Family Bonds and Italian Beef: Inside Pops Italian Beef with Casey

The Journey of Pops Italian Beef: From Family Tradition to Franchise Expansion

In this episode of the Restaurant Technology Guys podcast, the host welcomes Kacie, a lifelong restaurant industry veteran and the daughter of the founder of Pops Italian Beef. Kacie shares her personal background, the history of Pops Italian Beef, and its transition from a family-owned business to a franchised brand with 16 locations. She discusses the unique challenges and successes of maintaining consistent quality and community connection while expanding. The episode also delves into the operational dynamics of Pops Italian Beef, the importance of family involvement, and the future growth plans for the restaurant. Kacie emphasizes the importance of community support, employee-family relationships, and preserving the integrity of their culinary traditions.

00:00 Introduction and Welcome
00:13 Meet Kacie: A Life in Restaurants
01:05 The Story of Pops Italian Beef
03:41 The Fast Casual Concept
10:13 Challenges and Growth
12:57 Community and Family Values
16:47 Franchising and Expansion
24:15 Personal Touch: Family Orders
26:28 How to Get Involved with Pops
28:38 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Transcript

0:02

This is the Restaurant Technology Guys podcast. Helping you run your restaurant better.

Jeremy: 0:13

Welcome back to the Restaurant Technology Guys podcast. I thank everyone out there for joining us. as I say each and every time, I know you guys have got lots of choices, so thank you for spending time with us. Today is one of my favorite types of episodes, because, quite frankly, I like the type of food, and I'm excited for Casey to share a little bit more about it. But, Casey, talk to me a little, who is Casey real quick, and then we'll talk a little bit about what you get to do for a living.

Kacie Dancy: 0:32

Sure. I'm a mom of four. I, only ever pretty much worked in a restaurants, born and raised in restaurants. My dad has had a restaurant for 44 years, so it's a lot older than me. And so I've grown up born and raised in the restaurant industry, live now in the south suburbs of Chicago. And I have two dogs. I, I wear a lot of hats on a day to day basis with being a mom and, working in restaurants, both the franchise side and in the actual physical restaurant. I'm still in, the day to day operations. So it's, it's a lot, it's a lot, but it's fun and it's cool what I get to do.

Jeremy: 1:03

That's awesome. And some of our long time listeners and people that know me on a personal side will know I also have four kids and that's exhausting in and of itself.

Kacie Dancy: 1:11

it is.

Jeremy: 1:12

And, and outside of trying to carry on a career and, and grow and lead. so you talk about restaurants. You've lived in the restaurants your whole life. Talk to me a little bit about the restaurant that you get the privilege of, of serving today.

Kacie Dancy: 1:22

Sure. the name of the restaurant is Pops Italian Beef. My dad started it, like I said, 44 years ago, 1980. And it's fast casual, if you will. So it's burgers, dogs. I think one of the reasons we've been so successful is our menu is very expansive. So we have everything from, like salads and wraps. We do catering for, Parties in home. we also, like I said, we have something for everybody, which is what I love. I love that it's family business. So I get to work with my family, which is good, both good and bad. I don't know if you've ever had the privilege of working with family.

Jeremy: 1:51

I'll tell that story here in just a second, because I'm, close to 30 years working with my father as well. So can share a therapy session later and talk a little bit about that. But yeah, absolutely.

Kacie Dancy: 2:01

Yes. but it's good and bad, right? It could go, it definitely has its perks. And then on the other hand, it's we, Duked it out before too. but yes, our restaurant is very much family oriented, even our franchisees. So we were a licensing agreement for 30 years. We became a franchise in 2010. And so now, we're up to 16 restaurants, which is great. It's been a slow growth, but what I love about the restaurant is that I would say that each restaurant is its own mom and pop shop within the community that it is. We're very community focused. We try to really get into the community. our employees feel like family to us. Like I said, we've been around a really long time now. in the area we're in, not only are we in Illinois, but we are also in Indiana. I feel that in the areas that we are in, we really try to be that. Although we are franchised, it's still that mom and pop shop feel.

Jeremy: 2:44

Yeah.

Kacie Dancy: 2:44

So it's cool. It's cool. it's fun.

Jeremy: 2:46

That's awesome. Yeah, no. And I and again, I'm sure we'll talk offline about, the pain and suffering of going on family vacations. And it's you're only talking about work and yeah, the whole nine yards. yeah, but I was privileged enough to grow up going into the office and working. I've been working in restaurants since I was nine or 10 years old, dealing with restaurant tech. So very familiar with that pain and suffering.

Kacie Dancy: 3:06

Humble though, it does keep you humble. And I will say and come up to my children are young now, but I say that every kid I think needs to work in a restaurant, if not some sort of job dealing with the public. it teaches skills that I don't think a lot of kids have these days, as far as communication, and again, humility, and customer service. And I guess not on the restaurant side of things, but just a human side of things. If you have a child that's old enough to work in the restaurant industry, send them into the restaurant industry, just for a few years.

Jeremy: 3:33

Yes. Oh, I, my daughter's, my daughter, my 16-year-old just got her first job and she's working with the public and she's people are so dumb. I'm like, stop. You allowed say that you allowed me, you allowed say that publicly. But it's true. it's hard. and again, you growing up in that space, it's the same way. And my first shop was waiting, making sandwiches and then waiting tables and having to deal with it. I guess walk me through the concept a little bit. You talked about it being fast casual because it's, I've done my research. And for those that aren't familiar with having come into the store, you talk about it being fast casual. It's been around for 40 years. Fast casual hasn't been around for 40 years, but it is has been around for 40 years. And I say that. There's not been a traditional, 40 year fast casual concept, but, when you think back about it, it was fast food or it was full service, but you guys were doing this early days. So walk me through what the concept would look like. If I was a new consumer walking into your store that I'd never been to before, give me a visual for those that might not know, because some of, many of the people still listen on audio. And so if they want to know more about what's the feel, what does it look like? What is it? What does it feel like when I walk into a pops?

