Like a lot of other restaurant operators, Greg Flynn is cautiously optimistic that another four years under a Trump administration could be a boon for an industry that has struggled under tighter government regulations and rising food and labor costs.
At the same time, the country’s largest restaurant franchisee worries about the impact of new immigration policies that could strip the industry of many of its most reliable workers.
“There are potential positive and negative consequences of this election. On the positive side, I think that there will be less regulatory pressure than we’ve experienced and hopefully offering us some tax relief,” said Flynn the founder, chairman and CEO of Flynn Group, which operates more than 2,700 restaurants and gyms across the Applebee’s, Arby’s, Taco Bell, Panera, Pizza Hut, Wendy’s and Planet Fitness brands.
“What concerns me is if President Trump keeps his pledge to execute on a mass deportation of immigrants and the tariffs he said he’s going to put on all countries. That’s going be tough on us,” Flynn added. “We employ a lot of immigrants and almost without exception they are all wonderful people that we could not live without. That could be very bad for us.”
President-elect Donald Trump has promised to close the United States-Mexico border and deport millions of people, moves many economists say could bring higher prices and negatively impact employment rates for American workers.
Flynn shared his post-election thoughts before taking the stage November 13 at the Restaurant & Finance Development Conference in Las Vegas. During a lively conversation with Dennis Monroe, chairman of law firm Monroe Moxness Berg, Flynn talked about his 30-year career in the restaurant business.
He broke down his company’s history into three chapters: starting off his restaurant business by growing its Applebee’s portfolio from eight locations to more than 450 locations and then diversifying its holdings with legacy quick-service brands before adding hotels and the largest fitness brand to the mix.
Flynn Group wrote the latest chapter last year when it ventured for the first time outside the U.S., entering Australia with the acquisition of Pizza Hut Australia. Today, Flynn Group generates more than $4.6 billion in sales and employs more than 75,000 people. Ranked No. 1 on the Franchise Times Restaurant 200, it has stores in 44 states as well as Australia and New Zealand.
It’s been a busy year for Flynn Group. In May, the company became the sole franchisee of Wendy’s in New Zealand and Australia. In August, it purchased 83 Wendy’s units in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, bringing its total number of restaurants in that brand to 277. In September, the company acquired 13 Panera Bread cafés from Blue Ridge Bread, giving it 145 locations in total and adding Virginia to the nine states in which it operates the brand.
A year ago, Flynn Group dropped the “Restaurant” in its name when it made its first non-restaurant acquisition with purchase of 37 Planet Fitness locations. Flynn said he anticipates having 41 or 42 gyms open in the next two months.
“We set out decades ago to build the world’s greatest consumer-facing operating company, and we’re somewhere midway in that journey. What I want to do by the time I die is leave a company that the world has never seen before, that is highly confident and skilled at executing difficult businesses everywhere,” Flynn said. “I’m proud that we do it every day because as we all know, the restaurant business is so hard to be successful in.”
Flynn said he has no intention of selling or stepping down from his role as CEO of Flynn Group.
“It’s actually easier now than we first started,” he said. “I love what I do now more than ever and it’s because I have a great team that does all the hard work possible. It’s still incredibly exciting to be in this business.”
Related: Greg Flynn: ‘I’m Not Selling and We’re Not Going Anywhere’
The Restaurant Finance & Development Conference, presented by the Restaurant Finance Monitor, Franchise Times and Food On Demand, was held November 11-13 at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas.