Before you get into anything, know how you're gonna get out.

In this episode of Pillar Mindset, Bob and John break down how to pick a franchise brand the right way, starting with Dairy Queen's viral AI drive-thru video (12.9M views) and why Bob won't roll customer-facing AI out across F&P's restaurants. From there, they walk through how to predict where a brand is headed in 5 to 10 years: who's behind the leadership team, who the other franchisees are, why you should look at 50 brands before picking one, and why you should eat at the restaurant several times before you ever look at a P&L.

Plus: the Crumbl cautionary tale about rapid growth, why the "top quartile" numbers in an FDD can mislead you, franchise vs. independent (and why we should stop bashing each other), what P. Terry's can teach us about building loyalty, how franchisors actually make their money, supply chain risk, cannibalization, and why you should always leave room to scale.

#PillarMindset #Franchising #FranchiseBusiness #RestaurantIndustry #DairyQueen #AIinRestaurants #Crumbl #PTerrys #RestaurantFranchise #QSR #HospitalityLeadership #FoodAndPeople #BobLozano #JohnZertuche #FMPGroup #BuildingABusiness

CHAPTERS 0:00 - Intro 0:32 - Welcome Back to Pillar Mindset 1:08 - The Viral DQ AI Drive-Thru Video (12.9M Views) 2:27 - Is 90% Accuracy Good Enough? 3:04 - Why We Won't Put AI in the Drive-Thru 5:19 - AI's Real Power Is on the Back End 5:42 - Staffing & Culture: Chick-fil-A vs. Wendy's 6:19 - Picking a Brand: Where Will Corporate Be in 5 Years? 7:06 - Who's Behind the Brand? Public, Private & PE-Backed 8:54 - Look at 50 Brands Before You Pick One 9:33 - Leadership Turnover & Brand History 10:16 - Know Your Fellow Franchisees 11:25 - Can You Feel a Brand's Culture Before the P&L? 11:50 - Go Eat There: When to Visit and What to Watch For 13:23 - Only 14 of 100 Brands Grew This Year 14:00 - Why Growth Isn't the #1 KPI 14:42 - The Crumbl Cautionary Tale 16:49 - Crumbl's Numbers: Volume Drops & Franchise Churn 17:26 - The FDD "Top Quartile" Trap 19:07 - Spotting Hype Cycles: Buying Low, Selling at Peak Hype 20:10 - Building for Decades, Not a 5-Year Run 20:28 - Know Your Volatile Product (The Chicken Wing Test) 21:38 - Franchise vs. Independent: Which Route? 22:06 - "What Will Make You Happy?" 23:20 - Stop Bashing Each Other: Franchises & Independents 24:38 - "Profit Maxing" and Why Profit Isn't Everything 26:11 - Shoutout: First Bites & Learning From Local Restaurants 26:36 - Why Franchise at All? Systems vs. Creative Freedom 28:11 - Know How You'll Get Out 29:11 - "There Will Always Be More Money, Never More Time" 30:10 - UT Longhorns Comeback & Loyalty Lessons 31:43 - P. Terry's: Built for Stability, Not Speed 33:10 - Burger Prices: P. Terry's vs. Five Guys vs. In-N-Out 34:00 - P. Terry's Story: Family-Owned, 38 Units & Employee Ownership 36:59 - Why Private Equity Would Love P. Terry's 39:16 - How Does the Franchisor Make Money? 42:10 - Franchise Landscape & Supply Chain Risk 44:18 - Room to Scale: Mom's Corner Lot Lesson 45:34 - Cannibalization & Closures Are Real 46:39 - Final Advice: People, Product & Taking Your Time 47:20 - Outro

Welcome to Pillar Mindset, where we share real strategies, real data, and honest conversations that help restaurant operators and business owners build better companies.

About Bob Lozano: Bob runs F&P Group: 40+ restaurant locations, digital marketing, and real estate across Texas. He's built teams, scaled brands, and helped operators go from chaos to systems. Pillar Mindset breaks down what actually works in multi-unit operations, franchise growth, and building sustainable businesses in the restaurant industry.

About John: VP of AI at F&P Group. Background in game design and software. Now leads AI implementation across the company.