Tears, some of them. We were closed on Sundays. Theres a lot of places between here and there. So community leaders, we give them the opportunity to tell their story. Any restaurant will serve you, John. Maple Street Biscuit Company was founded by Scott Moore and Gus Evans in Jacksonville, FL in 2012. And so when it came time to even name Maple Street as a company, I sent out to all those 40 people a bunch of different names. Thats why we have ambassadors and not cashiers. I mean the Twitterfication of vocabulary, my kids now when they text, I cant understand it. I guess what Im getting at is, is it a multiple of EBIDTA or a multiple of sales? Were open seven to two. We previously talked about, our community leaders get our mission so well. And I said, Youre a CFO in another company. And he goes, No, I can go help you. And he had been watching our story all along. We need to consider others, well come back and talk about that. Maple Street Biscuit Company. So yeah. But we always said no because they didnt get who we were, we thought to the level they should. So now the community leader didnt have anybody to back them up. What would you recommend other entrepreneurs read? So I was making sure we stayed the course. And the number one question that we ask of people is, tell me your story. And we did that strategically, as that there are other people who kind of want to play in this space. Maple Street Biscuit Company to Open in Downtown Greenville Downtown Food & Drink Now Open Maple Street Biscuit Company About a month after the first location in Five Forks opened, the second location - this one downtown on east north street - is open for business. And so I read the stories of people who had been there and theyd done it and the experiences they went through and the things that they got wrong. And I think if supported by your actions, they have impact in peoples lives. And that was a crazy thing. And so you come to there, its approachable. So on our website, theres a section where they tell their story. I dont think he had an opinion based on what hed seen in me either way. And then you also pick up your food. Maple Streets built in an unusual way. And that debt load was one of the challenges of course where youre going. Because we were only talking about one store at that time. And that were doing life together and helping each other along. Another one is, gracious service. They at least have to come and recommend and maybe talk about act and advise. on the historic San Marco . To think through what are the motivations in my life. Okay, thats fine. Emboldened by their early results, Moore wrote a business plan for a massive expansion, which called for building 25 locations across the southeastern United States in just 18 months. They would have a joint venture with us and we would split the profits, 51% for the company, 49% for them. And I was the only one that had to personally guarantee it. And I think rightfully so, in challenging me is, people keep telling you really good things about yourself, sometimes you start to believe them. And Scott, give me a sense of whats going on for you personally at the time. Because when did you start Maple Street? But she had grown in her belief that I could go do this. Weve been able to help her get her credit turned around, to have her own home. And so I reached out to a guy who worked with me in the grocery business and said, I need to put this five year plan together. The world's third largest burger chain, trumped only by McDonald's and Burger King, Wendy's has been doling out delicious square hamburgers since 1969. And I currently had had 175 people on my team throughout the distributed organization. That said, we wanted it to be approachable food. No cussing at anybody, that includes me. Wow. Of course they had their Holler and Dash stores to compare it to and one weight of debt our store performance. People that lean in get it. And you have to listen to it and consider it. Yeah, we were open a few days and I realized we need a whole lot more. We knew we didnt put a sign up in the stores that we were building out. One way to build the value of your brand and your business is to own the vocabulary used to describe it: Maple Street had an entire dictionary of words they used, which collectively rolled up into a brand and ultimately a culture which is what Cracker Barrel found hard to compete against. Maple Street Biscuit Company is a community store that serves breakfast, brunch, and lunch style. We found her there, she applied for a job as community leader. And so they have depth and breadth and they can take the time that they need. And then it has a community leader still have half the day left to go enjoy the day. We didnt do any press releases. And I walked outside and I called the gentleman who is our accountant and I said, Hey, I know youre planning to do my taxes at the end of the year for they business but I need reports today. And I came back and told her, Thank you but I want the last half of my life to have more impact than the first half. I didnt even know what that meant at the time, John. And then Ill go figure out what Im going to do. Cracker Barrel didn't just buy a biscuit company. I think she saw how I grew in the role, which was really critical as well. He has in there five levels of initiative and freedoms. And theyre across the United States and theyve really filled out with the Cracker Barrel flip [inaudible 00:40:35] in a significant way. So they let you use the resources that they bring to the table. What I can say is, Piper said, when we came to the final deal, they thought it was a very fair offer, based on the market that were in. And that is part of the risk that comes in being an entrepreneur and growing your business. 