:25:14 Awesome.
Speaker 3 00:25:15 Now how do you communicate that talk about marketing? It's always a big thing in Franchising. I have a lot of people that say to me, well, what do they do for marketing? I'm not going to be with that brand unless they help me a lot with marketing. So obviously 33 stores. You've learned something.
Lance Graulich 00:25:33 Yeah. Marketing restaurants is, there's a playbook around it, right. Which starts with the community, which is why franchise partners work great with restaurants because they know their community, they know the local schools and, um, the local groups to work with. At the end of the day, we have all of the different the brand assets and the programs around school fundraisers and school sampling events. And we also have the social media channels. Right. That's a big piece of developing your brand and engaging with your guests now. And so we've got those fully built out with 200,000 people on our Instagram and over 300,000 people on our email list. So we have a real dedicated community out there that will spread the word. And then we have a playbook for how to build your own community locally to leverage and support the overall community. So it really goes hand in hand. But, having a reputation, having all of the different assets, having the great menu and the reputation around that menu creates excitement. That word of mouth spreads quickly.
Speaker 3 00:26:42 Yeah. That's awesome. So talk a little bit about training. So I know you're looking for people that preferably have some restaurant background. You mentioned that you take on investors. What does that training really look like? There's going to be some training in a corporate store. Is,, that in California?
Lance Graulich 00:27:05 We bring them to, a corporate store and have an Immersive program where we take them through all the details of it. and then we would send our team out on site as they're getting ready to open their first restaurant and trainthem.
Speaker 3 00:27:20 It's got to be quite a bit of training in your corporate store, is it?
Lance Graulich 00:27:25 Yeah, we've got a training team. And it's no different than how we've opened in all our outer markets because we have our corporate team here in Southern California. But we train teams up in Northern California, Seattle, Portland, Boston, New York. And so we've got to play broke in a process where, ah, if you've got certain skills, we can train you on how to deliver the best of the plant based world around the sandwiches, burgers, salads, uh, and bowls and supply chain certainly helps as well. And that's a big piece of what we bring to the table, too, is we do all the r and D around the latest and greatest products and put together the right recipe, bills, and, the food costs and all that. So part of what we do is we keep our menu fresh and we update it with several new items every quarter. And that creates the excitement and the continued, frequency amongst our guests.
Speaker 3 00:28:16 That's fabulous. So when it comes to openings, I would imagine as you opened in all these different cities, in the beginning, you're doing openings and you're pumping a lot of money into grand openings. At some point, you get to your 200,000 or so on instagram. You just put a note on instagram in advance, a couple of notes, and then all of a sudden, you have a line out the door for an opening.
Lance Graulich 00:28:41 Right.
Speaker 3 00:28:41 Is that how it works these days?
Lance Graulich 00:28:42 Yeah, if you go on our instagram, you see every day people are saying, come to Charlotte, come to Houston, come to Miami, um, because what happens? We have the benefit, too, of being in La. And being in New York City. And people go there, visit, go to veg, find veggie grill because they're looking for delicious plant based food and become big fans. And now when it comes to their community, they spread the word quickly.
Speaker 3 00:29:10 Yeah. And that's the beauty of franchising. It's funny because I've heard of veggie grill because I live in Vegas, and I've been to a veggie grill, it's been a while in California., and I knew, hey, this thing's going to catch on and it's going to be a big deal, but everybody's looking for it. My daughter's got to eat a, uh, clean diet for medical reasons. And, boy, anybody can obviously be a customer of veggie grill. But my whole point about marketing, people ask me all the time, why would I not just do my own business? And again, fill in the blank what category? I said, well, a franchise, when they're doing all this marketing for you or their instagram or TikTok or whatever on social media is really hitting it. They are bringing you lots of customers just by doing certain posts. And I think people really underestimate the power of social media, but you shouldn't for restaurants, especially.
Lance Graulich 00:30:10 Yeah. the social media, the excitement around new menu items, um, and, um, yeah, there's a reason why McDonald's is McDonald's, and, uh, all the great brands in the restaurant world are who they are. And that's our goal, to do that around plant based.
Speaker 3 00:30:30 So what are the hottest areas now that you're set up for franchising? What are the hottest areas that you want to be in? You're already in quite a few great areas in the pacific northwest and what have you, seattle and Portland that you mentioned. But give me the top three, just your opinion on where you want to be next.
