September 30, 2025 • 49 mins
On this episode of Butternomics, our host, Brandon Butler, dives into the franchise hustle with Randy Hazelton, CEO of H&H Hospitality. Randy reveals how he went from flipping real estate to running Shake Shacks, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Sweetwater Brewhouses in major airports. He breaks down the difference between building concepts from scratch versus leveraging franchises, and why the latter can be a shortcut to success. This conversation is packed with insights on funding, private equity, and the overlooked opportunities in boring businesses.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
There's almost nothing new on the sun.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
So anything you want to get into, take the time
to like study, talk to people that have done it.
Go work in the McDonald's if you want to open
the McDonald's or a restaurant for yourself, but take the
time to better quit yourself for what's coming. The fundamentals
have been done, the successes can be studied, the phase
can be studied. So I would say, like, take the time,
do yourself a favor and do that. Save yourself some time,
(00:24):
some money, and some stress and frustration, and like go
do the homework.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Everybody votes to ano episode of Butter. I'm the host
Brandon Butler FOUTACYEO of Butter at yelling today. That's somebody
special in the building, my guy, the one and only
mister Randy Hazels and Randy, how you doing today, Bro.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Brandon, It is a pleasure to be here with you today.
I'm doing great, man, I'm doing great.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Good man. You know you're building up everything, you know,
opening up new buildings, restaurants all so we got some
good stuff to talk about. Man, you ready for this? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Man, I just trying to sell Hamburgers, just one at
a time.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
That you're doing a good job at man. Well, look
what I do with all my guests when they come on,
we do something a little bit different. I know people
want to kind of know who you are and what
you do. But what I do is, Man, I put
you in chat GVT brother, and I said, Chat, I
want you to write a bio and tell the people
who Randy is. I'm gonna read you what TVT said,
because I'm just saying, man, like I want you let
(01:21):
me know.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
Is it only I've never I have never seen my
bio with Chatt. I'm curious.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
You gotta do this. I'm showing you something, all right.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Look.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Randy Hailsen is the owner and CEO of H and
H Hospitality and Atlanta based company operating more than fifty
restaurants across the country, including quick service and full service
concepts in major airports. He got his start in two
thousand and eight is one of the original founders of
Cafe Circuit in Atlanta, learning entrepreneurship the hard way through
bankruptcy and rebuilding. Since then, he has scaled into franchise
(01:50):
and with national brands, and now develops his own franchise
ready concepts. Beyond hospitality, Randy invests in CpG tech and
pharmaceutical ventures, serves on board such as the Fearless Fund,
and is deeply engaged in Atlanta's economic development and community growth.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
That is unbelievable. Brother, that is UNBELI we are here.
We have no idea, no idea.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
You may yeah, gott gotta put yourself in chat and
see what it comes back.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
I mean that there is nothing that is that is
wrong about that.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
See I got the two hundred dollars version. So look, man, Reddy,
thanks for pulled up. Man. Yeah, man, because those of
those know, man, tell people what is h and a hospitality? Brother?
Speaker 2 (02:25):
So hh hospitality is an airport concessions company, which all
that means is that we own and operate restaurants and airports.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
So that's what we do. Atlanta is home and headquarters.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
We have between between units that we operate one hundred
percent and joint ventures we own about seventeen. And then
we have locations in Dallas, Texas, in Washington, d C.
And in the Midwest by way of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Okay, Now, now how did you get started in this?
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Like?
Speaker 3 (02:55):
Are you gonna tell me a story about how you
used to work? In the McDonald's a long time ago,
and they pisched you off. You said, I can buy
all this stuff. Like, how did you get involved in
this business? Now?
Speaker 1 (03:03):
I wasn't that smart man.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
I jumped right into the right into the restaurant business
before that. So I came out of college and did
you know we're supposed to do coming out of college,
Go get a nine to five at a corporate firm,
and I hold.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
It, did that and I worked.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
I worked in corporate America for about two years, two
and a half year, and it just wasn't for me.
I mean, it just was not something I get comfortable with.
The culture was felt foreign to me. I was I was.
I was selling products or responsible for products that I
wasn't attached to, and I had to get out of it.
So the first thing was figuring out what I did
not want to do, which was not being a corporate America.
I left what I had a plan and was hanging out,
(03:38):
I mean really just hanging out in Atlanta mid twenties.
I had I had a little bit of money saved
aside from the money I'd saved from Corporate America, and
I was also flipping real estate and that was going
well at the time.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
I was like two thousand and four or five six when.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
The mark was out, so I'd stashed some money away
so I could like take some time as a mid
twenty something, which was really just being outside, like hanging out.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
And so me and one of a good.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Friend of mine spent a lot of time hanging out, frankly,
like hanging out in lounges and bars and restaurants. And
before we blew our whole bag, figured, you know, we
should do this ourself, like before we run out of money.
And because we spent so much time on the consumer side,
thinking that was all you needed to do it, let's
open a restaurant. So we came together, pulled our money,
open our first restaurant, and that was a restaurant by
(04:23):
the name of Cafe Circa on edgew what Avenue that
chat gpt.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
So quickly highlighted.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
So that was the first go and that that is
where we learned restaurants Like that was our first kind
of introduction to what it meant to run a restaurant.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
We didn't study it beforehand.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
We didn't work at McDonald's like you said, I wish
we would have, but we just jumped right in.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Now what was it like jumping right in? Because I
mean cafe circuit is still there today. You know, it's
somewhat of a well known spot, almost the institution, I
would say, especially on Edgewood, like everybody knows the cafe
circuit is. Like when you think about that time, what
do you remember most about those days? Like what was
that space? Was? Was it a restaurant before? Like just what
do you remember about that?
Speaker 1 (05:03):
When I remember most?
Speaker 2 (05:04):
Stress, stress is what I remember most, Marandon, I mean
we I mean we were young. I mean it was
a lot of fun. We were learning a lot, but
it was hard. I remembered how hard restaurant operations was.
I mean it looks easy, or it looked easy to
us as a guest, as a consumer's patron, going in
ordering what you want, getting it quickly. But on the
(05:25):
other side of that, it's hell. And so I remember figuring,
I mean I remember it feeling like we just didn't
have a handle on it, and and working every day,
bell to bell for years to get a handle on
it and to get it to perform financing, meaning like
make money. And so I just remember like the scramble
(05:45):
and the struggle to do that. That's like, that is
my most vivid memory.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
Did what did that experience kind of teach you about
entrepreneurship because there was there was a time in which
I've owned a restaurant for a little bit, bless you,
you tell you I learned my lesson very quickly, like
just in seeing this, seeing how the staff works, and
like just dealing with the patrons. There's a lot of
stuff people don't see, right, So like even and that
was recent for me, but like, what were some of
the big entrepreneur of entrepreneurship like lessons that you learned
(06:15):
while you were doing that?
Speaker 2 (06:16):
So the best the first one is and I'm talking
about this a lot. It's just like there's nothing new.
There's almost nothing new on the sun. So anything you
want to get into, take the time to like study,
talk to people that have done it.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Go work in the.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
McDonald's if you want to open the McDonald's or a
restaurant for yourself. But take the time to do the
study to better equip yourself for what's coming. Because it's
been done before, generally speaking, mineus some nuances. I mean,
the fundamentals have been done. The successes can be studied
the phase can be studied. So I would say, like,
take the time, do yourself a favor, and do that,
(06:51):
because when you do not, you will make mistakes. And
in business, mistakes cost money, every single one of them.
And like if you accrue too many mistakes, go out
of business. That's that's essentially what happens. And so save
yourself some time, some money, and some stress and frustration,
and like go do the homework. The second thing I
would say is people are everything. We talked about this
(07:15):
a little bit. People are everything, and being successful in
business isn't about being cool, even though being cool can
like get the kind of attention out of get you,
you know, opportunity, but it really is about performing and executing,
and to do that you need a team, and if
people are on the team, have to be equipped with
(07:37):
the things that help enable that success. So like, it
ain't about your friends or your unfortunate or your family
or the person that seems like, I mean, you need
people that are that are one trustworthy but also capable,
have work ethic competency, that kind of thing to kind
of go get the bigger job done.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Yeah, man, you know it's interesting because I know I've
experienced this a number of times myself, and like starting
businesses when you think about it, and I don't think
people really fully understand, right, like when you build something,
especially a lot of black entrepreneurs, right, like we we're
probably doing it with our own money. A lot of
folks don't go into these opportunities when you know, for
like a bunch of funding, right, and so you're really
kind of trying to make it happen. And so I
(08:15):
know what happened for me with what my companies was.
I mean, yeah, you hire people that you know, you
hire your friends because that's what you can afford, you know,
and all of a sudden, it gets to a point
where it's like whall, wait a minute, Like this might
not be you might not be the right person for this.
And again, like bro, the team is so important, and
like there's so much on you already as the person
(08:35):
that's trying to build the thing and trying to make
it happen, you know, like it literally like it's like
I don't know if you've ever read the Netflix manifesto, right,
but like Netflix when they first started, they had this
manifesto and they said, look, when you think about working
at Netflix, like we're not a family. We are a team, yes,
but more importantly, we are a professional sports team and
(08:56):
so we expect you all to operate like professionals and athletes.
But understand, if you can't do the job, we will
replace you with somebody else that can do the job,
because that is what a team will. I mean, we're
seeing it right now with the Falcons, like we love
I love cool. They'll get it to Georgia Southern. But bro,
if you can't make the kicks, we need a kicker,
because we are a professional team, and we will go
(09:16):
out and get a better kicker if that's what's needed.
And it's so funny that even the lady that wrote
that for Netflix, at a certain point she got replaced
because it was the same thing. They were like, look,
have you have gone as far as you can go
with us based on your skill sets for the next part,
you know, and like and they would they would literally
tell people, They're like, yeah, you can go on vacation.
You could take a limited vacation, but just know that
(09:39):
if while you're gone, we realize that we can do
this without you, or we can find somebody better, you
might not. And so that's how Netflix I mean it
was like a very competitive culture, right, but like that's
what it really takes to kind of like build a
high performance team. Right.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Ye I didn't I didn't know that came from Netflix. Yeah,
so you just you just educated me onto something. But
I've heard that before. In that is one hundred percent true.
We need to know that at the end of the day,
you can get the job done, and particularly when it's
crunch time, like cool kick in the field going, this
is the difference between winning and losing, and nobody gets
(10:13):
it right all the time, but we need to know
that generally speaking, you give him the ball, he got
it right, because what happens is when you don't lose,
you compromise championships, you compromise general success, and you put
everybody else at risk. So it's not you can't be
overly personal about it because there's a bigger responsibility and
everybody got to be tied to that. That's something I
really like that one. Yeah, a team not a family.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
It's true, it's true. I mean again, like that's the
part of leadership. I don't think that people really understand,
like in order to achieve great things, you have to
have a great team around you and a lot of
times again with us, Like I've noticed it. It's very
interesting because I noticed it especially at one of my
last agencies. Right, Like, the guys that start that agency,
they were able to start that agency with a certain
(10:58):
level of funding, so they were able to go out
and acquire certain talent, and so that allowed them to
go straight out the blocks. Right then it's like you
look at Okay, but if I'm starting something and I
only got the maintenance of my bank accounts and I
can only get this that I have a different kind
of talent, and so you see the difference, and you
see how having the right people on the boat, and
you know, it was something that a guy used to
(11:19):
work with would say, and like when he first said
it, it kind of pissed me off, But the more I
thought about it made since he said my job, his
job as a leader, was to edit the team. That's
what he would call it now because it kind of
sounds like an asshole move. I'm not gonna lie, But
when you think about it, he's like, no, like there's
I have that's my responsibility because if this thing doesn't work,
it's bigger than me. There are other people here and
all of a sudden, if we lose this client because
(11:41):
we don't have the people to actually execute on it,
all of y'all out of a job. So what's more
important like this one person who's trying to get by,
or like making sure the whole totality of the team
is on top of it, right, So to find those
right people.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
And it also does not mean that because we're looking
at like a team a lot of family, that it's
like cold, right, or that there is no hair or
there is no culture. What I've found is that A
plus players, which is what we like. I mean, we
got a soug in our company, A plus players only,
that's all we want to hire.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
A plus players can't stand a sea level player.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Right, and a Sea level player can't stand an A
plus player because they always push it. But what you
find is you find a lot of cohesion among that
that like talent level, like a plus player, they bond
over winning the championship, making things and and and Sea
level players do on whatever that is mediocrity or if
you call it so, you still have the same level
(12:32):
of culture and cohesion intogetherness. But you gotta be like minded,
and you gotta be operating on similar values to achieve that.
