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 Sam Batt, who has been a TCBY franchisee since 2010, and just opened his first dual-branded location. Batt has been leading the way with Famous Brands International store prototypes, as he also previously opened the company’s first self-serve TCBY location.
We spoke with Batt about his career with TCBY, the benefits of dual-branding, and his journey to becoming both a franchisee and area developer for Famous Brands.
Store count: 15 TCBY locations (including the dual-branded store) in Charlotte, N.C., Charleston, S.C., and Philadelphia, Pa.
Getting into frozen yogurt franchising
Out of college, I joined Accenture consulting firm. I did that for about six years, but I always wanted to start my own business. I was living in Philly at the time with my wife, and we decided to start our family, so we moved to Charlotte, and my wife got pregnant very soon after moving. I wanted to find something that I could do that would keep me home every night, and I thought franchising would be the best route for me because I didn't have any experience in owning my own business. Growing up in Philly, I loved TCBY, and my wife, who grew up in Greenville, S.C., also loved it. We thought it would be really cool to do something like that, and that was in 2009, right around the time when a lot of frozen yogurt shops were popping up.
Pitching self-serve
When I moved to Charlotte, I didn’t see any [frozen yogurt concepts] yet, so I reached out to TCBY and asked them if they were aware of the self-serve trends. They laughed because yeah, of course, this is their industry. So, I asked them if I could open a TCBY self-serve, to marry that perfect product with letting customers get exactly what they want and to have that experience. I didn’t realize, they were already working on a prototype, so I ended up opening the first self-serve TCBY in Charlotte in 2010.
Becoming an area developer
I support three other franchisees in my territories of Charlotte and Charleston, and basically my role is to expand the brand in the best way possible in that territory. I identify potential franchisees in the market, and then I'm responsible for helping them develop build, market, and open the store. Once they are open, then it's my responsibility to help them operationally and with marketing. It’s just another layer of support besides Famous Brands.
TCBY development
It’s an amazing business. As soon as we opened the store [in Charlotte], customers were piling in, talking about their memory of the brand when they were kids, and it was incredible to hear how similar these stories were to my stories and my wife’s stories [with the brand]. So, I had to decide right then and there if I was going to be a single store owner or if I should really build it out and really open more stores near these customers coming in. They were all driving like an hour away to get to this small shopping center. We were asking them at the time, “Where do you live? Where do you want us to open next?”
Landlords were turning me down left and right because they didn’t want a brand from the ‘80s, they wanted trendy brands. So, I brought these agents from larger lifestyle shopping centers into our little busy strip mall to see what we were all about. Plus, we had the brand recognition and product reputation, and that's how we were able to secure those locations. So, that's why I stuck with [just doing TCBY]. I love testing things out with them, working on new marketing initiatives, and continuing to develop our territory.
Work-life balance
Owning a business pretty much is always 24/7, but I look at my stores as my kids with different personalities. Similarly, I have four kids now, and I'm a 24/7 dad, but also a 24/7 business owner. This allows me the flexibility where I could go to all of my kids’ activities, and school events. I even get sad on Christmas when the stores are closed. When you really love what you do, you don’t mind that aspect.
Why cobranding works
Several ago, my territory did not include the Philadelphia market. However, when during COVID, the Mrs. Field’s in the King of Prussia Mall was looking to close, and their lease was up, I thought it would be a great way for me to get into that business as well. I grew up going to that Mrs. Field’s, and so I decided to purchase that store before it closed, so Famous Brands allowed me to add the Mrs. Field’s brand and the Philadelphia market to my territory. So it allowed me to expand the TCBY brand in Philadelphia.
I really wanted to open a Mrs. Field’s in the Carolinas to really get the name out there… it made sense to open it as a dual brand in the mall. Our seasons are opposite, whereas TCBY is busier in the spring and summer, Mrs. Field’s is busier in the fall and winter, and around the holidays. They loved the idea of combining both brands, and it got everyone so excited.
Future goals
I hope to continue to do this to build out the Mrs. Field’s brand.… I also think my goal for 2025 is to identify other franchisees in the market who would love to open more stores. Typically, an area developer develops a few stores and then uses those to sell the franchise to other potential franchisees. I kind of did the opposite, because I really love opening stores. But I would really love to identify other franchisees who could focus on a fewer number of stores.
Store personality
Famous Brands lets you operate your store the way that makes sense for your store. For instance, if you go into a Chipotle, every store is exactly the same. This model, however, allows the franchisee to offer their customers what they want. You're obviously going to have a chocolate, vanilla, our signature white chocolate mousse. You're going to want to have a no-sugar-added flavor and a sorbet, but the other flavors you choose; that’s your decision. I could put peanut butter in one store, and it will sell like crazy, and put it in a store down the street, and it won’t sell at all. Each store has its own personality.