Lance Graulich 00:30:49 That. You're not? Yeah,Miami would be a great.
Speaker 3 00:30:53 Market for oh, that would be awesome.
Lance Graulich 00:30:55 Yeah, Atlanta certainly would be a great market. And, u yeah, we certainly the Houston, they're big cities. Dallas big city. They have a lot of consumers. Right. Even though Texas is you you associate with meat, they have a lot of people who are trying to eat a little healthier.
Speaker 3 00:31:15 So I have to ask, are there going to be and maybe there is. I didn't see it on the menu, but, uh, while you're doing different features and specials and what have you here and there as you're adding menu items, when you go to an area, let's say like Houston, Texas, or Dallas, when you hit there, eventually, do you foresee a plant based barbecue that pops up? And you know, I'm being serious.
Lance Graulich 00:31:42 That would be pretty cool, for doing our own specific items for those.
Speaker 3 00:31:47 city for the kind of the regional favorites like Miami with the Latina influence or the South American influence, you can have a lot of cool things that fit that area, too.
Lance Graulich 00:32:01 Yeah, I think what would happen is we'll learn from our franchisees, right. They'll bring ideas to us and, uh, say, well, that's a great idea, let's do it. And then we'll launch it in that community and then try it in other areas as well. I think that's what I've seen from other really successful brands as they learn from their franchisees and take the feedback and improve their overall concept.
Speaker 3 00:32:25 Yeah. And based on what I just said, it wasn't just Latinas, it was the Latin influence. So I don't want to make it sound it's just focused on ladies. So 33 locations. What's your goal for 2023? We're young in 2023 here, just a few months in. Are you looking to sell 510? How many franchises?
Lance Graulich 00:32:46 Sure. Well, we don't want to rush it. Right. It takes time to find the right location, um, and then build out the restaurant in the right way and make sure the team's trained. If we could get one or two open this year, that would be great. But we're not going to push it. Our goal is to sign great franchisees this year and really hit 2024 with a plan to build out locations in various markets where we find the right partners.
Speaker 3 00:33:15 Got it. And we didn't say it officially, but as far as I can tell, you are the number one chain of plant based. Like, you're the leader in the United States, probably the world. As far as I can tell, yeah.
Lance Graulich 00:33:31 Uh, from a size standpoint, we are. And, um, I would think from a brand recognition standpoint, we certainly are.
Speaker 3 00:33:38 So we can call you the McDonald's of plant based.
Lance Graulich 00:33:40 That's right.
Speaker 3 00:33:41 We can. So, final thoughts, final words of wisdom. We have a lot of listeners that are hearing this podcast and wondering, is a franchise right? For me, is the restaurant business, right. For me. So why veggie grill? Obviously, restaurants are a much larger investment. Restaurants for those listening, you might already know, but restaurants are always a huge part of franchising. They're the big prominent brands on street corners in America. Uh, and there's a lot of categories, but restaurants seem to be the sexiest and most popular segment, as always. But give me your final thoughts, final words of wisdom for the listeners.
Lance Graulich 00:34:24 Sure. I'd say if you love making people happy, right. And being part of your community and having a business that you really are proud of and, uh, is making a positive impact on the world, those are things that give me joy every day. Because I didn't start as a restaurant tour. I started as a technology, uh, guy working on back end systems. And now I really get to, uh, have real satisfaction every day. Knowing what we're doing is really helping to lead the country in the right way. It's serving our communities, walking our restaurants, talking to guests. It's not easy, but there's a lot of satisfaction you get out of it. And I think a lot of people out there, I think, have gone through certain careers or looking for what to do next and would like to do something they're really proud of. And, um, I would say that really, uh, has served me well.
Speaker 3 00:35:22 Love it. Well, tk, actually. For those listening, if you want to join the plant based party, reach out to Tk. Thank you. Thank you so much for being here. You're awesome.
Lance Graulich 00:35:35 Well, thanks. Yeah. Lance, great to be here.
Speaker 3 00:35:37 Talk to you soon.
Lance Graulich 00:35:38 Yeah. Okay. Get to Veggie Grill soon.
Speaker 3 00:35:40 Absolutely.
Lance Graulich 00:35:42 Thank you very much for listening today. Please, like, follow and subscribe. This is Lance Graulic.
Speaker 3 00:35:48 Until next time.