But it doesn't mean that you're that you're colding.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
No, absolutely, And I think.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
That's what a lot of people get, you know, kind
of kind of get that.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
That means y'all don't get No, we have something bigger
to do here.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
Y'all don't understand how much we care. Like that's the
thing you got to Like, you don't trust me if
you had you have many things wrapped up, Like I'm
sure you with fifty restaurants and all this stuff, You've
got a lot invested in this, you know what I'm saying. So, like,
I don't think people really understand how much you really
do care about all this stuff working together, all this
stuff coming together. Like there was a great book I
(13:11):
read a couple of years ago called Radical Candor, and
so I always say that's probably one of the best
books on leadership that I've ever read. If you haven't
read it, check it out. And like, so what it
talks about is it's the idea that like, if you're
on a if you're on a team, you should have
the ability to be radically candid with your coworkers. But
what does that mean? Right, So the example I always
(13:31):
kind of give is you think about in the heat
of a sports game. You know, it's basketball game, right,
Steph Curry bringing the ball up to court and he's
trying to get the offense set up and he tells somebody,
get your ass over there. Like that person doesn't stop
and say, hey, Steph, don't talk to me like that.
That hurts my feelings. No, Like they have built a
relationship to where they could be radically candid with each
(13:54):
other and he can just say what he's trying to
say and you don't interpret it, you don't add your
own meaning to it. You're like, well, you know what
if I get my ass over there, he's gonna give
me the ball and I can score and there's a
bigger play. And so it talks about just being able
to have like this's just radical conversations with your people
that you work with, and it's those kind of relationships, right,
And so I get it goes back to caring. It's
(14:15):
not about being heartless or cold. Look, I've had I've
had bosses that are jerks. I've had boss and I
have no desire to want to be one of those people.
But like I get, I have a lot wrapped up
in what I have built. You have a lot wrapped
up in what you have built, right, and so you
want to have the ability to talk to adults like adults.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
It's right and on time. But that, by the way,
who wrote who wrote that book I'm looking at?
Speaker 3 (14:35):
I get it.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
I mean there's another one's a guy on the named
Marie Dolly who's got a he's got a similar philosophy.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
Run that which is radical transparency. Yeah, but it's just.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
But also in that is it eliminates misinterpretation, Like when
I say get your ass over there, it's hard to
confuse what I mean?
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Was it?
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Like, well, could you please take a left behind it?
Like I need you gotta have people like everyone has
to be a line into the same vision and the
same task and the same strategy. And how you get
that across as communicating one way or the other. And
so the straighter you can be about it eliminates misinterpretation,
which means that we're more likely to be moving in
the same direction. So again it all goes back to
(15:14):
caring about what the bigger objective is, so that we're
all aligned and taking care.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
Of so you run the circle that's going like how
did you start getting to the airport space.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
I mean, I swear, I mean I was in there
just humping just I mean, being making drinks. I'm on
the line, I'm sweeping up, I'm cleaning bathrooms and wait
until I'm doing everything in this business.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
But what would happen.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Is that, I mean one, we were literally in that
business every day, and which means on a weekly basis,
because that's a while we were pretty popular. We got
to meet thousands of people regularly because we're in there
all the time and we're talking to people all the time,
and in meeting those people, we were exposed to some
conversations with folks that happen to be in airport concess
(16:10):
just organically we come to our place like what we
were doing, like the arm Beyonce, like the food, and
came to like us, and we'd just start talking and
a few of those opened up that conversation to us.
It's like, oh, hate is what we do. Have you
ever thought about airport concessions? Man, I don't know what
that is. But then I started learning about what that is.
I was like, Wow, this seems pretty this seems pretty compelling.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
And so we.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Went, we kind of dove into those conversations more intentionally,
so how to ask about, well, what are what would
be some ways that we could do this together with
the people that came and talk to us about it
and anyway, And those conversations led to ultimately doing a
deal to get in the restaurant, partnering my company with
a larger company.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
So it really happened.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
Organically from working there every day, building relationships and just
being curious, I mean, really just being curious about the
kind it's.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Never coming away.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Okay, all right, So I wish I could say added
on Matt down, I just knew from the beginning we're
gonna go do this.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
I was gonna be an all.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
These I had no idea, just for context, like tell
us about what are the restaurants like here in Atlanta
Hartsfield the business airport in the world, Like what are
the restaurants that you all own and manage?
Speaker 2 (17:17):
So we own and manage we have a shake shack.
I'm trying to think on a local level afresh to
order the Onion's pretzel. We did something with Bobby Flay
and a joint venture of Bobby's Burgers. We have a
fresh and Yogurt was a local yoga company. As about
to hunch of stores. We have a Buffalo Wow Wings
under construction. Now we have a couple of proprietary brands
(17:40):
that we have developed. I'm really excited about what else
do we have. Gosh, we have a Sam Adams Brewery,
uh Sweetwater for twenty brew house.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
It's kind of a mix of stuff.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
The airport will kind of tell you the types of
businesses you want, but they want, and then you go
find the brand. So we have we kind of range
a gamut from burgers to pizza to salads and bowls
to you know, fast to full service, and we kind
of run kind of have a mixed brand portfolio.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
Okay, So I didn't even realize that. So there's multiple
there's different types of restaurants that you all actually own
and operating, not just like one type specifically at the airport.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
Yeah, because the way the airport does it is all
so the airport owns the real estate, the physical I
mean the city owns the physical airport. And when lisas expire,
so you lease the spaces when they expire, the airport
will say, okay, these leases are going to expire, we
need some new businesses, new brands. We have ten spaces,
and in this ten spaces, we want a coffee shop,
(18:37):
a pizza shop, a burger plate. And come bring us
your best bid, your best proposal to occupy these spaces.
And so you'll you'll go find these mix of businesses,
which is why you end up operating a.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Mix of stuff.
Speaker 3 (18:48):
Okay, all right, are you all one of the largest
concessionaires at the airport? Is there?
Speaker 1 (18:52):
No? I mean, yeah, no, not even not even so,
but I'm working on it. Okay, I'm working on it.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
So in nationally, like eighty percent of the airport food
and beverage or concession space is controlled by like five companies,
oh eighty These are all multinational multi being other companies
from Spain, from Italy, from London, we call them primes.
Majority on farms at o'deal. They will come in and
(19:24):
because they have the resource take down large squads of
businesses generally do that. So they own sixty plus percent
of the Atlanta Airport concessions businesses. Minority businesses like mine
tend to make up about forty percent. And in that mix,
I am, you know, maybe top five.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
Okay, you know, so we've made our way and it's hard.
It's hard to compete.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
I mean, it's expensive enough, but we've made our way
to continue to grow and I would like to I'm
looking to be the prime.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
Okay, that's what I'm working on.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
Okay, now again, what's also interesting when you talk about
kind of the portfolio companies you all have, like, you know,
especially going from Cafe Circle, which is something that you'll
literally built from the ground up, a lot of these
are it sounds like franchises and like partnerships, right, Like,
you know, how do you kind of compare those two
approaches of a franchise versus like building a concept from scratch.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Yeah, I mean, man, that's a great question. I put
it like this.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
So the SBA says that sixty five percent of new
businesses fail within I want to say, it's in the
three or five years, don't. I mean, yeah, it's one
of the other where ninety percent of franchise businesses over
the same time period succeed. So so the question like,
(20:40):
how do I look at those two? It is much smarter, much,
much much smarter to get a franchise business that has
a proven track record of success and just plug and play.
They give you the playbook. They give you everything from
the menus to the brand designs to the staff kind
(21:00):
of structure. Just just run the playbook and they help
you with site selection like where to put a location
to ensure success. But you're coming in with all this
institutional knowledge and support to help you be successful when
you do it yourself like we did because we didn't
know better and we didn't think much. We just jumped.
Like you're figuring out every piece practically along the way.
(21:24):
And I don't know, I mean, I haven't met too
many people that the first time out doing anything like
do it well the first time, And that's essentially what
you're setting yourself up well, not that it can't be
done and you got something burning in your heart in
your mind, you've got to get out.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
Into the world, go for it. But the numbers, like statistically,
the numbers are with the folks that get proven businesses
and just copy and paste. And if I could do
it over, I love Cafe Sircam Ball Let's some.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
Great people, but I promise you I would have started
with a franchise.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
As matter of fact, I have a.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
Friend of mine that started with a franchise the same
time we started with Cave Serga and today I think
he's on forty stores, but all on his own. And
he was building a lot faster than I over time
and didn't have like didn't go through bankruptcy like I went.
I mean it was very proodent with financial performance and
(22:17):
stacking mind. I mean he didn't have the kind of
hardships I had. Yeah, I would have done it like that.
Speaker 3 (22:21):
For somebody who wants to get involved in the franchise space,
like what would you kind of tell them before they
jump into it?
Speaker 2 (22:27):
First thing is like do again do your homework, but
also figure out what your interests are from a business standpoint,
because you can franchise any type of business you can imagine.
It's people just think restaurants, and that's a big one.
I think that's the biggest bucket of franchise. But there's
janitorial services, there are financial services, there is home repair services.
(22:49):
I mean like literally anything you can think of there
are franchise businesses for it. So figure out what of
those businesses make the most sense for you, for your
know how, for your competency. They all come with different
requirements of time that you're gonna have to work. No
there's no but but there are some differences there, and
so figure out kind of where your best fit is
(23:10):
and then start to learn whatever industry that is, and
then within that industry, start to really dissect the different
brand options. But it comes back to kind of doing
your homework based on your own interest and skill sets.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
If somebody want to look at the franchises, like do
you have, like you have any resources that you would recommend.
I mean, obviously they can just google and kind of
check around, but are there you know, I know there's
you know, conventions and things, expos and stuff, but like
where would they Where would you advise people to go
to educate themselves more about the franchise opportunities that are
out there?
Speaker 1 (23:37):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (23:37):
So I think I think the biggest franchise kind of
international platform is called IF a International Franchise Association.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
They are kind.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
Of that that central nerve for the franchise industry from
resources and who's doing what and what's propping up and
they have a lot of good data behind that. I
would say there is is a conference called NRA, not
the National Rifle Association, the National Restaurant Association. They do
(24:08):
it once a year and you kind of get all
the players in the restaurant business kind of in one room.
I mean it's a big room and it makes up
like ten or twelve football fields. I mean it's a
huge But what you get to see is like all
the different players that are out there, who's winning and losing,
what are the emerging kind of trends and technologies. They
have really good sessions, really good speakers. So that's another
(24:30):
good resource. And then another one, I would say, and
I'm biased because I'm thinking about food and beverage, but
QSR magazine where a kind of list It'll tell you
the fastest growing franchise franchises in the industry. It'll tell
you the hot the top performing franchise in the industry.
