Seattle-style teriyaki restaurant franchise Teriyaki Madness has been growing. A lot. Even in 2020 the brand has been welcoming hordes of new fans and franchisees in markets across the country. In June, the franchise introduced Restaurant Sherpas, an affiliate restaurant management company working exclusively for Teriyaki Madness, to serve as the day-to-day management. The partnership works especially well for absentee and semi-absentee franchisees who want a turn-key solution, providing a viable business opportunity for franchisees looking to secure investor visas like EB5 and E2, or who want to be part of the brand without running the day-to-day operations.
“Restaurant Sherpas provides an opportunity for franchisees to invest in a fast-growing, category-leading brand with the absolute highest level of operational support,” says Teriyaki Madness CEO Michael Haith. “The shops we have opened under the leadership of Restaurant Sherpas have been incredibly successful.”
Teriyaki Madness partnered with investment firm Globofran to manage shops in Wheat Ridge and Denver, Colorado, and FirstPathway Partners to open a total of six shops (to start) in Wisconsin and Illinois, all of which will be operated by Restaurant Sherpas.
Restaurant Sherpas began managing the Wheat Ridge shop in March, and its impact was massive, immediate and ongoing. Since taking over the location, average daily sales are up by 19 percent and average meal tickets are up by 29 percent. In August alone, year-over-year sales were up by 42 percent, orders were up by 15 percent and the average ticket was up by 25 percent. Additionally, Wheat Ridge has already broken its daily sales records twice since March, hitting performance numbers that are impressive even by pre-pandemic standards.
FirstPathway opened its first location in Brookfield, Wisconsin on September 16th, which had a strong grand opening, and plans to open four additional locations in Wisconsin and another across the border in Rolling Meadows, Illinois by the end of 2020.
“FirstPathway and Globofran represent people who want to immigrate to the United States and obtain a business visa, and the Restaurant Sherpas model has already proven to be a wise investment for both groups,” Haith says. “Restaurant Sherpas provides an opportunity for people looking to tap into decades of restaurant management experience to ensure the highest operational efficiency and profitability of their shops.”
In addition to investment groups, several new and existing Teriyaki Madness franchisees have partnered with Restaurant Sherpas to either run their shop or provide extra training to make sure the shop is running smoothly and is operationally sound. That increased support will no doubt prove enormously advantageous to franchisees who already enjoy the benefits of working with one of the fastest-growing and well-liked brands in franchising.
