Winner
Real Estate and Hospitality Services
When Greg Flynn acquired eight Applebee’s restaurants in the Seattle area 11 years ago, he wasn’t blindly entering the game as a restaurant franchisee. Instead, he firmly believed that Applebee’s was going to grow into a strong restaurant chain, and he wanted to be an important part of that growth.
That original investment has paid off. Now, as founder, chairman and CEO of Apple American Group, he leads the largest Applebee’s franchise in the country, with 189 restaurants across nine states. He’s accomplished this through a combination of strategic acquisition, restaurant development, and operational and management excellence.
As he developed and expanded the company, he remained focused on his goals and standards. While other people saw hurdles and barriers to expansion, particularly in the Seattle area, Flynn saw past that and expanded his presence in that market from eight to 26 restaurants. He’s continued this vision through the years, and last year he acquired 41 restaurants in Southern California and Nevada that he felt were underperforming.
He thought that by upgrading facilities and strengthening operations and marketing, these restaurants would perform much better. So in 2008, he invested $3 million to remodel 10 of the restaurants, and that risk paid off, with the restaurants now performing much better.
Flynn’s restaurants to do so well in part because he runs Apple American on a federal and state model. The company’s Northeast Ohio headquarters operates in a manner similar to how the federal government operates out of Washington, D.C. Flynn pushes decision-making and accountability down to the local business markets, or the “states” in his business model. Doing so demonstrates his trust in his people, and Flynn believes that having excellent, capable people is a cornerstone to success. He believes in getting out of their way and letting them drive success, which prevents operations from getting bogged down in hierarchy and bureaucracy.
Taking this approach keeps Apple American growing and shows that Flynn and his team will continue to be successful as his company stays on its path to growth.
How to reach: Apple American Group, (216) 525-2775 or www.appleamerican.com
