Tasty Restaurant Group’s acquisition of 17 Dunkin’ restaurants in Vermont was attractive for a simple reason: “It’s the geography where Dunkin’ rules. There’s no question about it,” CEO Robert Rodriguez said.
Tasty is a portfolio company of Triton Pacific Capital Partners, a private equity firm. The acquisition brings Tasty’s subsidiary, Tasty D’Lites, to 37 Dunkin’ stores in Vermont and North Carolina. Tasty’s 400-plus-unit portfolio includes 55 Burger Kings, 219 Pizza Huts and 97 KFCs, among other brands.
Rodriguez has decades of experience in the restaurant industry, from jobs in restaurants to executive-level roles—including a two-year stint as president of Dunkin’ Brands in 2006. Other notable employers include Taco Bell, McDonald’s, Gloria Jean’s Coffee, Denny’s and Carlson Restaurants Worldwide.
“I was there. I’ve done all the jobs,” he said. “I was a dishwasher. I was the guy who cleaned toilets. … At the end of the day, it’s all about that one experience at the counter. If you take care of that and the employees are happy, the probability of success increases dramatically.”
Tasty’s other Dunkin’ stores are in the Charlotte, North Carolina, region where Dunkin’ isn’t the leading coffee chain, Rodriguez said. “It blends very well with us and brought us the balance, if you will, between being a market who was kind of evolving into a Dunkin’ market versus an established Dunkin’ market,” he said.
Related: Inside the U.S. Restart for Tim Hortons
Dunkin’ ranked No. 14 on Franchise Times’ Top 400 list, with 2022 systemwide sales of $12.4 billion across 13,361 units worldwide.
For Tasty’s 17 Vermont stores, it’s business as usual. “The brand has worked many, many years figuring out how to run properly, so our job as a franchisee is pretty simple,” he said. “What we’re going to try to do is elevate the standards to a higher level, so the execution becomes even better.”
Tasty does a mix of new builds and acquisitions, Rodriguez said. The company has a “very aggressive” development plan for the next five years across the board. Rodriguez looks for three things when considering development or acquisitions: a brand’s relevancy to the consumer, franchise leadership and strategic direction.
Related: Dunkin’ Franchisee Purple Square Management Buys American Family Care’s Tampa Territory
“I think the brands we’re in right now have those things,” he said.
Tasty is also in the midst of developing 45 new Dunkin’ stores in Louisiana.