So there are outlets like that where you can start
to gather information. And then of course, just with Chad
(24:51):
and Ai, I mean there's an endless amount of just
search you can do to kind of kind of learn
where things are moving.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
Yeah, and I know you kind of mentioned there's lots
of different franchise not kind of want to dig into
that too, But like from a capital standpoint, I mean,
obviously I know you can speak probably more about the
restaurants space than anything else, But like what kind of
capital will be talking about for somebody to Again, I
know it varies, but like just ballpark wise, like what
do people be thinking.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
Yeah, I mean, it definitely varies. On the low end.
If you're talking like let's say janitorial services, right, which is.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
Probably one of the lower capital intensive, like less expensive
business types to get into. You're probably talking between twenty
and fifty thousand, I think on the high end, and
that's you know, the heavy duty cleaning equipment, that kind
of thing.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
It can go up to.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Restaurants like I think the average McDonald's might be two million,
but by the same token, Chick fil A only requires
ten to twenty thousand of your own capital. Now that's
a whole of the process. It's hard, you got to
apply for it, and it's very competitive, but even in
the different industries as.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
A range all the way up to owning.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
I mean I was watching the the Netflix docu saries
on the Cowboys. I mean that's a franchise. Yeah, but
he spent I don't know, I think he spent like
three hundred million when he bought it. That was back
in so it ranges. But I would try to start
where you are. Start with the capital that you have
and in the industry that makes sense for you. But
it can range from the tens of thousands on the
(26:19):
low end up to the multi millions or better, depend.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
On what you want to do.
Speaker 3 (26:24):
What have you kind of learned again when it comes
to raising money, because I mean there's money out there,
but like you know, again, people want to invest in
winners and things that happen. Like, what have you kind
of learned when it comes to like raising money for
these ventures?
Speaker 1 (26:35):
It's hard. First thing is most people ain't want to
give you money, especially when you're starting out. I mean,
so when.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
We started with Cafe Circa, I talked to every bank
I knew to talk to around here, talk to a
lot of business owners. But the truth of the matter
is we had never not even run a restaurant. We
never run a business period.
Speaker 1 (26:57):
So all we had was an idea in no outside
of corporate America, and this wasn't a corporatedeavor. So smart
Money's like, I don't that's that's that doesn't seem like
a bet to place. There's nothing that would suggest that
this makes for like a pretty short return. So no
one gave us money. The people that gave us money
(27:18):
were the ones that loved us. It was like friends
of family. And so now we had savings. We did
the whole credit card, cash advanced we I mean, we
like max those all the way out. We did all
that boots trapping type of stuff. But you gotta be
prepared to be very innovative on the front end because
people are not going to see you as a short thing.
(27:42):
What happens over time if you perform is that your
track record will start to speak for yourself and capital
raising becomes a lot easier. But you got to earn
that through performance. And unfortunately, I wish I could say, man, listen,
you're starting out, just call this number. They got all
the money.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
I promise you, there is no number when you're starting
out if you don't have it. Oftentimes that's why they
say friends and family because I don't want to do it,
because they doing it from the heart, not from necessarily
the head, which is okay, that's that's how we got it.
But then yeah, over time it gets easier if you're performing.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (28:18):
One of the things we were talking about that was interesting,
especially we talk about, you know, just franchises that aren't
in the food spaces. You and I were kind of
having a conversation off of about the Patel family and
how they own like just tell people like about the
Patel family and how they own was like almost eighty
percent of all hotels.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
So it's the funniest thing because this goes back to
like corporate cooperative economics. We was just talking about raising money.
I do think there's an opportunity within our community to
pull money cooperatively and help fund ourselves. Another conversation that
we can talk about. But so the Patel family, the
Patels are an ethnic Indian group, like like from the
(28:57):
country India, you know, Southeast Asians. It's an ethnic group
that migrated to Uganda and they began opening businesses. And
under the reign of ed I mean, who was, you know,
a dictator type of leader, he felt that foreigners were
(29:18):
getting too much of the business, too much to national resources,
too much of land. So he kicked the foreigners out
of Uganda and reclaimed these, you know, the natural resources
and businesses for the country itself. And so this group
of ptels, who among the businesses they had in Uganda
were hotels, they had to flee the country and they
went elsewhere. And what they did was they took their
(29:42):
know how from running businesses and running hotels in Uganda
to where they settled, and they all pulled their money
and bought hotels like as a cooperative, and they fired
all the labor there and they were the labor. They
worked for free in support of the bigger vision of
of getting this hotel to financially perform. So they lived
(30:02):
in the hotel, they worked the hotel, which means that
they can compete on price because well, we're not paying
these high labor calls because we're doing it and we're
willing to make that sacrifice. So they they had a
successful model because they could price low.
Speaker 1 (30:15):
Which means it was attractive for people to come and
stay hotel. It was cheaper. They copy and pasted that model,
and you guys can trace this back and don't take
my word for it. I mean this is like history
that is studying and documented and today that ethnic group
that Ptel's we think it's just a last name. It's
an ethnic group that now has like eighty percent of
(30:37):
the hotel real estate to this day in this country
under their ownership. Because they built up that capacity they
built up the kind of capital, they built up the understanding,
they built up a competitive ads to be really good
at that, and they did so by executing cooperatively as
they group. And so but that's what they did.
Speaker 3 (31:11):
What do you think it would take for because I mean, again,
like we talked about cooperative economics, and I agree with you,
there's there's a lot of money that's you know, even
locked up in our communities. Like what could we start doing,
is you know, black people, especially Atlanta, to start working
more cooperatively in that space and maybe start doing a
similar play.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
Yeah, I mean, and I'll say.
Speaker 2 (31:28):
It's tough, Like our history in this country is tough,
and there were efforts made such that we you know,
kind of were divided, like a house divided would not
stand type shit. So we have some natural skepticism. I
believe that the traces all the way back. But what
I think is that, frankly, we just have to get
(31:49):
the fuck over it because no one's coming to save anybody.
I mean, as an individual, as a community, as you
name it, we are our own safety votes. And I
think when we realize that if we and it can
start just kind of start where you are, like in
your community and your network of friends and your neighborhood
and your city, and and commit to backing something that
(32:12):
has been through rigorous diligence and and thought and just
kind of flushing out the viability of But like commit
as a group to backing something like the Betels did hotels,
and and and start kind of where you are. Start small,
and and like prove the model, prove success, and then
(32:34):
kind of copy and paste. But you gotta you gotta
start with something. And I'm not saying we all come
together across all of any states and one fails suit.
That's hard to coordinate. But just start where you are.
You got a group of a dozen people or a
couple dozen people that that have enough to put something towards,
something towards like it, like an idea that that has
been studied and vetted. Let's let's try that because we've
(32:58):
seen it work in other and other seeing work on
my ass, we've seen work on we've seen them work
among the Jewish community. I mean, it's it is possible.
I think we just need to to commit and decide
and and be earnest about it.
Speaker 3 (33:12):
Yes, it's interest. I always, you know, I always take
my daughter, and we're riding around. There's some spaces up
in Gwinnett, right, and I mean we go to these
plazas and I always kind of point out to her.
We'll pull into a plaza and I'll say, look around,
tell me what you notice. It should be like all
the all the name, all the businesses here, all the
signs are in Korean, you know, all everyone. I said, yeah,
then we'll go somewhere else. She's like, okay, all these
(33:33):
are Hispanic. I always ask to say, where's the spot
where you're going Atlanta where all these are black? Od
I will literally take her to places and point that
out and I'd be like look. I'll be like, look Atlanta, this, this, this, this, this, Okay,
where in Atlanta is there a plaza that you go
to in all the businesses that plaza are black? Oh,
it's not even in our communities.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
And in Atlanta where where if there is no place
else in the country there should be or is here
to your point.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
I was talking. I was talking to Ryan Wilson about
I was talking to ride from the gathering spot about
this same thing. He was like, yeah, man, He's like
with all the stuff we do here in Atlanta. You know,
all the all the culture and everything. He said, well,
you look out in the city. Who owns the dirt? Yeah,
you know, and like we don't own a lot. We
don't own very much dirt out here, the fact, and
that's the difference. That's where the real wealth and the
real community building and all that stuff starts to come in. Like,
(34:24):
you know, but even when you think about it too,
I know you're involved, Like you're on the board of
Fearless Fund and you were on the board of Invest Atlanta. Like, like,
where do you see the money moving? Do you see
resources out here for entrepreneurs actually go out here and
try to find funds to help capitalize things, because we
always talk about how black business are runner capitalize. Like
from that perspective, do you see opportunities for people to
(34:45):
find some of that funding or is it still mainly
from a cooperative standpoint?
Speaker 2 (34:49):
Yeah, So there are opportunities for small businesses to get funding.
There are funding resources that the city puts out and
that organization within the city put out.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
What I find is that we don't really know about it.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
And when we do, I'm thinking about a good friend
of mine that has a ton of money and he's
funded it out of his pocket, and I would beg
him to like look into invest Atlanta and get some
of these capital resources because it can just help further
prepare your growth. And it's like an inherent skepticism oftentimes
with our community. But oh, they're not gonna give it
to me. You know, I'm not this or it's worthiness
(35:25):
kind of thing. So to the question is, yes, there
are opportunities, for sure. I think that between just the
general knowledge that we don't have about these opportunities or
sometimes the skepticism, we don't often get them. So what
I would see when I was on these boards, I
see the same people getting these checks and it ain't
(35:45):
look like me, and they didn't need it as much
as how I needed. I mean, I'm talking about billion
dollar outfits getting a lot of resources one because they're
there and it's not they're doing what they're supposed to do.
They're there to be had by these folks. But they
had that level of like knowledge and wherewithal to go
to know that it's there and to figure out how
(36:07):
to get it, and we just weren't. And it would
be the same thing. And I'm talking about getting it.
I may just you know, And so I think as
part is like we got to do as best we
can educating our community and educating ourselves because, like I said,
anybody coming to save you, but they're they're out there
in particularly a city like this.
Speaker 1 (36:24):
But as a gap, there's like a knowledge gap and
then like a I don't know, belief or trust gap.
Speaker 3 (36:29):
Well it's a process like I've you know again, I'm
not the like throw a vested land on the bus,
but I've definitely reached out to that before. And it
is a little overwhelming. It can kind of feel like
a little cumbersome sometimes, but that's where you look. You
literally got to like lean in. You got to build relationships.
And I'm the kind of person you know, I'll say, look,
walk me through it, you know, Like I get I
(36:51):
always tell this kind of funny story. I remember I
used to have a store in them all, and you know,
I didn't know what I was doing. Man, I get
I have my own money. I opened up a store.
I was just you know, trying to figure this thing out.
And I remember I went to a bank and was like,
you know, hey, I'm trying to get a loan, and
they were like, yeah, let's see your P and L.
I didn't know what the P and L was. I
didn't even know what the P and L was, bro,
And I promise you I looked that. That same day,
(37:14):
I went to office depot or whatever, and I bought
me a copy of QuickBooks. I started on my laptop
and I said, I don't even know what a shit is.
And so one day I was when I used to
go home, there was just I would always pass this
accounting firm and I just just had a sign out front.
And so one day I literally just pulled them to
the parking lot and knocked on the door. God came
to the dorus. I said, hey, man, look I own
(37:36):
a store down here. At them all over here. I
just bought QuickBooks. I don't know how to use it.
I was like, I will give you one hundred dollars
if you just showed me how to just set this
thing up. And that guy looked at me. It was
a white guy too, He said, man, bring your dumb
ass in here. He sent me down. He literally showed
me how to set up all my books and stuff.
Now I can run a P and L now in
my sleep, but it literally takes like I said that education.
(37:56):
They said, sometimes you have to actually go out there
and get the infant to do whatever you gotta do,
because again, this is your business and there's no rules
to this business thing. Man.
