The fierce protection of Layne’s culture dates back to when Reed and O’Reilly took the reins. In that first year, the goal was to open three units in the Dallas/Forth Worth market and stress test all of their theories on replicating operations, culture, and food. After debuting those units, the team learned what they were doing right, but also uncovered what they were doing wrong. Pivots were made accordingly.
The company moved ahead of schedule, and opened a fourth corporate store in Dallas/Fort Worth in April. As Layne’s prepared for that store’s debut, Wattar joined the fold with previous franchising experience at Fuzzy’s Tacos and MOOYA Burgers & Fries. The industry veteran filled a void in terms of knowledge around logistics, supply chain, and purchasing.
“We knew what they needed to be successful because we ran our own stores, Reed says. "We knew what they needed to be successful based on our culture and the way we wanted things implemented, but those are actual disciplines that you need somebody that has a long history of that. So we did bring Samir on and he began to change our supply chain, create a real box to where people can come and grab a hold of that box."
In June, Layne’s debuted its first franchised location—and eighth store overall—in Katy, Texas. The operator is Houston native Masroor Fatany, who owns multiple Halal Guys restaurants in the Houston market. Fatany plans to open five locations around Houston in the next few years.
As Layne’s attempts its exponential rise from eight to 100 locations, the growth guardrails won’t necessarily focus on operations. Reed says one of the reasons why he and O’Reilly acquired Layne’s was because of its simplicity. The brand essentially sells chicken tenders, fries, and milkshakes, so the menu isn’t complicated and the food is easy to package and deliver to customers. Of course, there are specific ways to cook food, but the details are laid out quite easily.