This article is part of “Where Are They Now?”—an ongoing series in which Franchise Times managing editor Emilee Wentland and reporter Alyssa Huglen catch up with emerging brands.
Daniel DeLeon is no stranger to the many sides of franchising.
The president and CEO of diner concept Grumpy’s Restaurant first gained experience on the franchisee side as a multi-unit operator of Pita Pit and Metro Diner. He later switched to the franchisor side consulting for Restaurant Brands International, owner of Burger King, Popeyes, Tim Hortons and Firehouse Subs.
“I am very much forever cognizant of the franchisees’ perspective and how decisions will impact the franchisee directly,” DeLeon said. “It’s always top-of-mind in all my services because that’s really most of my professional background.”
DeLeon and his wife, Morgan, purchased Grumpy’s in 2017, and he stepped into his executive roles a year later. They started franchising Grumpy’s in 2019.
Daniel and Morgan DeLeon bought Grumpy’s in 2017.
The restaurant’s original location in Orange Park, Florida, has been around for more than half a century, changing leadership and concepts a handful of times. The Grumpy’s brand debuted in 1999, offering traditional diner food for breakfast and lunch all before closing daily at 2 p.m.
The brand had five Florida-based units when Franchise Times spoke to DeLeon last summer, four of them franchised.
Those numbers haven’t changed a year later, with DeLeon citing expensive real estate as a factor. He passed on locations that could serve as future sites “but just didn’t feel like the deal was right.”
Challenges have not deterred DeLeon from growing his diner concept; rather, they have driven him to expand strategically. Letters of intent are out to develop two franchise units next year, a slow and steady approach DeLeon said is intentional.
“We feel that’s a great, sustainable goal and a realistic goal,” he said. “Everyone sometimes projects a little too aggressively—and that’s OK to be optimistic—but I think this is a very realistic goal. We’re on pace already to hit it, so we’re really excited about that.”
This approach also applies to site selection. Grumpy’s units are all in Florida, and newer locations are slated to open in the state’s northeast region.
Grumpy’s prides itself in being a hyper-regional brand, noted DeLeon, who said the concern of doing too much too early could stretch franchisees and franchisors thin.
“We want to be as efficient as possible in working with franchisees and support and development, opposed to being a little bit more spread out,” he said. “We really don’t want to have too much windshield time. Sometimes you can get too far, and you’re spending a lot of time on the road opposed to working with and inside your franchisee units. We don’t want to find ourselves in that position.”
DeLeon’s experiences are integral to this growth strategy, thinking back to the ongoing support he wished he had as a franchisee.
“It was really not much after opening. That’s OK if you’re a strong enough operator, but not always is everyone going to be the ideal operator or ideal franchisee; they may need a little bit more support outside of that opening team. It’s just something that we felt was kind of lacking,” he said.
Ongoing support for Grumpy’s means tailoring assistance to what each unit needs. The team recognized franchisees need various levels and methods of support depending on their background.
When a franchise needs in-person support, DeLeon’s hyper-regional focus allows staff to respond in a quicker, efficient manner.
“We’re trying to be there for as much assistance as they would need. A seasoned restaurateur may need very different assistance than someone with a really strong background in operations doing this as their first full-service restaurant,” he said.
Future Grumpy’s locations are expected to open in the southeast United States, and the brand is not advertising or marketing outside of this region. But give it time, and Grumpy’s may look into casting a wider net.
“I would never say no by any means,” DeLeon said about further expansion. “But right now, in our infancy and our initial growth, we’re really looking for something in the southeast region and to grow outward from there … We’ve toyed with the idea of opening more and growing our corporate team, and if we mold into that, that’s great. But I would be very content and happy with one to two stores a year in great neighborhoods and having great, high-volume locations.”