Speaker 2 (38:05):
Look, I mean just you having the good sense and
humility to ask the just being like, listen, I don't
know what this is.
Speaker 1 (38:14):
I know I need to know it. Can you show me?
Speaker 2 (38:16):
Like that makes the difference in a lot of times
between you know, you not being here and you being here.
I mean, not necessarily in this case, maybe you've been here,
but I mean it's okay to not know, Like it's okay.
So so I mean that extra sept that you took
on your own accord, like we gotta be we have
to be more. We got to take more ownership over
(38:38):
where we're going. Like again, I always say, you know,
rescue boats, but the ones you make and so something
like that makes a huge difference. I tell you, the
most costly mistake I've ever made a business came from
me not knowing and not asking a question. But like
ten years ago, so I'm trying to raise capital. We've
now been in the restaurant business for oh that had
been uh seven years something like that. Seven eight years
(39:02):
and banks aren't trying to hear anything we have to say,
very rigid conservative, like you're talking about I'll get it now,
y'all A knew not doing it. So we went out
to what they call private equity, which is just money
leftover from rich people. And there's this one very prominent
they called a family office, but it's like the money
(39:25):
from a rich family.
Speaker 1 (39:27):
And we were.
Speaker 2 (39:29):
Offered money to go and build our company because they saw,
oh the airport space and these guys, and like when
you get into a business, you make it perform and
makes money.
Speaker 1 (39:38):
This guy, this office.
Speaker 2 (39:40):
Told me that they would give me a twenty five
million dollar revolver is what it was, like a twenty
five million dollar credit card. Like you use it as needed,
you pay it off and it will accrue some interest,
but the interest's only like seven percent, so it wasn't bad.
But but he wanted he was going to give me
a twenty five million dollars revolver, twenty five million dollars
credit credit card for twenty five percent of my company.
Speaker 1 (40:02):
And I had never heard of such a thing. I had.
Speaker 2 (40:05):
That's private equity, like they're going to own some of
your company and I thought, well, man, if he puts
the money in the business, then maybe I can understand that.
But he's giving me a credit card, which means like,
it's not like my money. But so I didn't know.
Me and my business barn at the time, we didn't
really know what you're looking at. But the idea of
taking twenty five percent of my business for money that
I don't really get to hold per se. It's like,
(40:27):
as soon as I put it out, I owe it back.
I could not wrap my mind around that this money
was going to go to one of two companies. It
was either my company or this other company. We didn't
know where we were looking at, so we stayed away
from it. The other company took it, and less than
five years later they were doing one hundred million dollars
in revenue because they had access to twenty five million
(40:47):
dollars when you're starting out, and we were a little
bit beyond starting out.
Speaker 1 (40:50):
Now we had several locations, but that is a ton
of I mean, think about the kind of money were
trying to raise to do it and to get it.
Speaker 2 (40:56):
Then if you got the sense to do well with it,
so they had the access it's a capital, then they
had the strategic partner because anybody that's got that kind
of money relationship.
Speaker 1 (41:06):
Those people they could pick up the phone, it's up like.
Speaker 2 (41:10):
And then they had like the governess because private equity
is going to insist that things are managed a certain way,
like they're going to be watching how you're doing things
and making sure you're not getting too far left to
too far right. But it keeps you disciplined about how
you operate your business. One hundred million dollars later, and
like I'm chasing that still, you know what I mean,
(41:31):
Now I'm getting you know, it's it's it's on the horizon.
But I mean but they got you know, they got
me beat. I mean they accelerated by six seven years,
you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (41:42):
Not knowing better, I mean not go much that costs
and didn't just like ask the question, but just like,
oh you want to.
Speaker 3 (41:49):
My company, not knowing, not knowing as expensive man. And
I think a lot of people, even when it comes
to private equity, right like what it is, it's rocket fuel,
Like that's all it is.
Speaker 1 (42:00):
Like.
Speaker 3 (42:01):
And you know people talk about people talk about raising money.
It's like again, you got to understand if you take
on money one they want the money back, but the
purpose of that money is to get you to where
you're trying to get faster, right, right, And so to
your point, y'all are both at the same kind of point. Right,
they got some rocket fuel this, you know what I mean?
(42:23):
Like you moving, you might have put eighty seven in
the let's alarn man.
Speaker 2 (42:32):
Biggest mistake I had most costium mistake from not knowing
and not having the sense to ask the question to
someone that did though.
Speaker 3 (42:42):
Yeah, now again you've you've you've built your own spot,
you built your own restaurant, you've done franchises. Now you're
starting to work on concepts they could be franchised, right,
Like tell me about about that space?
Speaker 1 (42:55):
Yeah, man, So I've been to your point.
Speaker 2 (42:59):
I've been now operating franchises for thirteen years, meaning like
people you know, the shake shacks already out there, whole deal.
Speaker 1 (43:06):
And I've learned from them, like I learn why they
are successful. It's it is not coincidence, Like they do
things a certain way. And so I started borrowing these
insights and then putting him into ideas that I have.
And so the plan for me and I'll never stop
doing what I'm doing in terms of airport concessions and
I pre restaurants, but the plan is to also be
(43:27):
a franchise, or to be the McDonald's or the shake
Shack or the you know, Domino whoever. And so I've
started developing some quick service concepts. I like quick service.
I'm cool.
Speaker 2 (43:39):
Bars almost kill me, I mean, bankruptcy everything else. They
tend to be trendy. I mean, you think about the
biggest restaurant groups on planet Earth. They're all fast food.
I mean the one is like McDonald's. Number two is
I don't know, maybe Domino's, but you name it chick
fil I mean, but they're all fast food.
Speaker 1 (43:53):
It's not it ain't sexy. It ain't complicated either. So anyway,
so I started building out quick service brands, and we
now have two open in the airport. It's a pizza
place and they're called Kalachi's, but it's essentially like a
stuff bread. It compete with Annie Anne's and Cinnabon, which
(44:15):
are both being out of businesses. And we have another
one that's kind of an Asian fusion, but think like
like an elevated panda with kind.
Speaker 2 (44:25):
Of our sauce on it, like like black folks likes.
So we're working on those, really excited about it. Been
working on those since COVID, and we plan to activate
the first street Side one by.
Speaker 1 (44:38):
The end of this year.
Speaker 3 (44:38):
Okay, Yeah, So that kind of starts to flip again
because at a certain point, you're like, all right, like
you become you say, you become the plug. At a
certain point, I mean it's like I'm going to people,
but I'm also a little wait a minute, so they
they doing all this, they're the ones really making the money.
So let me start to actually kind of got go
out to them all that same kind of way. Let
me be the person that is putting enough franchise that
people are coming to me and they're cutting me royalties,
(45:00):
and now I'm kind of scaling my business that way.
Speaker 2 (45:02):
Yeah, i mean, scale a lot faster, and then you know,
I got to build it. I mean I'm writing in royalty.
Don't get me wrong. It's good stuff, it's brand recognition,
people come to it.
Speaker 1 (45:09):
But I'm building.
Speaker 2 (45:10):
I'm paying for all the stuff I'm paying to build
out of stew and paying for the labor and the
whole deal. And so I think it would be good
sense to get on that side of it. I think
we need more representation among our community on that side
of it. And I'm trying to build models that are
easy for us to get into as well.
Speaker 3 (45:24):
Yeah, when it comes to and I don't want to
come like boring businesses. But again, like I think again
we kind of joked about this, Like I think a
lot of people that Atlanta start what I kind of
call Atlanta businesses, and they just start a business that
will work based on like their perception of things. And
that's why I tell you we got to get outside
of Atlanta, y'all. This is a very unique space, you know.
But like, what do you want people to know about
(45:44):
quote unquote boring businesses? And just from your experience.
Speaker 2 (45:48):
That that what's exciting is making money, you know what
I mean, Like like the sexy business that goes out
of business. I promise you that shit is not fun.
It's not fun when on the way to being out
of business. Like the cool shit is building something that
provides for you and your family and your future. And
if that comes by way of an ugly business, which
(46:10):
is often the case, just do that. Like in what
we are trying to catch up to, like as in
our community black people being full participants in our economy.
It's got to be about the dollar. I mean, let's
just call it what I mean, that's not all that matters.
But I mean to realize the kind of freedom we want,
a mobility and the ability to have this and a
(46:31):
voice and access, like we got to do.
Speaker 1 (46:33):
Things that enable the accumulation of wealth. Everything else is
just everything else to me. It's cool until you got
to turn the lights off and put the you know
whatever up.
Speaker 2 (46:45):
So I would say, look at things that perform well
boring businesses and not.
Speaker 3 (46:51):
Yah, man, look this. This has been a great conversation Randy.
You know I'm saying, you built a lot of amazing stuff.
One thing I would just ask is if if you could,
if you could kind of go back to you know,
Randy getting ready to open Cafe Circle and give them
some advice. I know that one part woul probably be like,
don't do this, go get a fresh.
Speaker 1 (47:08):
To it out of my mouth.
Speaker 3 (47:10):
I'm doing what do you what do you want? The
next again, the next kind of group of budding entrepreneurs
that are here. This is saying, you know what, I've
never thought about a franchise approach, Like what do you
what do you want them to take away and know
from this conversation.
Speaker 1 (47:24):
Yeah, like, don't don't do anything because it's it's cool,
or because it will raise you know, your personal profile,
or because it's about something other than a sustainable, financially
performing business, which means do homework around what we'll get there.
(47:45):
Don't just think it's an interesting idea because you like it,
that that can be the starting place of the thought exercise,
but make sure that it works with the real world
because we need we need us to be performing in
this space. So I would say, be smart and diligent
about what you get into from a financial performance standpoint,
(48:05):
and don't do the shit I did just jumping out there.
Almost die. I'm gonna die. Like, take your time, do
your homework, do something smart and thoughtful based. Don't like evidence.
Speaker 3 (48:15):
Yeah, man, look y'all, I'm telling you, y'all, listen to Randon.
One thing I tell people all the time is experience
is the best teacher. But it's the teacher nobody wants.
The only way to learn that the only way to
learn is to do it. And you're listening to somebody
right now who has done it, so you know again,
Randy Man congratulations on everything. If people want to find you,
(48:35):
support you, they want to reach out about, you know,
potentially getting involved one of your business franchise, Like how
can they get in contact.
Speaker 1 (48:40):
With you some social handles.
Speaker 2 (48:42):
It's Randy Hazelton and I g Randy Hazelton and LinkedIn
just Randy Hazelton. Yeah, and we will get in touch.
I mean just reaching out. By that, I tried to
spend time talking to as many entrepreneurs as I can
just because I didn't I didn't have the kind of
information I wish I to have then, So just reach
out and we will do our best to get in
(49:04):
touch and have a conversation on send some information.
Speaker 1 (49:07):
But I would say start that, okay for.
Speaker 3 (49:08):
Sure, Man, we'll look Randy. Man, appreciate you pulling up.
There's been a long time coming. Yeah man, many gyms
have been dropped in here, so we appreciate you pulling up. Man.
With that said, y'all, that's the pod we out peace.
You've been listening to button Nomics and I'm your hosts.
Brandon Butler got comments feedback? Want to be on the show.
Send us an email today at Hello at butternomics dot com.
(49:29):
Butter Nomics is produced in Atlanta, Georgia at iHeartMedia by
Casey Pegram, with marketing support from Queen and Nikki. Music
provided by mister Hanky. If you haven't already hit that
subscribe button, then never missed an episode and be sure
to follow us on all our social platforms at butter
dot atl Listen to better Nomics on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts
There's almost nothing new on the sun.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
So anything you want to get into, take the time
to like study, talk to people that have done it.