518 customer reviews of Maple Street Biscuit Company. Join the Team - Maple Street Biscuit Company Pave Your Path With Maple Street Check Out Our Unique Positions Below Welcome our guest into your community store, romance our food, help new guests through the Maple Street experience, and take guest orders. They called it The Maple Street Biscuit Company and offered what they refer to as comfort food with a modern twist.. What in the business world they call the first write up, right? Myself, bringing in an individual investor, doing the joint venture partnerships, then we proved the concept and the model to the point where we had credibility, we could go to the bank and then fund our growth until of course, we were acquired by Cracker Barrel. But she did say, theres another role were creating and you could post for that, raise your hand for that and if you get it, you can keep your compensation and which as an officer of a Fortune 100 company is fairly significant. I didnt know this industry and so, every chance I can get to learn a lot to always getting insight, gaining insight. Maple Street Biscuit Company was launched in November of 2012 with a mission of helping people, serving others and being a part of the community. We were doing the six days a week, it was fine. And the question is okay, whats our growth story? In 2006 Kelby Zorgdrager started DevelopIntelligence, an outsourced training provider that helps programmers develop new skills and adapt to ever-changing technologies. And then based on what they thought the strength of the brand was, on top of that. Some of them got 80% of their annual salary. Scott started the Maple Street Biscuit Company and sold it to Cracker Barrel for a cool $36 million. They all got to participate, as I said, in the transaction, in a significant way. I think if you talked to her eight years ago from today, it was I apologize, I dont know how to turn that off, John. They have to explain to you why were doing it. Itll be so inspiring to read that. I guess I always assumed that would be the way it was. I mean if we get out 90 minutes after we close, so at 3:30, theyre going home. How do you come up with names for your dishes? And you can it, theres a maple table right at the front of the open kitchen, seeing the biscuits being made. We had a significant change that happened afterwards. And what were they playing out. They certainly had no awareness that Ive put everything on the line. Who would we might lose in this change process? And its my job to protect the team. Ill get the sausage and cheese omelet, like potatoes, cup of coffee and Im good to go. So what was the secret sauce that made you guys so much more profitable? So did you actually receive letters of intent from some of the other buyers, the restaurant groups and so forth? Weve always been this scrappy startup, looking for every nickel, dime and dollar to go do that next community store. Were basically open seven in the morning until two in the afternoon. The shareholders I had at the time certainly challenged me about why are you going seven hours away? Good business people earn the right to go do more good. And so I ended getting responsibilities for operations with HR. Serve Others. What can go wrong is our responsibility to manage risk in any of its fashions. What he had was, a responsibility to challenge me. I found we had to start communicating immediately, much more often and trying to get more detail. What I know is, as much as the dollars are important, they were not the all important choice for us. I didnt have time to deal with five different entities and go through there. But its our fresh made biscuit. And then again, if enough people like our food with an opinion, then they have to come to us to get it. Its not our go to market strategy. And have resources Ive never had before to go do it. I dont know what theyre doing every day, every week. If people are coming to ask you what to do, after theyve been with you a while, they know whats supposed to be done, thats at least passive rebellion. And John, I dont remember. I went home and I thought about it. Well so its possible. And then implement it, youre investing before hand. But when I first started out with this, that was my fourth principle because they said this, Sustainable for us means at least this, dont lose money. They want to be able to be across thousands of units that you go in and you get what you said but its not a bad experience. Amazing. And so I wanted everybody to get rewarded. Wait, wait, yes. Or have you built such differentiated value propositions, such a well-branded company that competing with you would take longer or cost more money than simply buying you? So people that move up or they move down the levels, I filter everything through that. I said we talked to multiple entities who would reach out to us individually along the way. *Figure reflects the average annual Gross Revenues for 100 franchised Bonchon restaurants in the system that were open during the measured period from January 1, 2021 through Dece They were just a handful of stores and now all of a sudden, theyve got 25 across the Southeast.. At the end of 2019, Cracker Barrel announced that it had bought the Maple Street Biscuit Company for $36 million dollars in upfront cash. I just, I wasnt ready to coast into glory. You had this entrepreneurial experience. If we