From franchisee to leading national brands, Carl Bachmann’s journey in the restaurant industry is packed with lessons in growth, innovation, and operational excellence. Now as President and Chief Operating Officer at Riko’s Pizza, Carl brings his experience from Ruby Tuesday, BurgerFi, and Smashburger to a fast-growing brand that’s redefining what pizza can be.
In this episode, Carl shares his five foundational pillars for building and scaling a successful franchise, covering everything from infrastructure and innovation to consistency and smart marketing. Whether you’re a restaurant operator, franchise owner, or industry leader, Carl’s insights provide a playbook for sustainable growth and creating a culture that thrives.
The Five Foundational Pillars:
- Infrastructure: Build a strong support system with the right people and processes to ensure consistency and scalability.
- Taste and Quality: Deliver memorable flavor-forward products that keep customers coming back.
- Defining Your Portfolio: Understand where your business model thrives to drive strategic, sustainable growth.
- Gold Standards and Processes: Create replicable systems and high service standards to ensure operational excellence across all locations.
- Punch Above Your Weight: Leverage social media, storytelling, and community engagement to amplify your brand presence without overspending.
Quote of the Show:
- “If you're not innovating, changing, and keeping it interesting, you're not creating exciting moments for the guests. I think the guests deserve that.” - Carl Bachmann
Connect with Carl:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carl-bachmann-80704110/
- Company website: https://www.rikospizza.com/
Ways to Tune In:
- Transistor: https://www.groundedonthepod.com/
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2I7EoKaVff3SnW3CoIXjJ6
- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/grounded/id1680909033
- Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/451edb13-5534-43ee-b46c-be36a7581460
- iHeart Radio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-grounded-281280581/
- Podchaser: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/grounded-5259267
- Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/1064441
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@The-Grounded-Podcast
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.