Go work in the McDonald's if you want to open
the McDonald's or a restaurant for yourself, but take the
time to better quit yourself for what's coming. The fundamentals
have been done, the successes can be studied, the phase
can be studied. So I would say, like, take the time,
do yourself a favor and do that. Save yourself some time,
(00:24):
some money, and some stress and frustration, and like go
do the homework.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Everybody votes to ano episode of Butter. I'm the host
Brandon Butler FOUTACYEO of Butter at yelling today. That's somebody
special in the building, my guy, the one and only
mister Randy Hazels and Randy, how you doing today, Bro.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Brandon, It is a pleasure to be here with you today.
I'm doing great, man, I'm doing great.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Good man. You know you're building up everything, you know,
opening up new buildings, restaurants all so we got some
good stuff to talk about. Man, you ready for this? Yeah?
Speaker 1 (00:56):
Man, I just trying to sell Hamburgers, just one at
a time.
Speaker 3 (00:59):
That you're doing a good job at man. Well, look
what I do with all my guests when they come on,
we do something a little bit different. I know people
want to kind of know who you are and what
you do. But what I do is, Man, I put
you in chat GVT brother, and I said, Chat, I
want you to write a bio and tell the people
who Randy is. I'm gonna read you what TVT said,
because I'm just saying, man, like I want you let
(01:21):
me know.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
Is it only I've never I have never seen my
bio with Chatt. I'm curious.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
You gotta do this. I'm showing you something, all right.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Look.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Randy Hailsen is the owner and CEO of H and
H Hospitality and Atlanta based company operating more than fifty
restaurants across the country, including quick service and full service
concepts in major airports. He got his start in two
thousand and eight is one of the original founders of
Cafe Circuit in Atlanta, learning entrepreneurship the hard way through
bankruptcy and rebuilding. Since then, he has scaled into franchise
(01:50):
and with national brands, and now develops his own franchise
ready concepts. Beyond hospitality, Randy invests in CpG tech and
pharmaceutical ventures, serves on board such as the Fearless Fund,
and is deeply engaged in Atlanta's economic development and community growth.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
That is unbelievable. Brother, that is UNBELI we are here.
We have no idea, no idea.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
You may yeah, gott gotta put yourself in chat and
see what it comes back.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
I mean that there is nothing that is that is
wrong about that.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
See I got the two hundred dollars version. So look, man, Reddy,
thanks for pulled up. Man. Yeah, man, because those of
those know, man, tell people what is h and a hospitality? Brother?
Speaker 2 (02:25):
So hh hospitality is an airport concessions company, which all
that means is that we own and operate restaurants and airports.
Speaker 1 (02:35):
So that's what we do. Atlanta is home and headquarters.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
We have between between units that we operate one hundred
percent and joint ventures we own about seventeen. And then
we have locations in Dallas, Texas, in Washington, d C.
And in the Midwest by way of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Okay, Now, now how did you get started in this?
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Like?
Speaker 3 (02:55):
Are you gonna tell me a story about how you
used to work? In the McDonald's a long time ago,
and they pisched you off. You said, I can buy
all this stuff. Like, how did you get involved in
this business? Now?
Speaker 1 (03:03):
I wasn't that smart man.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
I jumped right into the right into the restaurant business
before that. So I came out of college and did
you know we're supposed to do coming out of college,
Go get a nine to five at a corporate firm,
and I hold.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
It, did that and I worked.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
I worked in corporate America for about two years, two
and a half year, and it just wasn't for me.
I mean, it just was not something I get comfortable with.
The culture was felt foreign to me. I was I was.
I was selling products or responsible for products that I
wasn't attached to, and I had to get out of it.
So the first thing was figuring out what I did
not want to do, which was not being a corporate America.
I left what I had a plan and was hanging out,
(03:38):
I mean really just hanging out in Atlanta mid twenties.
I had I had a little bit of money saved
aside from the money I'd saved from Corporate America, and
I was also flipping real estate and that was going
well at the time.
Speaker 1 (03:48):
I was like two thousand and four or five six when.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
The mark was out, so I'd stashed some money away
so I could like take some time as a mid
twenty something, which was really just being outside, like hanging out.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
And so me and one of a good.
Speaker 2 (04:01):
Friend of mine spent a lot of time hanging out, frankly,
like hanging out in lounges and bars and restaurants. And
before we blew our whole bag, figured, you know, we
should do this ourself, like before we run out of money.
And because we spent so much time on the consumer side,
thinking that was all you needed to do it, let's
open a restaurant. So we came together, pulled our money,
open our first restaurant, and that was a restaurant by
(04:23):
the name of Cafe Circa on edgew what Avenue that
chat gpt.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
So quickly highlighted.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
So that was the first go and that that is
where we learned restaurants Like that was our first kind
of introduction to what it meant to run a restaurant.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
We didn't study it beforehand.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
We didn't work at McDonald's like you said, I wish
we would have, but we just jumped right in.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Now what was it like jumping right in? Because I
mean cafe circuit is still there today. You know, it's
somewhat of a well known spot, almost the institution, I
would say, especially on Edgewood, like everybody knows the cafe
circuit is. Like when you think about that time, what
do you remember most about those days? Like what was
that space? Was? Was it a restaurant before? Like just what
do you remember about that?
Speaker 1 (05:03):
When I remember most?
Speaker 2 (05:04):
Stress, stress is what I remember most, Marandon, I mean
we I mean we were young. I mean it was
a lot of fun. We were learning a lot, but
it was hard. I remembered how hard restaurant operations was.
I mean it looks easy, or it looked easy to
us as a guest, as a consumer's patron, going in
ordering what you want, getting it quickly. But on the
(05:25):
other side of that, it's hell. And so I remember figuring,
I mean I remember it feeling like we just didn't
have a handle on it, and and working every day,
bell to bell for years to get a handle on
it and to get it to perform financing, meaning like
make money. And so I just remember like the scramble
(05:45):
and the struggle to do that. That's like, that is
my most vivid memory.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
Did what did that experience kind of teach you about
entrepreneurship because there was there was a time in which
I've owned a restaurant for a little bit, bless you,
you tell you I learned my lesson very quickly, like
just in seeing this, seeing how the staff works, and
like just dealing with the patrons. There's a lot of
stuff people don't see, right, So like even and that
was recent for me, but like, what were some of
the big entrepreneur of entrepreneurship like lessons that you learned
(06:15):
while you were doing that?
Speaker 2 (06:16):
So the best the first one is and I'm talking
about this a lot. It's just like there's nothing new.
There's almost nothing new on the sun. So anything you
want to get into, take the time to like study,
talk to people that have done it.
Speaker 1 (06:29):
Go work in the.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
McDonald's if you want to open the McDonald's or a
restaurant for yourself. But take the time to do the
study to better equip yourself for what's coming. Because it's
been done before, generally speaking, mineus some nuances. I mean,
the fundamentals have been done. The successes can be studied
the phase can be studied. So I would say, like,
take the time, do yourself a favor, and do that,
(06:51):
because when you do not, you will make mistakes. And
in business, mistakes cost money, every single one of them.
And like if you accrue too many mistakes, go out
of business. That's that's essentially what happens. And so save
yourself some time, some money, and some stress and frustration,
and like go do the homework. The second thing I
would say is people are everything. We talked about this
(07:15):
a little bit. People are everything, and being successful in
business isn't about being cool, even though being cool can
like get the kind of attention out of get you,
you know, opportunity, but it really is about performing and executing,
and to do that you need a team, and if
people are on the team, have to be equipped with
(07:37):
the things that help enable that success. So like, it
ain't about your friends or your unfortunate or your family
or the person that seems like, I mean, you need
people that are that are one trustworthy but also capable,
have work ethic competency, that kind of thing to kind
of go get the bigger job done.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Yeah, man, you know it's interesting because I know I've
experienced this a number of times myself, and like starting
businesses when you think about it, and I don't think
people really fully understand, right, like when you build something,
especially a lot of black entrepreneurs, right, like we we're
probably doing it with our own money. A lot of
folks don't go into these opportunities when you know, for
like a bunch of funding, right, and so you're really
kind of trying to make it happen. And so I
(08:15):
know what happened for me with what my companies was.
I mean, yeah, you hire people that you know, you
hire your friends because that's what you can afford, you know,
and all of a sudden, it gets to a point
where it's like whall, wait a minute, Like this might
not be you might not be the right person for this.
And again, like bro, the team is so important, and
like there's so much on you already as the person
(08:35):
that's trying to build the thing and trying to make
it happen, you know, like it literally like it's like
I don't know if you've ever read the Netflix manifesto, right,
but like Netflix when they first started, they had this
manifesto and they said, look, when you think about working
at Netflix, like we're not a family. We are a team, yes,
but more importantly, we are a professional sports team and
(08:56):
so we expect you all to operate like professionals and athletes.
But understand, if you can't do the job, we will
replace you with somebody else that can do the job,
because that is what a team will. I mean, we're
seeing it right now with the Falcons, like we love
I love cool. They'll get it to Georgia Southern. But bro,
if you can't make the kicks, we need a kicker,
because we are a professional team, and we will go
(09:16):
out and get a better kicker if that's what's needed.
And it's so funny that even the lady that wrote
that for Netflix, at a certain point she got replaced
because it was the same thing. They were like, look,
have you have gone as far as you can go
with us based on your skill sets for the next part,
you know, and like and they would they would literally
tell people, They're like, yeah, you can go on vacation.
You could take a limited vacation, but just know that
(09:39):
if while you're gone, we realize that we can do
this without you, or we can find somebody better, you
might not. And so that's how Netflix I mean it
was like a very competitive culture, right, but like that's
what it really takes to kind of like build a
high performance team. Right.
Speaker 2 (09:52):
Ye I didn't I didn't know that came from Netflix. Yeah,
so you just you just educated me onto something. But
I've heard that before. In that is one hundred percent true.
We need to know that at the end of the day,
you can get the job done, and particularly when it's
crunch time, like cool kick in the field going, this
is the difference between winning and losing, and nobody gets
(10:13):
it right all the time, but we need to know
that generally speaking, you give him the ball, he got
it right, because what happens is when you don't lose,
you compromise championships, you compromise general success, and you put
everybody else at risk. So it's not you can't be
overly personal about it because there's a bigger responsibility and
everybody got to be tied to that. That's something I
really like that one. Yeah, a team not a family.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
It's true, it's true. I mean again, like that's the
part of leadership. I don't think that people really understand,
like in order to achieve great things, you have to
have a great team around you and a lot of
times again with us, Like I've noticed it. It's very
interesting because I noticed it especially at one of my
last agencies. Right, Like, the guys that start that agency,
they were able to start that agency with a certain
(10:58):
level of funding, so they were able to go out
and acquire certain talent, and so that allowed them to
go straight out the blocks. Right then it's like you
look at Okay, but if I'm starting something and I
only got the maintenance of my bank accounts and I
can only get this that I have a different kind
of talent, and so you see the difference, and you
see how having the right people on the boat, and
you know, it was something that a guy used to
(11:19):
work with would say, and like when he first said
it, it kind of pissed me off, But the more I
thought about it made since he said my job, his
job as a leader, was to edit the team. That's
what he would call it now because it kind of
sounds like an asshole move. I'm not gonna lie, But
when you think about it, he's like, no, like there's
I have that's my responsibility because if this thing doesn't work,
it's bigger than me. There are other people here and
all of a sudden, if we lose this client because
(11:41):
we don't have the people to actually execute on it,
all of y'all out of a job. So what's more
important like this one person who's trying to get by,
or like making sure the whole totality of the team
is on top of it, right, So to find those
right people.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
And it also does not mean that because we're looking
at like a team a lot of family, that it's
like cold, right, or that there is no hair or
there is no culture. What I've found is that A
plus players, which is what we like. I mean, we
got a soug in our company, A plus players only,
that's all we want to hire.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
A plus players can't stand a sea level player.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Right, and a Sea level player can't stand an A
plus player because they always push it. But what you
find is you find a lot of cohesion among that
that like talent level, like a plus player, they bond
over winning the championship, making things and and and Sea
level players do on whatever that is mediocrity or if
you call it so, you still have the same level
(12:32):
of culture and cohesion intogetherness. But you gotta be like minded,
and you gotta be operating on similar values to achieve that.
