How this CEO Made His Favorite Sandwich Shop into a Big Franchise [Video]

Ashley Morris’s journey from finance professional to the CEO of Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop is a story of perseverance, and a relentless passion for quality. He has led Capriotti’s from a regional favorite to a national franchised brand that is constantly expanding.

Morris’s love for Capriotti’s began in college when his roommate introduced him to the brand. Years later, Morris had a great career in finance, working as a portfolio manager at Wells Fargo. Capriotti’s remained a consistent favorite for Morris. “I just found myself still eating at this place all the time, loving it and just being excited about going and getting my lunch,” he said.

The obsession lead him to franchise a Capriotti’s location with a friend. Morris called it their “first entrée into Capriotti’s” as absentee franchisees. They owned 3 locations in 3 years, but wanted more. That’s when things changed.

Watch now to learn about buying his favorite sandwich shop, how to keep quality up while scaling, and operating a fast-casual franchise.

Chapters:
[02:32] – Falling in Love with Capriotti’s
[09:36] – Restaurant Life
[14:35] – Avoiding Blind Spots
[22:38] – Having Mentors
[27:28] – Social Media Strategy

SPONSORS:

RESTAURANT INFLUENCERS IS PRESENTED BY TOAST —
Restaurant Influencers is brought to you by Toast, the powerful restaurant point of sale and management system that helps restaurants improve operations, increase sales and create a better guest experience.

• Toast All-In-1 Restaurant POS: https://bit.ly/3vpeVsc

Episode Links:
Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop: https://capriottis.com/
Franchise Capriotti’s: https://www.ownacapriottis.com/
Capriotti’s Buys Wing Zone: https://www.nrn.com/fast-casual/capriotti-s-sandwich-shop-acquires-wing-zone-creating-150-million-company
Wing Zone online: https://wingzone.com/

Takeaways:
From Local to National – Ashley Morris turned his passion for Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop into a thriving national brand.

Scaling Right – His leadership focuses on scaling the business while maintaining a tradition of quality.

Quality Matters – Capriotti’s is committed to delivering fine-dining-quality ingredients in a fast-casual setting.

***

ABOUT ASHLEY MORRIS —
Ashley Morris is the CEO of Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop, Inc., the parent franchising company for Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop Restaurants. He is responsible for the oversight of all corporate departments and employees of the company but his main focus is that of visionary. Ashley’s vision combined with a natural aptitude for strategic formulation and business implementation keep Capriotti’s on the forefront of growth brands.

ABOUT RESTAURANT INFLUENCERS —
Restaurant Influencers is a weekly video podcast series presented by Entrepreneur Media and Cali BBQ Media. Every week host and restaurant owner Shawn Walchef (@shawnpwalchef) talks with business leaders like Shaquille O’Neal, Rob Dyrdek, Emeril Lagasse, Mayim Bialik, Jon Taffer, Robert Irvine, Aman Narang, and more, about their secrets to Smartphone Storytelling, marketing, branding, and how to show up where customers are engaging online.

Published by Entrepreneur Media – https://entreprenuer.com
Produced by Cali BBQ Media – https://betheshow.media