Local restaurant starts franchising | News, Sports, Jobs

Submitted Photo: Fifties Grill and Dairy, located at 1514 Washington St., is one of two locally owned restaurants in the early stages of becoming a regional franchise. Grill and Dairy restaurant owners Mike and Steve Jones hope to take their brand national and continue their legacy in the food business.

A local restaurant company wants to start a franchise operation as part of a regional expansion project.

Fifties Grill and Dairy has partnered with Franchise Marketing Systems, an Atlanta-based company, to begin the process of regional expansion.

For co-owners and brothers Mike and Steve Jones, founders and owners of Fifties Grill and Dairy, expanding and selling a franchise is a dream come true and another step in the evolution of the family business.

“Our father owned a Dairy Queen franchise,” said Steve Jones. “When we opened our stores, we tried to model them between various fast food chain models and a full-service restaurant. However, we added an extra layer of quality to our products and focused on that – with a 1950s era as the backdrop for our decor.”

For Chris Conner, president of FMS, Fifties offers a unique and comprehensive menu with high quality at reasonable prices, which he says sets it apart from other franchise options.

“From the delicious burgers to a wide menu selection to the reasonable prices and the unique retro design and layout, this is a win-win situation when it comes to selling this model as a franchise,” he said. “Most fast food restaurants only offer simple burgers, shakes and sides. But here you have a complete menu.”

However, as with most things, teamwork is an essential component, and it is no different with the Jones brothers.

“We owe much of our success to our great employees (who have worked for us in the past), a loyal and faithful customer base, word of mouth from our customers and a supportive family. All of this has contributed and brought us to the point where we are now looking into franchising,” said Steve Jones.

Mark Jones is convinced that the partnership with FMS management will catapult Fifties to the next business level.

“Chris Conner is a successful franchise expert,” he said. “He has worked with large companies and I believe he will help us expand regionally first. Our goal is to establish franchises in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida first.”

According to fmsfranchise.com, Conner has worked with and created franchises with companies such as Anytime Fitness, Baxter Healthcare, Blimpie, Hungry Howie’s Pizza, Restoration 1, Smash My Trash, and Two Men and a Truck. Additionally, Conner leads a staff of 28 developers and has developed more than 400 franchises since 2009.

“It’s about finding the right product that can be marketed. Fifties is marketable, has good value for money and is high quality food. I think it will take off and be a great success,” said Conner.

For the Jones brothers, this is the direction they want to go.

“We want to share our heritage and products with a larger audience and audience. We will maintain our standards and work with all franchises,” said Mike Jones. “We will accompany them every step of the way.”

For more information about franchising, call 1-866-259-2916.