But it doesn't mean that you're that you're colding.
Speaker 3 (12:42):
No, absolutely, And I think.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
That's what a lot of people get, you know, kind
of kind of get that.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
That means y'all don't get No, we have something bigger
to do here.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
Y'all don't understand how much we care. Like that's the
thing you got to Like, you don't trust me if
you had you have many things wrapped up, Like I'm
sure you with fifty restaurants and all this stuff, You've
got a lot invested in this, you know what I'm saying. So, like,
I don't think people really understand how much you really
do care about all this stuff working together, all this
stuff coming together. Like there was a great book I
(13:11):
read a couple of years ago called Radical Candor, and
so I always say that's probably one of the best
books on leadership that I've ever read. If you haven't
read it, check it out. And like, so what it
talks about is it's the idea that like, if you're
on a if you're on a team, you should have
the ability to be radically candid with your coworkers. But
what does that mean? Right, So the example I always
(13:31):
kind of give is you think about in the heat
of a sports game. You know, it's basketball game, right,
Steph Curry bringing the ball up to court and he's
trying to get the offense set up and he tells somebody,
get your ass over there. Like that person doesn't stop
and say, hey, Steph, don't talk to me like that.
That hurts my feelings. No, Like they have built a
relationship to where they could be radically candid with each
(13:54):
other and he can just say what he's trying to
say and you don't interpret it, you don't add your
own meaning to it. You're like, well, you know what
if I get my ass over there, he's gonna give
me the ball and I can score and there's a
bigger play. And so it talks about just being able
to have like this's just radical conversations with your people
that you work with, and it's those kind of relationships, right,
And so I get it goes back to caring. It's
(14:15):
not about being heartless or cold. Look, I've had I've
had bosses that are jerks. I've had boss and I
have no desire to want to be one of those people.
But like I get, I have a lot wrapped up
in what I have built. You have a lot wrapped
up in what you have built, right, and so you
want to have the ability to talk to adults like adults.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
It's right and on time. But that, by the way,
who wrote who wrote that book I'm looking at?
Speaker 3 (14:35):
I get it.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
I mean there's another one's a guy on the named
Marie Dolly who's got a he's got a similar philosophy.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
Run that which is radical transparency. Yeah, but it's just.
Speaker 2 (14:44):
But also in that is it eliminates misinterpretation, Like when
I say get your ass over there, it's hard to
confuse what I mean?
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Was it?
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Like, well, could you please take a left behind it?
Like I need you gotta have people like everyone has
to be a line into the same vision and the
same task and the same strategy. And how you get
that across as communicating one way or the other. And
so the straighter you can be about it eliminates misinterpretation,
which means that we're more likely to be moving in
the same direction. So again it all goes back to
(15:14):
caring about what the bigger objective is, so that we're
all aligned and taking care.
Speaker 3 (15:18):
Of so you run the circle that's going like how
did you start getting to the airport space.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
I mean, I swear, I mean I was in there
just humping just I mean, being making drinks. I'm on
the line, I'm sweeping up, I'm cleaning bathrooms and wait
until I'm doing everything in this business.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
But what would happen.
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Is that, I mean one, we were literally in that
business every day, and which means on a weekly basis,
because that's a while we were pretty popular. We got
to meet thousands of people regularly because we're in there
all the time and we're talking to people all the time,
and in meeting those people, we were exposed to some
conversations with folks that happen to be in airport concess
(16:10):
just organically we come to our place like what we
were doing, like the arm Beyonce, like the food, and
came to like us, and we'd just start talking and
a few of those opened up that conversation to us.
It's like, oh, hate is what we do. Have you
ever thought about airport concessions? Man, I don't know what
that is. But then I started learning about what that is.
I was like, Wow, this seems pretty this seems pretty compelling.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
And so we.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Went, we kind of dove into those conversations more intentionally,
so how to ask about, well, what are what would
be some ways that we could do this together with
the people that came and talk to us about it
and anyway, And those conversations led to ultimately doing a
deal to get in the restaurant, partnering my company with
a larger company.
Speaker 1 (16:52):
So it really happened.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
Organically from working there every day, building relationships and just
being curious, I mean, really just being curious about the
kind it's.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Never coming away.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Okay, all right, So I wish I could say added
on Matt down, I just knew from the beginning we're
gonna go do this.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
I was gonna be an all.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
These I had no idea, just for context, like tell
us about what are the restaurants like here in Atlanta
Hartsfield the business airport in the world, Like what are
the restaurants that you all own and manage?
Speaker 2 (17:17):
So we own and manage we have a shake shack.
I'm trying to think on a local level afresh to
order the Onion's pretzel. We did something with Bobby Flay
and a joint venture of Bobby's Burgers. We have a
fresh and Yogurt was a local yoga company. As about
to hunch of stores. We have a Buffalo Wow Wings
under construction. Now we have a couple of proprietary brands
(17:40):
that we have developed. I'm really excited about what else
do we have. Gosh, we have a Sam Adams Brewery,
uh Sweetwater for twenty brew house.
Speaker 1 (17:51):
It's kind of a mix of stuff.
Speaker 2 (17:52):
The airport will kind of tell you the types of
businesses you want, but they want, and then you go
find the brand. So we have we kind of range
a gamut from burgers to pizza to salads and bowls
to you know, fast to full service, and we kind
of run kind of have a mixed brand portfolio.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
Okay, So I didn't even realize that. So there's multiple
there's different types of restaurants that you all actually own
and operating, not just like one type specifically at the airport.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
Yeah, because the way the airport does it is all
so the airport owns the real estate, the physical I
mean the city owns the physical airport. And when lisas expire,
so you lease the spaces when they expire, the airport
will say, okay, these leases are going to expire, we
need some new businesses, new brands. We have ten spaces,
and in this ten spaces, we want a coffee shop,
(18:37):
a pizza shop, a burger plate. And come bring us
your best bid, your best proposal to occupy these spaces.
And so you'll you'll go find these mix of businesses,
which is why you end up operating a.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
Mix of stuff.
Speaker 3 (18:48):
Okay, all right, are you all one of the largest
concessionaires at the airport? Is there?
Speaker 1 (18:52):
No? I mean, yeah, no, not even not even so,
but I'm working on it. Okay, I'm working on it.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
So in nationally, like eighty percent of the airport food
and beverage or concession space is controlled by like five companies,
oh eighty These are all multinational multi being other companies
from Spain, from Italy, from London, we call them primes.
Majority on farms at o'deal. They will come in and
(19:24):
because they have the resource take down large squads of
businesses generally do that. So they own sixty plus percent
of the Atlanta Airport concessions businesses. Minority businesses like mine
tend to make up about forty percent. And in that mix,
I am, you know, maybe top five.
Speaker 1 (19:46):
Okay, you know, so we've made our way and it's hard.
It's hard to compete.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
I mean, it's expensive enough, but we've made our way
to continue to grow and I would like to I'm
looking to be the prime.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
Okay, that's what I'm working on.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
Okay, now again, what's also interesting when you talk about
kind of the portfolio companies you all have, like, you know,
especially going from Cafe Circle, which is something that you'll
literally built from the ground up, a lot of these
are it sounds like franchises and like partnerships, right, Like,
you know, how do you kind of compare those two
approaches of a franchise versus like building a concept from scratch.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Yeah, I mean, man, that's a great question. I put
it like this.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
So the SBA says that sixty five percent of new
businesses fail within I want to say, it's in the
three or five years, don't. I mean, yeah, it's one
of the other where ninety percent of franchise businesses over
the same time period succeed. So so the question like,
(20:40):
how do I look at those two? It is much smarter, much,
much much smarter to get a franchise business that has
a proven track record of success and just plug and play.
They give you the playbook. They give you everything from
the menus to the brand designs to the staff kind
(21:00):
of structure. Just just run the playbook and they help
you with site selection like where to put a location
to ensure success. But you're coming in with all this
institutional knowledge and support to help you be successful when
you do it yourself like we did because we didn't
know better and we didn't think much. We just jumped.
Like you're figuring out every piece practically along the way.
(21:24):
And I don't know, I mean, I haven't met too
many people that the first time out doing anything like
do it well the first time, And that's essentially what
you're setting yourself up well, not that it can't be
done and you got something burning in your heart in
your mind, you've got to get out.
Speaker 1 (21:36):
Into the world, go for it. But the numbers, like statistically,
the numbers are with the folks that get proven businesses
and just copy and paste. And if I could do
it over, I love Cafe Sircam Ball Let's some.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
Great people, but I promise you I would have started
with a franchise.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
As matter of fact, I have a.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
Friend of mine that started with a franchise the same
time we started with Cave Serga and today I think
he's on forty stores, but all on his own. And
he was building a lot faster than I over time
and didn't have like didn't go through bankruptcy like I went.
I mean it was very proodent with financial performance and
(22:17):
stacking mind. I mean he didn't have the kind of
hardships I had. Yeah, I would have done it like that.
Speaker 3 (22:21):
For somebody who wants to get involved in the franchise space,
like what would you kind of tell them before they
jump into it?
Speaker 2 (22:27):
First thing is like do again do your homework, but
also figure out what your interests are from a business standpoint,
because you can franchise any type of business you can imagine.
It's people just think restaurants, and that's a big one.
I think that's the biggest bucket of franchise. But there's
janitorial services, there are financial services, there is home repair services.
(22:49):
I mean like literally anything you can think of there
are franchise businesses for it. So figure out what of
those businesses make the most sense for you, for your
know how, for your competency. They all come with different
requirements of time that you're gonna have to work. No
there's no but but there are some differences there, and
so figure out kind of where your best fit is
(23:10):
and then start to learn whatever industry that is, and
then within that industry, start to really dissect the different
brand options. But it comes back to kind of doing
your homework based on your own interest and skill sets.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
If somebody want to look at the franchises, like do
you have, like you have any resources that you would recommend.
I mean, obviously they can just google and kind of
check around, but are there you know, I know there's
you know, conventions and things, expos and stuff, but like
where would they Where would you advise people to go
to educate themselves more about the franchise opportunities that are
out there?
Speaker 1 (23:37):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (23:37):
So I think I think the biggest franchise kind of
international platform is called IF a International Franchise Association.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
They are kind.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
Of that that central nerve for the franchise industry from
resources and who's doing what and what's propping up and
they have a lot of good data behind that. I
would say there is is a conference called NRA, not
the National Rifle Association, the National Restaurant Association. They do
(24:08):
it once a year and you kind of get all
the players in the restaurant business kind of in one room.
I mean it's a big room and it makes up
like ten or twelve football fields. I mean it's a
huge But what you get to see is like all
the different players that are out there, who's winning and losing,
what are the emerging kind of trends and technologies. They
have really good sessions, really good speakers. So that's another
(24:30):
good resource. And then another one, I would say, and
I'm biased because I'm thinking about food and beverage, but
QSR magazine where a kind of list It'll tell you
the fastest growing franchise franchises in the industry. It'll tell
you the hot the top performing franchise in the industry.
So there are outlets like that where you can start
to gather information. And then of course, just with Chad
(24:51):
and Ai, I mean there's an endless amount of just
search you can do to kind of kind of learn
where things are moving.
