If founders, chefs and other creatives are the beating heart of the restaurant industry, then franchisees are the veins delivering their ideas to all corners of the globe. Franchising is critical to the success of the industry, allowing brands to quickly scale their big ideas using other people’s capital. And whether it’s a mom-and-pop restaurant owner with one or two franchised restaurants or a seasoned veteran whose influence in the industry is well-known, franchisees — with all their individual attributes, styles and personalities — make a huge impact on the success of a business.
In this week’s installment of Franchisee Spotlight, we spoke with Rebecca Shannon — a Gen Z franchisee who grew up in and around pizza franchises as the great-niece of Hungry Howie’s CEO, Steve Jackson, and daughter of franchisees. Now, at age 27, Shannon is a franchisee in her own right and just opened her first solo store in Monroe, Mich.
We spoke with Shannon about what it’s like to grow into the restaurant franchising business and how she operates differently as a Gen Z franchisee.
Store count: Family owns seven locations in Michigan and Ohio, and Shannon just opened her first solo venture in Monroe, Mich. in May
Growing up in pizzerias
My parents opened their first store when my mom was six months pregnant with me in 1996. So since I was born, pizza was running through my veins. I was at the store with them, starting at about three years old. They had me come with them to work every day, and I just started folding boxes and trying to help mom out as much as possible. Then, by fourth grade, I started answering phones and tried making some pizzas. Then I started actually working when I was 14 years old and after a few of my teenage years, I decided I didn't want to work with my family anymore, so I did branch out, and I started other jobs. At the end of the day, I ended up back at Howie’s in 2016. I worked my way up to a shift leader, and in 2017, I started managing my own location in Ypsilanti. I was also going to school, about 20 credit hours, and then I was working 60 to 70 hours a week over at the Ypsilanti location.
Starting her career
It was also around that time that my father brought up potentially going in with him to the franchise. At the time, I was very nervous, because I had been going to school and I knew I wanted to pursue something with my degree. At this point in my life, I was just like, ’You know what? I just want to take the jump and see what happens.’
It was in 2018 when I partnered with my father on our first store, and that was the store in Adrian, while I still GMing the store in Ypsilanti. My business partner Julie was mainly running the Adrian location, but in 2020 she took time off because she just had her baby, so I ended up taking over her position as supervisor. So, I was overseeing all four of the localstores that she had... I saw what my parents created for themselves at a young age, and I always strove to have something like that myself. I never thought it would be pizza. I really didn't. Then, when I got back in the swing of things, I was like, ‘You know what? This is easy, this is fun.’ And I can just create a great environment every day.
Why she stuck with Hungry Howie’s
I've stuck with them for so long because of what I've seen my parents create. They started with nothing and slowly built up this empire that we have today, and it's through seeing their setbacks, that I can see how they persevere through everything. I'm just so happy to be able to work with them and alongside them every day, alongside the partners I have.
Upholding her great-uncle’s legacy
My dad always used to tell me stories about when he first started under my Uncle Steve and his brother Dennis. He started going door to door just trying to get any business in that he could….We didn’t have digital advertising of course. I'm grateful that my Uncle Steve created this brand, and that my dad had the opportunity to work for him when he did, because if that hadn't happened, we might not be where we are today.
Challenges of being a young franchisee
I feel like being a young franchisee has not been a huge deal, just because all of the jobs that I've had, besides Howie's, I've always worked my way up to a management position. … The age part affects me. I know how to talk to people and communicate with them in a way that I don't really get much backlash there. I'm running the show now, and he's taking a little bit of a step back, but some people try to go to my father for things instead of me. My father does a good job rerouting any questions that are directed at him. But I think that's just going to come with time. People need to get more comfortable with me taking over and being in this position.
Why Gen Z’ers make good business owners
I think there's a few things that I bring to the table as a Gen Z. The way I train people and communicate with people is a lot different than my father or my other partners. I like to take a step back and let them make their own mistakes and correct them afterward. I also have the ability to adapt and be flexible with my workers. In this day and age, there's a lot of places that are hiring, so if you can't set a different standard and show them that you're willing to work with them and understand them, then they're not going to stay with you. I set up a chat for each store on Discord [the communications app].
Community involvement
I think the secret for me personally is surrounding yourself with people that are not only going to support you, but also your ideas and your stores. Our stores are all run by young females, and it's nice to have that rapport with them…. I think it’s also important to build community in your stores and also get out into the community. We have a Halloween mascot that we take to town events and hand out menus and coupons… .We give out free pizzas, and people ask, ‘doesn’t that hurt the business?’ But no, I would love to give out free pizzas all the time, because that allows people to try your product and come back. We have a goal in our stores of donating 10 pizzas a week to local organizations. If you don’t show up, people aren’t going to know about you.
