#buildingplr First Pepper Lunch store SIGNED

Well THAT escalated quickly.

Not even 3 months after signing my 5-store franchise deal....

I got a site.

This is NOT normal, okay? 8 out of 9 of my Halal Guys locations took 6-10 months to negotiate and build.

Only one of them - in Long Beach - took about 4 months. 

I can't share the location, yet. There are a bunch of things that need to happen behind the scenes before I can make it public. 

But I'll share what I can.

This is a second-generation spot (meaning, it's an existing restaurant) in one of the busiest shopping centers in all of Orange County.

The current tenant was operating a successful business, there; but due to personal reasons, they could not operate it anymore.

However, they were still on the hook for the rent. The lease has 8.5 years left on it.

One of the owner’s brothers has been a friend of mine for 10 years; has seen my work as a franchise and restaurant space (I’ve been at it for almost 20 years!); and recommended that his brother speak with me and see if there was anything they could do to transition out of the business (sublease, sell the business, etc.).

I started off just helping them as a friend and advisor.

That, and this location isn’t even in my territory. 

But after diving deeper…I got excited.

• The site is next to a ton of entertainment (movie theaters, live shows, gaming, etc.), dense day time and residential population, and best-in-class tenants that serve our same customer (and we want to be next to)

• The math checked out. I personally use the metric of 10% rent - meaning, whatever I project to do in sales, the rent would not exceed 10% of that - all in with CAMs (common area maintenance) and NNNs (taxes, insurance, and maintenance charges). For example, if I plan to do $2M in sales, I shouldn't pay more than $200K in sales.

• The ability to use the existing bathroom, the hood, freezers, fridges, work tables, and existing infrastructure would allow me build this store at a fraction of the cost of a normal build out; and open in a fraction of the time.

• The gorgeous aesthetics and impossibility of getting into a AAA space like this also played a major factor.

I saw this as a win/win/win (me, my friends, and the landlord) situation.

I told the owner that I was building Pepper Lunch Restaurants, and invited them to lunch at the Irvine location.

They came. And they were blown away by:

• The simplicity of the operations. It was literally “push-button start”.

• The uniqueness (and customer involvement) of the experience. 

• How delicious and the food, was - for the caliber and price. 

• The lack of space and a large staff to do high volumes (that store does $2.8M in 1,600sf). 

They loved it so much, they asked to be a passive shareholder in the space - which was unexpected (but I’m not surprised lol it’s brilliant!). 

SIDE NOTE: This is why you must play the long game. Always build in public, treat people well (even if they can't do anything for you), do your best work, and shoot your shot. This deal could NOT have happened without a random interaction and consistent nurturing for a decade.

They told the landlord about the personal situation, and they were very understanding. They also introduced them to me, and told them about the concept. 

I invited the landlord to lunch at the store...but they went incognito without me. 

I was bummed out that I couldn’t take care of their meal, give them a tour of the back kitchen, share how the new prototype would differ and be a massive upgrade from the store they saw (this one was busy and great, but it’s 6 years old). 

But regardless, they loved the experience, and approved the change of use UNDER ONE CONDITION:

We have to be done with construction by Black Friday. This day starts the shopping center’s peak business season and they don’t want any inconveniences to the customers who shop there (which I can appreciate).

This meant we had to keep space relatively the same, and not make any structural changes.

I shared this opportunity with Troy, Mark, and Dana - and they got right into making sure:

• The space checked out, demographically

• All of our equipment, small wares, and branded structures could fit

• This could honor the landlord’s timeline, with minimal changes

They wasted no time. They drove down, checked out the space, met with the landlord’s engineers to verify ample utilities, and approved it.

Appreciated their fast and helpful support (you should consider being a franchisee too *wink*).

Next?

Vendors, building our operating team, and all sorts of other fun stuff shortly!