Speaker 3 (24:57):
Yeah, and I know you kind of mentioned there's lots
of different franchise not kind of want to dig into
that too, But like from a capital standpoint, I mean,
obviously I know you can speak probably more about the
restaurants space than anything else, But like what kind of
capital will be talking about for somebody to Again, I
know it varies, but like just ballpark wise, like what
do people be thinking.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
Yeah, I mean, it definitely varies. On the low end.
If you're talking like let's say janitorial services, right, which is.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
Probably one of the lower capital intensive, like less expensive
business types to get into. You're probably talking between twenty
and fifty thousand, I think on the high end, and
that's you know, the heavy duty cleaning equipment, that kind
of thing.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
It can go up to.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
Restaurants like I think the average McDonald's might be two million,
but by the same token, Chick fil A only requires
ten to twenty thousand of your own capital. Now that's
a whole of the process. It's hard, you got to
apply for it, and it's very competitive, but even in
the different industries as.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
A range all the way up to owning.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
I mean I was watching the the Netflix docu saries
on the Cowboys. I mean that's a franchise. Yeah, but
he spent I don't know, I think he spent like
three hundred million when he bought it. That was back
in so it ranges. But I would try to start
where you are. Start with the capital that you have
and in the industry that makes sense for you. But
it can range from the tens of thousands on the
(26:19):
low end up to the multi millions or better, depend.
Speaker 1 (26:23):
On what you want to do.
Speaker 3 (26:24):
What have you kind of learned again when it comes
to raising money, because I mean there's money out there,
but like you know, again, people want to invest in
winners and things that happen. Like, what have you kind
of learned when it comes to like raising money for
these ventures?
Speaker 1 (26:35):
It's hard. First thing is most people ain't want to
give you money, especially when you're starting out. I mean,
so when.
Speaker 2 (26:43):
We started with Cafe Circa, I talked to every bank
I knew to talk to around here, talk to a
lot of business owners. But the truth of the matter
is we had never not even run a restaurant. We
never run a business period.
Speaker 1 (26:57):
So all we had was an idea in no outside
of corporate America, and this wasn't a corporatedeavor. So smart
Money's like, I don't that's that's that doesn't seem like
a bet to place. There's nothing that would suggest that
this makes for like a pretty short return. So no
one gave us money. The people that gave us money
(27:18):
were the ones that loved us. It was like friends
of family. And so now we had savings. We did
the whole credit card, cash advanced we I mean, we
like max those all the way out. We did all
that boots trapping type of stuff. But you gotta be
prepared to be very innovative on the front end because
people are not going to see you as a short thing.
(27:42):
What happens over time if you perform is that your
track record will start to speak for yourself and capital
raising becomes a lot easier. But you got to earn
that through performance. And unfortunately, I wish I could say, man, listen,
you're starting out, just call this number. They got all
the money.
Speaker 2 (28:00):
I promise you, there is no number when you're starting
out if you don't have it. Oftentimes that's why they
say friends and family because I don't want to do it,
because they doing it from the heart, not from necessarily
the head, which is okay, that's that's how we got it.
But then yeah, over time it gets easier if you're performing.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (28:18):
One of the things we were talking about that was interesting,
especially we talk about, you know, just franchises that aren't
in the food spaces. You and I were kind of
having a conversation off of about the Patel family and
how they own like just tell people like about the
Patel family and how they own was like almost eighty
percent of all hotels.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
So it's the funniest thing because this goes back to
like corporate cooperative economics. We was just talking about raising money.
I do think there's an opportunity within our community to
pull money cooperatively and help fund ourselves. Another conversation that
we can talk about. But so the Patel family, the
Patels are an ethnic Indian group, like like from the
(28:57):
country India, you know, Southeast Asians. It's an ethnic group
that migrated to Uganda and they began opening businesses. And
under the reign of ed I mean, who was, you know,
a dictator type of leader, he felt that foreigners were
(29:18):
getting too much of the business, too much to national resources,
too much of land. So he kicked the foreigners out
of Uganda and reclaimed these, you know, the natural resources
and businesses for the country itself. And so this group
of ptels, who among the businesses they had in Uganda
were hotels, they had to flee the country and they
went elsewhere. And what they did was they took their
(29:42):
know how from running businesses and running hotels in Uganda
to where they settled, and they all pulled their money
and bought hotels like as a cooperative, and they fired
all the labor there and they were the labor. They
worked for free in support of the bigger vision of
of getting this hotel to financially perform. So they lived
(30:02):
in the hotel, they worked the hotel, which means that
they can compete on price because well, we're not paying
these high labor calls because we're doing it and we're
willing to make that sacrifice. So they they had a
successful model because they could price low.
Speaker 1 (30:15):
Which means it was attractive for people to come and
stay hotel. It was cheaper. They copy and pasted that model,
and you guys can trace this back and don't take
my word for it. I mean this is like history
that is studying and documented and today that ethnic group
that Ptel's we think it's just a last name. It's
an ethnic group that now has like eighty percent of
(30:37):
the hotel real estate to this day in this country
under their ownership. Because they built up that capacity they
built up the kind of capital, they built up the understanding,
they built up a competitive ads to be really good
at that, and they did so by executing cooperatively as
they group. And so but that's what they did.
Speaker 3 (31:11):
What do you think it would take for because I mean, again,
like we talked about cooperative economics, and I agree with you,
there's there's a lot of money that's you know, even
locked up in our communities. Like what could we start doing,
is you know, black people, especially Atlanta, to start working
more cooperatively in that space and maybe start doing a
similar play.
Speaker 1 (31:27):
Yeah, I mean, and I'll say.
Speaker 2 (31:28):
It's tough, Like our history in this country is tough,
and there were efforts made such that we you know,
kind of were divided, like a house divided would not
stand type shit. So we have some natural skepticism. I
believe that the traces all the way back. But what
I think is that, frankly, we just have to get
(31:49):
the fuck over it because no one's coming to save anybody.
I mean, as an individual, as a community, as you
name it, we are our own safety votes. And I
think when we realize that if we and it can
start just kind of start where you are, like in
your community and your network of friends and your neighborhood
and your city, and and commit to backing something that
(32:12):
has been through rigorous diligence and and thought and just
kind of flushing out the viability of But like commit
as a group to backing something like the Betels did hotels,
and and and start kind of where you are. Start small,
and and like prove the model, prove success, and then
(32:34):
kind of copy and paste. But you gotta you gotta
start with something. And I'm not saying we all come
together across all of any states and one fails suit.
That's hard to coordinate. But just start where you are.
You got a group of a dozen people or a
couple dozen people that that have enough to put something towards,
something towards like it, like an idea that that has
been studied and vetted. Let's let's try that because we've
(32:58):
seen it work in other and other seeing work on
my ass, we've seen work on we've seen them work
among the Jewish community. I mean, it's it is possible.
I think we just need to to commit and decide
and and be earnest about it.
Speaker 3 (33:12):
Yes, it's interest. I always, you know, I always take
my daughter, and we're riding around. There's some spaces up
in Gwinnett, right, and I mean we go to these
plazas and I always kind of point out to her.
We'll pull into a plaza and I'll say, look around,
tell me what you notice. It should be like all
the all the name, all the businesses here, all the
signs are in Korean, you know, all everyone. I said, yeah,
then we'll go somewhere else. She's like, okay, all these
(33:33):
are Hispanic. I always ask to say, where's the spot
where you're going Atlanta where all these are black? Od
I will literally take her to places and point that
out and I'd be like look. I'll be like, look Atlanta, this, this, this, this, this, Okay,
where in Atlanta is there a plaza that you go
to in all the businesses that plaza are black? Oh,
it's not even in our communities.
Speaker 2 (33:54):
And in Atlanta where where if there is no place
else in the country there should be or is here
to your point.
Speaker 3 (34:02):
I was talking. I was talking to Ryan Wilson about
I was talking to ride from the gathering spot about
this same thing. He was like, yeah, man, He's like
with all the stuff we do here in Atlanta. You know,
all the all the culture and everything. He said, well,
you look out in the city. Who owns the dirt? Yeah,
you know, and like we don't own a lot. We
don't own very much dirt out here, the fact, and
that's the difference. That's where the real wealth and the
real community building and all that stuff starts to come in. Like,
(34:24):
you know, but even when you think about it too,
I know you're involved, Like you're on the board of
Fearless Fund and you were on the board of Invest Atlanta. Like, like,
where do you see the money moving? Do you see
resources out here for entrepreneurs actually go out here and
try to find funds to help capitalize things, because we
always talk about how black business are runner capitalize. Like
from that perspective, do you see opportunities for people to
(34:45):
find some of that funding or is it still mainly
from a cooperative standpoint?
Speaker 2 (34:49):
Yeah, So there are opportunities for small businesses to get funding.
There are funding resources that the city puts out and
that organization within the city put out.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
What I find is that we don't really know about it.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
And when we do, I'm thinking about a good friend
of mine that has a ton of money and he's
funded it out of his pocket, and I would beg
him to like look into invest Atlanta and get some
of these capital resources because it can just help further
prepare your growth. And it's like an inherent skepticism oftentimes
with our community. But oh, they're not gonna give it
to me. You know, I'm not this or it's worthiness
(35:25):
kind of thing. So to the question is, yes, there
are opportunities, for sure. I think that between just the
general knowledge that we don't have about these opportunities or
sometimes the skepticism, we don't often get them. So what
I would see when I was on these boards, I
see the same people getting these checks and it ain't
(35:45):
look like me, and they didn't need it as much
as how I needed. I mean, I'm talking about billion
dollar outfits getting a lot of resources one because they're
there and it's not they're doing what they're supposed to do.
They're there to be had by these folks. But they
had that level of like knowledge and wherewithal to go
to know that it's there and to figure out how
(36:07):
to get it, and we just weren't. And it would
be the same thing. And I'm talking about getting it.
I may just you know, And so I think as
part is like we got to do as best we
can educating our community and educating ourselves because, like I said,
anybody coming to save you, but they're they're out there
in particularly a city like this.
Speaker 1 (36:24):
But as a gap, there's like a knowledge gap and
then like a I don't know, belief or trust gap.
Speaker 3 (36:29):
Well it's a process like I've you know again, I'm
not the like throw a vested land on the bus,
but I've definitely reached out to that before. And it
is a little overwhelming. It can kind of feel like
a little cumbersome sometimes, but that's where you look. You
literally got to like lean in. You got to build relationships.
And I'm the kind of person you know, I'll say, look,
walk me through it, you know, Like I get I
(36:51):
always tell this kind of funny story. I remember I
used to have a store in them all, and you know,
I didn't know what I was doing. Man, I get
I have my own money. I opened up a store.
I was just you know, trying to figure this thing out.
And I remember I went to a bank and was like,
you know, hey, I'm trying to get a loan, and
they were like, yeah, let's see your P and L.
I didn't know what the P and L was. I
didn't even know what the P and L was, bro,
And I promise you I looked that. That same day,
(37:14):
I went to office depot or whatever, and I bought
me a copy of QuickBooks. I started on my laptop
and I said, I don't even know what a shit is.
And so one day I was when I used to
go home, there was just I would always pass this
accounting firm and I just just had a sign out front.
And so one day I literally just pulled them to
the parking lot and knocked on the door. God came
to the dorus. I said, hey, man, look I own
(37:36):
a store down here. At them all over here. I
just bought QuickBooks. I don't know how to use it.
I was like, I will give you one hundred dollars
if you just showed me how to just set this
thing up. And that guy looked at me. It was
a white guy too, He said, man, bring your dumb
ass in here. He sent me down. He literally showed
me how to set up all my books and stuff.
Now I can run a P and L now in
my sleep, but it literally takes like I said that education.
