Say what you will about the decision by Willie Romeo and Eduardo Serafim to become Burger King franchisees, but they certainly know what they’re getting into.
That’s because Romeo is Burger King’s vice president of company operations and Serafim is vice president of development and franchising. Romeo helps manage Burger King’s company restaurants. Serafim helped design the chain’s newest prototype, called Sizzle.
The two recently decided to band together, with their families, and buy 33 locations in Florida from the company. In short, they’re putting their money where their mouths are.
“It really comes to timing,” Romeo said in an interview. “If you look at the timing, the way the business is growing, the culture of the company, and the long-term plan that Burger King has, it just became perfect timing to buy these restaurants and become franchisees and, you know, take the plunge and run.”
Tom Curtis, president of Burger King in the U.S. and Canada, told the Burger King system last Friday that the two executives will be leaving the system to take over the restaurants. “This is a big moment,” Curtis wrote. “These are two leaders who have spent several years helping shape our turnaround, and now they are joining the fantastic team of franchisees that own and operate the majority of Burger King restaurants.
“This is the ultimate commitment to the brand.”
Burger King is in the process of a multi-year turnaround, and franchising is a key element in that strategy. The company has acquired well over 1,000 restaurants, mostly through its $1 billion acquisition of mega-franchisee Carrols Restaurant Group.
The company’s goal was two-fold: To speed the remodel of those restaurants and to refranchise them to smaller, more local operators.
But Burger King last week said that it is starting that refranchising two years earlier than expected. Executives with Burger King parent Restaurant Brands International said they have operators “ready to go.”
“Our first, second and third priority on these restaurants is to get them into the hands of great operators,” Executive Chairman Patrick Doyle said in an interview. “If there are people who are going to do that and they’re committed to getting them remodeled on the same timeframe that we were going to do them, then great. We’ll start the process earlier.”
Putting two soon-to-be-former executives into a group of stores, however, may be the ultimate sign of faith in the system.
Romeo started working with Burger King in the early 1990s until he left in 2010 to join the then Fiesta Restaurant Group, which at the time operated Pollo Tropical along with hundreds of Burger King restaurants that in 2014 would become Carrols. Romeo returned to Burger King four years ago when Curtis asked him to come back.
Romeo was then asked to run company store operations. He ran 170 locations for the brand, including the chain’s 47 restaurants near company headquarters in Miami. Doyle noted that those restaurants are currently generating double-digit same-store sales with mid-single-digit growth in traffic. And they’ve “never been more profitable,” Doyle said later.
“He’s the guy who built the team, assembled the culture, and he’s delivering all these great results,” Serafim said. “And it’s not only Miami, but a bunch of other markets he’s running.” That includes the locations the two will take over.
Serafim, meanwhile, received his MBA at the University of Chicago and then joined Burger King. He’s held several positions over the years, in Latin America, North America and Europe before he took over as head of development and franchising for the brand.
It was in that role that he worked on the remodel programs. “So I’m like, putting my money where my mouth is,” Serafim said. “We’re doing all these remodels.”
The two started talking about joining forces to buy some restaurants in March. They got excited about the idea, then broached it to Curtis, who was supportive. They then talked with Kobza, RBI’s CEO, along with Doyle.
“It’s really encouraging when you see people that are so close to it putting their families’ future into it,” Serafim said. “They were super supportive and excited for us.”
That encouragement didn’t just come from the top. Burger King franchisees also sent messages to the pair after the decision was announced, asking whether they can help. “It shows that the corporate relationship with the franchisees is working,” Romeo said. “We love the fact that franchisees embraced us and offered us some assistance in whatever we need. That’s pretty cool.”
As for Burger King, Joe Hoffman will now take over company store operations. Nicolas Henrich will take over as VP of development and franchising. Chris Elias will take over Henrich’s old role as VP of finance. The sale of the restaurants themselves will close in September.
“We are here for the next 50 days,” Serafim said, “helping with on organized transition, making sure that people taking over for us are set up for success, and then we ride into the sunset.”
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