Entrepreneurial Leadership Yashiqua Jenkins Prof. Victoria Figiel BUS508 –Contemporary Business Strayer University October 28, 2012 An idea is all it takes to ignite the process to start a business. To find a need of the people for a particular product or service and expand on it in order to make a profit is what many entrepreneurs do to start their company. A perfect example is the formation of Five Guys Burgers and Fries by the Murrell family. Their desire to focus on providing the consumer with quality burgers and fries have led them to be very successful in a short amount of time. This paper will determine how Five Guys’ philosophy sets it apart from other fast-food chains.
Jerry had always wanted to keep the company local, so he originally allowed for expansion to stretch only as far as the Washington D.C. area. This local expansion went on for the next 16 years as the quality of 5 Guys hamburgers created an earnest following. This strong following stemmed mostly from 5 Guys having such a simple and authentic vibe in addition to an exceptionally high quality of food. After the 5 Guys name started getting out it didn’t take long for one of Jerry’s sons to convince him to open the doors to franchising. The moment Jerry agreed was the moment 5 Guys expansion truly took flight.
Because of customer demand the chain began to open stand alone restaurants in 1986, it now has 938 stand alone restaurants around the country. To be true to their mission “Be America's Best Quick-Service Restaurant” the company has drive through only restaurants for fast service and added convenience to their customer. Chick-Fil-A has also licensed, non-traditional outlets; this program allows licensees to serve delicious Chick-Fil-A food in settings such as college campuses, hospitals, airports, and business and industry locations. One creative approach that the company used was their advertising; this approach set them apart from other restaurants. The use of cows to put their restaurant out on the market was a success.
When Carl noticed how many buns he was delivering to local hot dog stands he decided to buy one for himself to make a little extra cash. Around this time the automobile industry exploded. “The nation's car culture reached its height in southern California, inspiring
By the early 1970s, the company expanded throughout the Southeast, establishing Red Lobster as the leader among seafood and casual dining restaurants. "Our biggest competition back then was the kitchen stove," said Joe Lee, a key member of that early crew who later went on to become CEO and chairman, leading the company through much of its growth. Today, there are more than 680 Red Lobster locations in the United States and Canada. Their reputation as seafood experts is known worldwide. It is evident that Americans choose Red Lobster over other casual seafood dining restaurants due to their reasonably priced menu selections, restaurant cleanliness, and exceptional customer service.
McDonald’s started investing in Chipotle in February of 1998, and supported them financially for seven years.1 This financial backing enabled Chipotle to expand nationally and become large enough to offer stock. In 2006, Chipotle and McDonald’s went their separate ways in order to focus more on each company’s core activities. Currently Chipotle operates 956 restaurants in 35 states in the United States, the District of Columbia, and Canada.2 The company is expected to open up between 120 and 130 new restaurants in the upcoming year. Clearly, the history of Chipotle’s business demonstrates a success rare in the fast casual food business. (Appendix A) 1 2 (Investor Relations, Chipotle Mexican Grill) Ibid.
Competition also exists in the fast-casual restaurant segment, primarily on taste, quality and the freshness of the menu items and the ambience and condition of each restaurant. And what is the performance of Chipotle and fast-casual segment in the whole industry? According to the recently released Technomic report of the top 500 largest U.S. restaurant chains, fast casual concepts hold seven out of the top 10 positions, with Five Guys leading the way. In total, the top 10 fastest-growing chains' sales accounted for $7.8 billion, an 18 percent increase over
Steve Ells opened the first Chipotle in 1993. He started to expand in 1995, with a second and third location. Steve talked about wanting to open his own restaurant, understanding the business from working in one of his favorite restaurants in San Diego which he got after finishing culinary arts school, He started Chipotle to back his restaurant Idea that he wanted to open. As he saw that Chipotle was taking off, he opened 3 more Chipotle’s throughout 1995. If when I saw my burrito shop taking off like this I would have turned it in to the restaurant instead of opening more small Chipotle he could of invested into one more but as a restaurant style, where he could of built it as a chain from there.
Introduction S. Truett Cathy was a successful entrepreneur almost from birth. He started by selling Coca-Cola door to door, then magazines and newspapers, before finally entering the restaurant business. Several successful years later, he began working on a chicken sandwich for his restaurants and customer response was so great that Cathy knew he was on to something special. Cathy initially wanted to license the sales of the product to other restaurants, but saw that it could created quality control issues and damage to the Chick-fil-A brand. Therefore, Cathy developed a unique franchise opportunity that he deployed first to malls and then to stand alone stores based on his core values of conservatism, encouraging corporate social responsibility, and entrepreneurship (Cathy, 2013).
Every dinner, lunch, and snack has become more efficient and become faster. The fast food industry is killing americans with their secrets. A hamburger and french fries have become the most common American meal since the 1950’s. However, what is rarely mentioned is the ingredients that they contain. All the juicy burgers and crispy golden fries never say where they come from or what ingredients they contain.