(37:56):
They said, sometimes you have to actually go out there
and get the infant to do whatever you gotta do,
because again, this is your business and there's no rules
to this business thing. Man.
Speaker 2 (38:05):
Look, I mean just you having the good sense and
humility to ask the just being like, listen, I don't
know what this is.
Speaker 1 (38:14):
I know I need to know it. Can you show me?
Speaker 2 (38:16):
Like that makes the difference in a lot of times
between you know, you not being here and you being here.
I mean, not necessarily in this case, maybe you've been here,
but I mean it's okay to not know, Like it's okay.
So so I mean that extra sept that you took
on your own accord, like we gotta be we have
to be more. We got to take more ownership over
(38:38):
where we're going. Like again, I always say, you know,
rescue boats, but the ones you make and so something
like that makes a huge difference. I tell you, the
most costly mistake I've ever made a business came from
me not knowing and not asking a question. But like
ten years ago, so I'm trying to raise capital. We've
now been in the restaurant business for oh that had
been uh seven years something like that. Seven eight years
(39:02):
and banks aren't trying to hear anything we have to say,
very rigid conservative, like you're talking about I'll get it now,
y'all A knew not doing it. So we went out
to what they call private equity, which is just money
leftover from rich people. And there's this one very prominent
they called a family office, but it's like the money
(39:25):
from a rich family.
Speaker 1 (39:27):
And we were.
Speaker 2 (39:29):
Offered money to go and build our company because they saw,
oh the airport space and these guys, and like when
you get into a business, you make it perform and
makes money.
Speaker 1 (39:38):
This guy, this office.
Speaker 2 (39:40):
Told me that they would give me a twenty five
million dollar revolver is what it was, like a twenty
five million dollar credit card. Like you use it as needed,
you pay it off and it will accrue some interest,
but the interest's only like seven percent, so it wasn't bad.
But but he wanted he was going to give me
a twenty five million dollars revolver, twenty five million dollars
credit credit card for twenty five percent of my company.
Speaker 1 (40:02):
And I had never heard of such a thing. I had.
Speaker 2 (40:05):
That's private equity, like they're going to own some of
your company and I thought, well, man, if he puts
the money in the business, then maybe I can understand that.
But he's giving me a credit card, which means like,
it's not like my money. But so I didn't know.
Me and my business barn at the time, we didn't
really know what you're looking at. But the idea of
taking twenty five percent of my business for money that
I don't really get to hold per se. It's like,
(40:27):
as soon as I put it out, I owe it back.
I could not wrap my mind around that this money
was going to go to one of two companies. It
was either my company or this other company. We didn't
know where we were looking at, so we stayed away
from it. The other company took it, and less than
five years later they were doing one hundred million dollars
in revenue because they had access to twenty five million
(40:47):
dollars when you're starting out, and we were a little
bit beyond starting out.
Speaker 1 (40:50):
Now we had several locations, but that is a ton
of I mean, think about the kind of money were
trying to raise to do it and to get it.
Speaker 2 (40:56):
Then if you got the sense to do well with it,
so they had the access it's a capital, then they
had the strategic partner because anybody that's got that kind
of money relationship.
Speaker 1 (41:06):
Those people they could pick up the phone, it's up like.
Speaker 2 (41:10):
And then they had like the governess because private equity
is going to insist that things are managed a certain way,
like they're going to be watching how you're doing things
and making sure you're not getting too far left to
too far right. But it keeps you disciplined about how
you operate your business. One hundred million dollars later, and
like I'm chasing that still, you know what I mean,
(41:31):
Now I'm getting you know, it's it's it's on the horizon.
But I mean but they got you know, they got
me beat. I mean they accelerated by six seven years,
you know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (41:42):
Not knowing better, I mean not go much that costs
and didn't just like ask the question, but just like,
oh you want to.
Speaker 3 (41:49):
My company, not knowing, not knowing as expensive man. And
I think a lot of people, even when it comes
to private equity, right like what it is, it's rocket fuel,
Like that's all it is.
Speaker 1 (42:00):
Like.
Speaker 3 (42:01):
And you know people talk about people talk about raising money.
It's like again, you got to understand if you take
on money one they want the money back, but the
purpose of that money is to get you to where
you're trying to get faster, right, right, And so to
your point, y'all are both at the same kind of point. Right,
they got some rocket fuel this, you know what I mean?
(42:23):
Like you moving, you might have put eighty seven in
the let's alarn man.
Speaker 2 (42:32):
Biggest mistake I had most costium mistake from not knowing
and not having the sense to ask the question to
someone that did though.
Speaker 3 (42:42):
Yeah, now again you've you've you've built your own spot,
you built your own restaurant, you've done franchises. Now you're
starting to work on concepts they could be franchised, right,
Like tell me about about that space?
Speaker 1 (42:55):
Yeah, man, So I've been to your point.
Speaker 2 (42:59):
I've been now operating franchises for thirteen years, meaning like
people you know, the shake shacks already out there, whole deal.
Speaker 1 (43:06):
And I've learned from them, like I learn why they
are successful. It's it is not coincidence, Like they do
things a certain way. And so I started borrowing these
insights and then putting him into ideas that I have.
And so the plan for me and I'll never stop
doing what I'm doing in terms of airport concessions and
I pre restaurants, but the plan is to also be
(43:27):
a franchise, or to be the McDonald's or the shake
Shack or the you know, Domino whoever. And so I've
started developing some quick service concepts. I like quick service.
I'm cool.
Speaker 2 (43:39):
Bars almost kill me, I mean, bankruptcy everything else. They
tend to be trendy. I mean, you think about the
biggest restaurant groups on planet Earth. They're all fast food.
I mean the one is like McDonald's. Number two is
I don't know, maybe Domino's, but you name it chick
fil I mean, but they're all fast food.
Speaker 1 (43:53):
It's not it ain't sexy. It ain't complicated either. So anyway,
so I started building out quick service brands, and we
now have two open in the airport. It's a pizza
place and they're called Kalachi's, but it's essentially like a
stuff bread. It compete with Annie Anne's and Cinnabon, which
(44:15):
are both being out of businesses. And we have another
one that's kind of an Asian fusion, but think like
like an elevated panda with kind.
Speaker 2 (44:25):
Of our sauce on it, like like black folks likes.
So we're working on those, really excited about it. Been
working on those since COVID, and we plan to activate
the first street Side one by.
Speaker 1 (44:38):
The end of this year.
Speaker 3 (44:38):
Okay, Yeah, So that kind of starts to flip again
because at a certain point, you're like, all right, like
you become you say, you become the plug. At a
certain point, I mean it's like I'm going to people,
but I'm also a little wait a minute, so they
they doing all this, they're the ones really making the money.
So let me start to actually kind of got go
out to them all that same kind of way. Let
me be the person that is putting enough franchise that
people are coming to me and they're cutting me royalties,
(45:00):
and now I'm kind of scaling my business that way.
Speaker 2 (45:02):
Yeah, i mean, scale a lot faster, and then you know,
I got to build it. I mean I'm writing in royalty.
Don't get me wrong. It's good stuff, it's brand recognition,
people come to it.
Speaker 1 (45:09):
But I'm building.
Speaker 2 (45:10):
I'm paying for all the stuff I'm paying to build
out of stew and paying for the labor and the
whole deal. And so I think it would be good
sense to get on that side of it. I think
we need more representation among our community on that side
of it. And I'm trying to build models that are
easy for us to get into as well.
Speaker 3 (45:24):
Yeah, when it comes to and I don't want to
come like boring businesses. But again, like I think again
we kind of joked about this, Like I think a
lot of people that Atlanta start what I kind of
call Atlanta businesses, and they just start a business that
will work based on like their perception of things. And
that's why I tell you we got to get outside
of Atlanta, y'all. This is a very unique space, you know.
But like, what do you want people to know about
(45:44):
quote unquote boring businesses? And just from your experience.
Speaker 2 (45:48):
That that what's exciting is making money, you know what
I mean, Like like the sexy business that goes out
of business. I promise you that shit is not fun.
It's not fun when on the way to being out
of business. Like the cool shit is building something that
provides for you and your family and your future. And
if that comes by way of an ugly business, which
(46:10):
is often the case, just do that. Like in what
we are trying to catch up to, like as in
our community black people being full participants in our economy.
It's got to be about the dollar. I mean, let's
just call it what I mean, that's not all that matters.
But I mean to realize the kind of freedom we want,
a mobility and the ability to have this and a
(46:31):
voice and access, like we got to do.
Speaker 1 (46:33):
Things that enable the accumulation of wealth. Everything else is
just everything else to me. It's cool until you got
to turn the lights off and put the you know
whatever up.
Speaker 2 (46:45):
So I would say, look at things that perform well
boring businesses and not.
Speaker 3 (46:51):
Yah, man, look this. This has been a great conversation Randy.
You know I'm saying, you built a lot of amazing stuff.
One thing I would just ask is if if you could,
if you could kind of go back to you know,
Randy getting ready to open Cafe Circle and give them
some advice. I know that one part woul probably be like,
don't do this, go get a fresh.
Speaker 1 (47:08):
To it out of my mouth.
Speaker 3 (47:10):
I'm doing what do you what do you want? The
next again, the next kind of group of budding entrepreneurs
that are here. This is saying, you know what, I've
never thought about a franchise approach, Like what do you
what do you want them to take away and know
from this conversation.
Speaker 1 (47:24):
Yeah, like, don't don't do anything because it's it's cool,
or because it will raise you know, your personal profile,
or because it's about something other than a sustainable, financially
performing business, which means do homework around what we'll get there.
(47:45):
Don't just think it's an interesting idea because you like it,
that that can be the starting place of the thought exercise,
but make sure that it works with the real world
because we need we need us to be performing in
this space. So I would say, be smart and diligent
about what you get into from a financial performance standpoint,
(48:05):
and don't do the shit I did just jumping out there.
Almost die. I'm gonna die. Like, take your time, do
your homework, do something smart and thoughtful based. Don't like evidence.
Speaker 3 (48:15):
Yeah, man, look y'all, I'm telling you, y'all, listen to Randon.
One thing I tell people all the time is experience
is the best teacher. But it's the teacher nobody wants.
The only way to learn that the only way to
learn is to do it. And you're listening to somebody
right now who has done it, so you know again,
Randy Man congratulations on everything. If people want to find you,
(48:35):
support you, they want to reach out about, you know,
potentially getting involved one of your business franchise, Like how
can they get in contact.
Speaker 1 (48:40):
With you some social handles.
Speaker 2 (48:42):
It's Randy Hazelton and I g Randy Hazelton and LinkedIn
just Randy Hazelton. Yeah, and we will get in touch.
I mean just reaching out. By that, I tried to
spend time talking to as many entrepreneurs as I can
just because I didn't I didn't have the kind of
information I wish I to have then, So just reach
out and we will do our best to get in
(49:04):
touch and have a conversation on send some information.
Speaker 1 (49:07):
But I would say start that, okay for.
Speaker 3 (49:08):
Sure, Man, we'll look Randy. Man, appreciate you pulling up.
There's been a long time coming. Yeah man, many gyms
have been dropped in here, so we appreciate you pulling up. Man.
With that said, y'all, that's the pod we out peace.
You've been listening to button Nomics and I'm your hosts.
Brandon Butler got comments feedback? Want to be on the show.
Send us an email today at Hello at butternomics dot com.
(49:29):
Butter Nomics is produced in Atlanta, Georgia at iHeartMedia by
Casey Pegram, with marketing support from Queen and Nikki. Music
provided by mister Hanky. If you haven't already hit that
subscribe button, then never missed an episode and be sure
to follow us on all our social platforms at butter
dot atl Listen to better Nomics on the iHeartRadio app,
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Host
Brandon Butler
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