get to a point where we think hey, you know what? If we had to only have one, itd be there. They already had one of those. Not only was it a personal guarantee on the loan, it was a personal guarantee on So when you first went out, those first sites, landlords dont know who you are. ensure everyone is living out our mission and our principles, and that the business is profitable. And he talks about how you go from being the manager to managing managers and what that looks like. And so that was the first set of funding that we did. And what we wanted, anybody else who was going to be interested in playing that space to look around and say, Hey, what just happened? Performing this action will delete your account. Maple Street, youre a company to communicate with. So the community has helped us name the company and even helped us name the food as we went along. Yum! Its amazing when you ask that question and then you just get quiet and listen to people, how much theyll tell you. I dont need to know that. Do you ever feel that way? And our analysis after we did it is that we can go serve in a lot more communities but were going to need help to go do this. And then Javier, our CFO, helped us put the numbers to what that looked like. Then we started looking at, how do we fund the growth and expand the companys stores footprint completely? To me, what does a store manager do? Why do you think your pastor asked you if you struggle with pride? I know. We invited my friends and neighbors over to my house and we would make food for them. We talked to Piper, Jeffrey and partnered with them to help us to start the conversations. So we think it was at community stores that were making food for our friends and our neighbors. And were going to open it and youll never know it was a Moes. The team now says that was my first of many unreasonable goals that Ive set for them. But the difference is, that role would only have five people reporting to it. We taught her how to run a community store. And we had 13 total people, salary, hourly, complete. On the Maple Street Biscuit Company menu, the most expensive item is Dozen Flaky Biscuits - Plain, which costs $22.26. Theres two things I talk to the team about all the time is, what can go wrong, how good can we be? So I told my partner, I said, Were going to spend 35 thousand and were going to remodel it in eight weeks. The business snowballed as Zorgdrager onboarded most Fortune 500 giants in his space. As it turns out, the gamble paid off when the restaurant chain Cracker Barrel acquired Maple Street in November 2019 for $36 million in an all-cash transaction. And the one comfort I had is, I didnt ask anybody else to sign on the dotted line. I say this to the team repeatedly, I say, If I knew five months ago what I know now, wed still do the transaction.. What Do You Need From The Sale Of Your Business? The model was built and it could flex to whatever those tables were, in trying not to lose money. When bonuses go up, its like okay, now I get it. And how do you reconcile in your own mind, the trade offs of continuing to run as an entrepreneurial leader in a bigger company. And then there was the Loaded Goat, which had the biscuit with the fried chicken and the goat cheese. So it was Jack Speak in St. Augustine and then downtown Greenville. And level zero is wait until forced. Youre about to cancel your subscription. And so to add this additional diligence to us, was a significant thing. And we talk about it like we love it and thats how we describe it when were talking to our guests. And here's what's even more telling about the offer. Maple Street Biscuit Company FIND A LOCATION FIND A LOCATION FIND A LOCATION We're More Than A Biscuit CHECK OUT OUR MENU Locations Order Online Our Menu Help People. I mean was she aware of the ramifications of not getting it right? And they were pretty comfortable with weve been doing it on our own for years. And so we tried it, put it together, it was like perfect. To ensure the business could succeed without him, Zorgdrager implemented a four-step system to replace himself as the rainmaker of his company. Yeah. I wish about the eight hours they come to Maple Street to be the place where they can get some rest. So its not all bad to have somebody who can have a conversation with you which can challenge your thoughts. Maple Street Biscuit Companywas founded by Scott Mooreand Gus Evansin Jacksonville, FLin 2012. Then a third. And we have some maple syrup in our biscuits and so some of the names had maple in there. And in retrospect, do you think you left is there a possibility you left money on the table by not doing the classic sort of playing the one off the other? About a year ago though, our lead ambassador, chief people officer and I realized we needed a more sustainable leadership model. This could be a sort of like rocket fuel underneath our business. We make that as a very attractive schedule for somebody in this industry. And how do you kind of reconcile that in your mind? What impact did getting rid of the loan have on your own personal psyche? At what point did the conversation into the nine month quoting process go from you buying their stores, to the opposite. Manny Fernandez started HomeBuyingCenter.com in 2007, just as the real estate market started to wobble in the United States. Then I did a second P&L that said, hey if this thing really took off, would it even be worth it? I think we still can do that better and were trying to find more and more vehicles which communicate to people and keep them connected. And then, as