Açaí bowl franchise Everbowl has some big-name franchisees, including pro sports stars Drew Brees and Jayson Tatum.
Justin Sloan may not have the same name recognition as Everbowl franchisees Drew Brees or Jayson Tatum, but he’s a major partner for the acai brand nonetheless.
Sloan, the CEO of private equity firm Sloan Capital, became a franchisee in 2021, signing development agreements for Texas and his home state of Iowa. The south has his larger commitment of opening 50 units, and he plans to develop 10 stores in the Midwest.
His beginnings didn’t come in the restaurant industry, though. Originally from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Sloan launched his business career after high school in retail with cell phone stores. As a partner with T-Mobile, he was able to develop several locations in the state, and it led him to another business model.
“I fell in love with real estate during that time and started buying single-family homes while owning my cell phone business and having somebody else run them,” Sloan said. “From there, I scaled up to apartment buildings and then bought some of the strip malls my phone stores were located in.”
Eventually, his real estate portfolio was large enough that Sloan could exit the cell phone industry after nearly 14 years.
“I sold those locations and then my plan was just to kind of hang back and invest in some different companies while buying real estate,” Sloan said. “It was a chance for me to take a break and I did that for a year or two. Then the pandemic hit.”
As businesses were navigating the coronavirus situation, Sloan was invited to a meeting of entrepreneurs in Phoenix to discuss what was happening across industries. It was there that he met Everbowl founder and CEO Jeff Fenster.
Justin Sloan
The brand, established in 2016 and franchising since 2020, offered something new and exciting, Sloan said.
“I’m from Iowa, where meals are meat and potatoes,” Sloan said. “But I tried Everbowl and it piqued my interest. It was delicious, good for you and the ingredients were great. I ended up flying out to San Diego and I basically wouldn’t leave their stores because I wanted to see the interactions and what the brand was all about.”
Sloan said the idea that the brand needed to be everywhere “clicked” and he decided to get involved. While he originally planned only to invest, he decided to go a step further and become a franchisee.
In doing so, he joined a system with some big names. Brees, a former NFL quarterback who won a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints, and Tatum, a star with the Boston Celtics who just helped his team win an NBA title, are franchisees. So is online personality and entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk.
The California-based brand has 90 locations across 26 states. Sloan’s opened eight so far in Texas and four in Iowa.
To assist with the ongoing development, Sloan said he’s utilizing the real estate arm of Sloan Capital, which has about 60 investors, to fund restaurants. As a result, Sloan said they’re being opened in both states without debt.
Getting those Everbowl units up and running, Sloan said, has been the easy part of the development as he uses a process from his T-Mobile days.
“I’ve gotten really good at duplicating things,” Sloan said. “In the cell phone world, it was the same thing. You find the right location and the right team. That’s how most businesses are. I just had to figure out the food. So, I hired a restaurant expert who has experience with growing other start-ups to help run operations.”
Sloan said as he opens locations, he’s been pleased that his strategy of steady but careful development aligned with the Everbowl corporate’s approach.
“I think the focus on making a great business, rather than just going fast, has been so important,” Sloan said. “I’ve spent the last couple of years getting to know a lot of people in franchising and the repeatable business world, and there are so many that get this boost and sell so many franchises, but don’t necessarily have a great business.”
“With Everbowl, they’ve taken a bit of a slower approach with a more concentric growth,” he continued. “In Dallas, if we build that brand right, get that advertising, marketing, partnerships and all of that stuff cranking, it makes it that much more difficult for any other brand to come into the market.”