This profile is part of a series on the winners of NRN's 2011 MUFSO awards. The winners will be honored during the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators Conference, which takes place Sept. 25-27 in Grapevine, Texas. The Operator of the Year will be selected from the Golden Chain honorees during a gala awards banquet at the show. Read more about the awards and profiles of other award winners.
In an interview with Burger King for a position as a unit-level manager in Tampa, Fla., a then-22-year-old Don Fox was asked about his long-term plans. His frank answer set the stage for nearly four decades of advancement in the foodservice industry.
“I told them, ‘I see no reason I couldn’t rise to the level of CEO,’” Fox said. “I never set a ceiling for where I could go.”
Fox got the job, and he worked for Burger King Corp. for 23 years in such posts as general manager, franchise business manager and manager of research and development. And while he didn’t reach chief executive there, he has realized that vision at Firehouse Subs, a rapidly expanding fast-casual sandwich chain where he has been running things since late 2009.
Since he joined the Jacksonville, Fla.-based company in 2003 as director of franchise compliance, Fox has helped the firefighter-themed chain grow from 65 restaurants to 442. Firehouse ranked eighth in unit growth in Nation’s Restaurant News’ 2011 Second 100 report. Systemwide sales are projected to hit $290 million this year, and comparable-store sales are up 5.6 percent year-to-date, Fox said.
But true to form, he’s got grander plans.
“The plan is to have 2,000 restaurants by 2020,” Fox said. “I won’t be fully satisfied until I achieve that.”
Still, those who work with Fox say his bold ambition is matched only by his collaborative spirit and emphasis on team success over individual gain. Robin Sorensen, a former firefighter who founded the chain in 1994 with his brother, Chris, said Fox’s franchising expertise and consensus-building skills were critical for creating a foundation for the years of growth to come.
“He came in at a time when we needed to bring everyone to the table to make this a better brand and a bigger brand through providing his leadership and sharing ideas,” Sorensen said. “He’s great at long-term vision and great at getting people engaged and getting all the key players involved.
“It became obvious early on that he was going to be a great asset for us,” he added.
Fox initially was hired to formalize operations and systems among the chain’s franchisee community, which at that time represented about 30 restaurants. He was named chief operating officer in 2005 and held that job for nearly five years before being promoted to his current role.
Even today, the lines of communication he was charged with creating eight years ago are still central to his business.
“I stress communication so much,” Fox said. “Even though area representatives manage the day to day, [ultimately], the franchisee’s agreement is with us. We’re not about having done the deal and just sitting up in the ivory tower watching the royalty checks come in.”
Don Davey, whose DKSS Subs operates 11 Firehouse restaurants, said Fox’s openness is an important part of maintaining a good relationship between corporate and the more than 200 franchisees.
“Our group had an issue a few years ago, as all franchisees will with their franchisor at some point,” Davey said. “But rather than delegate to someone else in the company, he personally invited me and my partner to come up and talk to him face to face. As busy as he is … he took the time to say, ‘What’s the problem, and what can we do about it?’ and then come to an amicable conclusion.”
But Fox is uncompromising when it comes to building the brand, even in the face of adversity, Davey said.
“I think his biggest strength as a leader is a willingness to stick with his convictions,” he said. “[We] went through a very challenging time in 2007, 2008 and 2009, and rather than lick our wounds, he encouraged all of us to get aggressive. … He said, ‘This is not the time to turn and cower; it’s time to get aggressive and capture market share.’ And that’s exactly what we did.”
Even as access to capital was limited in recent years, the company continued to grow, opening 53 stores in 2008, 40 in 2009 and 43 in 2010, which Fox said is a credit to the high esteem in which lenders view the brand.
The company also established an internal lending company, Capital 94, in 2007 to help franchisees with small loans for equipment. When access to funds became increasingly difficult in the recession, supplemental loans from Capital 94 were available to qualified existing franchisees, for up to 70 percent of project costs. Fox said those funds helped launch about 15 restaurants in the past few years that otherwise may not have opened.
He also credits the company’s success in recent years to its frugality and lack of debt.
“We were never pressured to make moves that would have compromised the brand,” Fox said. “A lot of brands were raising prices, downsizing portions. We were fortunate because of the strength of our financial position. We never compromised anything.”
Fox said another key to his success is the inherent strength of the Firehouse brand, which is based not only on serving up hearty subs in a firehouse atmosphere, but also creating “that spirit and camaraderie of the firehouse and a desire to serve.” Photos of local firefighters hang in the restaurants, and the company’s Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation has raised more than $5 million since its inception to help firehouses purchase lifesaving equipment.
“That, in many respects, is the thing we’re most proud of,” Fox said.
George Green, vice president of four-unit Bread & Company, who serves with Fox on the Fast Casual Industry Council, said Fox brings a giving spirit to his pursuits outside Firehouse as well.
“Don is somebody who thinks about the bigger industry and is always willing to share and talk with people who might be considered competitors in a really open way,” Green said. “That’s kind of rare to find.”
Fox is a quiet yet powerful leader, he added.
“[He’s] soft-spoken but also able to really articulate his point and always have really good insights,” Green said. “Don is able to have a great deal of influence without being the person speaking the loudest or the longest,” he said.
In addition to his role on the Fast Casual Industry Council, Fox is an advocate for the foodservice industry through work with the ProStart Initiative council, the International Franchise Association and involvement with industry events, including NRN’s annual Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators Conference.
“It’s in all of our best interests to better the industry as a whole,” Fox said. “The reality is it’s not a fixed pie for market share. We should have a culture of sharing best practices. If we do that, the slice of the pie increases for everyone.”
Contact Christi Ravneberg at [email protected].
