The fast-growing, Seattle-style teriyaki franchise offers a lucrative opportunity for property owners, commercial landlords and other semi-absentee investors to reap the rewards of the franchising model while filling empty real estate.
Jeff Gallagher is a seventh-generation rice farmer near Sacramento, who also owns a few rental properties dotted around the city. If that wasn’t enough, he’s added multi-unit Teriyaki Madness franchisee to the list.
How can one man do it all? Well, he has a secret weapon: Restaurant Sherpas, a unique restaurant management company dedicated to helping multi-unit absentee investors become Teriyaki Madness franchisees by providing full operational support.
Like many other property owners, Gallagher struggled to find a solid business for the commercial space in his building after a long-time coffee shop tenant shut down due to the pandemic. The list of proven concepts able to sign a new lease was short, so when he came across Teriyaki Madness, it was clear to him that he’d found the right investment.
He loved the Seattle-style teriyaki shop’s delicious, as-healthy-as-you-want-to-be bowls served in a fast casual setting — and knew the brand would be a perfect fit for the neighborhood. Also healthy: its balance sheets, particularly so for shops run by Restaurant Sherpas, which open 13% higher than shops not run by Sherpas.
But while Gallagher is an expert at growing rice, he’s much happier letting someone else figure out what to do with it. Enter Restaurant Sherpas. Its one mission: running Teriyaki Madness shops for investors. For Gallagher, Restaurant Sherpas is turning out to be a knight in shining armor. And let’s face it, landlords need one right now.
In the wake of COVID-19, restaurants and retail stores are struggling, which has led to real estate vacancies in commercial shopping centers, malls and retail stores, and property owners struggling to fill them.
Restaurant Sherpas solves this problem by allowing investors to enjoy passive income with a turnkey restaurant franchise, with none of the hassle of actually building or managing the restaurant. Restaurant Sherpas serves as the investor’s partner, providing any service they need, whether it’s finding the exact right location, overseeing the build-out, hiring and training, marketing — or completely running the shop. And because this elite crew of managers comes from the top ranks of national restaurant chains, they also run more profitable and more operationally efficient shops.
It all adds up to a win-win-win scenario: 1. Commercial landlords get to fill a space that’s languishing empty. 2. The same landlord gets to become an absentee or semi-absentee investor, earning money from a business they don’t need to manage. 3. Customers now have access to a wildly popular, fast-growing and category-leading brand that managed to open 31 new shops in 2020. (Yep, in the middle of a pandemic.)
And as Gallagher realized, the model is particularly good for replacing an existing restaurant space, because the basic infrastructure already exists, helping to reduce the cost and time spent on the construction process.
“For me, Teriyaki Madness was the perfect fit to fill this vacant space,” said Gallagher. “I love the food, I love the brand’s position in a fast-growing industry and I love that the conversion of the space will be fairly turnkey. Plus, I am confident in Restaurant Sherpas’ ability to run the shop and make sure it’s operationally sound and as profitable as it can be.”
Beyond shopping center and commercial landlords, the Restaurant Sherpas model also is perfect for multi-unit operators, absentee and semi-absentee franchise owners who want to secure investor visas or be part of a growing brand but want to leave it to a team that knows the brand inside and out.
“Teriyaki Madness fared incredibly well in 2020, which has given us great momentum for a big 2021. With Restaurant Sherpas, we can increase our store footprint, partner with incredible investors and help to solve a major problem in the real estate world,” said Michael Haith, CEO of Teriyaki Madness. “In this climate, we need fresh ways of thinking about growing our brand, and Restaurant Sherpas is a big focus for Teriyaki Madness in 2021.”
For more information about Restaurant Sherpas, please visit www.restaurantsherpas.com.
Fast-casual teriyaki shop franchise Teriyaki Madness is committed to unconditionally satisfying guests by offering delicious, made-to-order, healthy (or not) bowls, apps and sides, prepared with fresh, all-natural ingredients served quickly and at a reasonable price. Guests can enjoy their bowls in the shop, or order through the mobile app for delivery or curbside pickup. Teriyaki Madness has been ranked on Entrepreneur’s Top Food Franchises and FastCasual’s Movers and Shakers in 2019, and the Inc. 5000 list for three straight years. Founded in 2003, the brand currently has franchise agreements in place for nearly 250 shops across the U.S., with franchising opportunities nationwide for qualified single and multi-unit candidates. For more information, visit www.franchise.teriyakimadness.com.
Restaurant Sherpas is a sister company working exclusively for Teriyaki Madness, handling everything from real estate and construction to hiring, training and ongoing day-to-day management. The Sherpas ensure that the shop is operated at a high level and that all key performance indicators are in line with agreed-upon targets. The turn-key model works especially well for multi-unit operators, and absentee and semi-absentee franchisees looking to secure investor visas or who want to be part of a category-leading brand without running daily operations. Commercial property owners and shopping center developers also benefit from the completely self-ran investment. For more information, please visit www.restaurantsherpas.com.