were going to market, Hypers trying to help us figure that out. So if not, you move down the scale. And that has become one of our best performing stores now. It was about a year ago. We need a few more. The 36 million was right in the middle of the range they gave us, that they thought we would be valued at. Nextkeyboard_arrow_right. And it came with when we opened up the first location, they should have failed. Was it important to you that you report directly to the CEO? Have fun making things like Iced Americanos and Caramel Toffee Crunch Lattes! Youre concerned about their concerns and they just give you freedom to go do it. It currently has 28 company-owned and five franchised fast casual locations across seven states. So if we had to add a person. And so I did a Zoom with the community leaders. Toread a transcript of this episode,click here. No. You must be logged in to view this form. You get freedom My team, my executive team, they go do good. Ill have to go look that up. And I mean there was a point when we did that fast growth process that I realized that this job could outgrow me. I gave them 30 some choices on names. And that we had the potential to really be that growth story for them. And so the Squawking Goat ended up, but it was originally was whats called The Squawk On The Street. So we werent trying to be everything to everybody. This is the casual dining restaurant, as opposed to the cheese brand thats owned by, I guess Kraft, right? I might would have to go hire a CEO to run my company. Even talking to guests about Maple Street. So it was really being driven by a multiple of the EBIDTA, or an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. We call them community stores and theyre all called by community. But you got no time and so it was finally around 1:30, you got a little bit of a break. And maybe we can use the diligence which weve done in going through this process. But we never got to that point. So everything was on the line for us. All this while producing a Sustainable Business. I want five years from now, for Cracker Barrel to look back and say, This was the best decision we ever made. And I want that to be earning us the right to go serve in more communities. One, they have more leaders they can depend on in their store. We have one who is a community leader for us and we found her in South Florida. What you thought maybe a fair value might be for the business? So we came up with a four leadership model that gave us depth and breadth to support a large, a fast growth pattern. And added the sales in City Center, Chattanooga, for the first 100 days theyd been open. I always worked for these companies who were not the market leaders. And so when this became the viable option, we asked Piper, Hold on those. locations alabama florida georgia kentucky north carolina south carolina tennessee texas virginia new community stores 2022 bee cave bee cave, tx officially open to the community bulverde san antonio, tx officially open to the community You get to make our house-made biscuits just like grandma did, but better! This business itself doesnt run it on autopilot. Was the desire to get out from underneath the personal debt in any way influential in your decision to sell? Which was a biscuit with that fried chicken and the pepper jelly on it. I talked to all of them and weve had them come to the office and spend time and tour our stores. We have some frozen butter that we shred and drop in there. I didnt want to go anywhere. Its a standalone brand. Cracker Barrel didnt just buy a biscuit company. Thats where Piper was a value to us. And so well keep doing it the way weve done it. That is one of the greatest blessings out of the whole deal. Ive got to figure out whats going on. And so, yeah, is it perfect every time, all the time? And I give them my email address. What Im excited to say is, we only lost one community leader out of that whole change process. Last question. HAVE YOU EVER WANTED TO RUN YOUR OWN RESTAURANT? And we should execute our model relentlessly because we want to go change lives. She didnt have any restaurant experience. On October of that year, food and restaurant company Cracker Barrel acquired the Maple Street Biscuit Company in a generous $36 million deal. Two that had been part of it and I wanted to talk to ahead of time, to get them up to speed. There were some that had been on the Maple Street initially that it was a little bit of a shock. And I did offer, when the team and I said were going to go do this and the way we did it, everybody got to participate in some way. They know the experience. They invested at least $50,000 into building-out and equipping the first Maple Street restaurant that opened in November 2012 at 2004 San Marco Blvd., where it continues to operate. Most restaurants that are going to scale are building it so you can go anywhere and not have a bad experience. Yeah, the other entities they were talking to was part of the process. Prayed about it for a week. It was a long process but she now has her own community store. Moore invested a chunk of his life savings in the first restaurant, and it was a success. Why would Cracker Barrel this NASDAQ traded hundreds and hundreds of stores be interested in little Maple Street? And so there was this modern twist that would make us a destination. To come and recommend and maybe we can use the resources that they need Jacksonville. Hundreds and hundreds of stores be interested in little maple Street Biscuit company was founded Scott. 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