Kacie Dancy: 4:35

So another thing I will say, if our corporate location I'll just start there are so our corporate location obviously been around 40 plus years and it has only been walk up So you can only walk in the restaurant. There's no seating. There's no drive through There's no, there's periodic course But you have to walk into the restaurant place the order and then you take a ticket to go. and it's a very small footprint. And what's interesting to our concept, we cook and slice all of our beef fresh daily in all of our stores. we have proprietary brands, our hot dog is ours, our french fries are ours. And proprietary to our store. So what I would say about our franchise then being accessible. Banded. We had d a lot of different footprints. So we have a few and gas stations now. We have a few that are full service, meaning, you can sit down, there's drive through, there's all the things. we have ones that have gambling in them. So like I said, our restaurant now that we have grown, very versatile and I think it's. It's contributed to like our world and how it's grown and developed and keeping up with times. And what does that look like? I always say that if you could have your perfect restaurant, I think that you should have all the avenues. I think you should have seating. I think you should have walk up. I think you should have drive through. I just think it makes it easy for the customer, easy. Customer for them to come in and whatever is easiest for them like a mom is, all the kids in the cars it's really hard for me to get all four of my kids out of the car and walk into a restaurant but if they have Drive thru then and I'm gonna pick the drive thru. but anyways, yeah, so they come in they place order carry out and to go So yeah, I hope that answered the question

Jeremy: 5:50

And now a word from one of our sponsors. Every restaurant operator understands the chaos of a Restaurant kitchen during the meal rush restaurant technologies, oil, total oil management solutions, and end to end automated oil management system that delivers filters, monitors, and recycles your cooking oil, taking the dirtiest jobs out of your kitchen and letting your employees focus on more important tasks. Control the kitchen chaos with restaurant technologies and make your kitchen safer. No upfront costs to learn more, check out rti inc. com or call 888 796 4997. Yeah, no, it absolutely did. you alluded to, Italian beef, obviously there's a very popular show on TV that kind of is inside of the world of Chicago. I selfishly, or not selfishly, I guess years ago, there's a guy that used to work for us. Steven Draco. I'm still friends with him. He works for Vienna Beef and great dude. Chicago guy, distributes Vienna Beef and good guy. But he took me from my very first time, probably 20 years ago, and he actually made me try a bunch of whole different, whole series of different Chicago style foods. So for those that are less familiar with that brand or that, that product even, because it's. Different. It is a very Chicago staple that now, the likes of Portillo's and others are getting out to the masses, but you grew up with it. I got to experience it 20 plus years ago with Steve, because he's from Chicago. He's dude, you got to try this stuff. Wait, let me, but walk us through even what is a time, but if you, it's something that you guys pride yourself on something you guys do in house, but it's not all Italian beef is created equal, and it's a very specific genre to the reason that you guys are looking to expand that pallet out to the rest of the country.

Kacie Dancy: 7:27

it, it starts with the first chunk of meat when you get it, we're very specific on what kind of meat, what that comes in our door right now, we're using a kosher meat from Nebraska. and it's an outside brown is very specific to in the cow where it is. And, I think it all the small details play a part into what that final flavor tastes like. And one of our growing pains as we were growing our franchise, waters and gravy, it's 99 percent water, right? And so all the different areas have different water tastes. And so we were noticing that all the beef wasn't tasting the same and then it came down to the water. And now, the filtration. process that you have to do with the water to make the meatball taste the same. Now, but yes, each store cooks and slices it, in, in house. And so it's funny the first time people come and eat a sandwich, they think they're ordering almost like a cold cut sub. And so the first time people are like, Oh, mustard and mayo, or I'll have pickles or whatever. And I'm like, Oh no, that's not how you do it. And you got to get it dunked and dipped in the gravy and it's a soggy and it's falling apart. And then you got to garnish it with the peppers that are, we make it those in house, and it's a little different. So jardiniere, obviously everybody doesn't know that term either. but we have our own spin on our jardiniere. It's what we're famous for, I think, so to say. And so you can't have our beef sandwich if you don't, I think, without the jardiniere in it. But we also have sweet peppers or mild jardiniere. That's normally how it's served. So it's either cheese, mozzarella, or liquid cheddar. And it's supposed to be, I think the messier the sandwich is, the more delicious it is. And it's, it, you're right. You're so right. It is definitely native to our area. And so when I go other places, even when we go on vacation and I'm like, can I have a side of jardiniere? And they look at me like I'm crazy. Like what's jardiniere? I'm like, Oh gosh, you guys are missing out.

Jeremy: 8:55

and it's so funny that you say that, but it's true. And again, Portillo's and not, I'm sure they're a direct competition, but they also have now started expanding nationally. I remember our, one of our board members at our company, he's from Chicago. or he was originally from Iowa, moved to Chicago because everybody from Iowa needs to get out of Iowa at some point, unless they're farming back in Iowa. And so he moved to Chicago, he moved to the big city. and when, anytime I would go buy a Portillo's in Southern California, I would bring him a sandwich because it was like being back home. And now he lives in Phoenix and they've got a bunch of them there. But again, you talk about it. it's a hot sandwich. You talked about dunking. It's on a French roll. it's just such a different experience. And then for those that aren't familiar with even what Tardenaire is. Talk me through that. I'm very familiar with it. I'm a sweet and hot peppers person. I actually like the Italian combo with an Italian sausage and beef on top of it. That's my favorite. so

Kacie Dancy: 9:46

So there's different parts of charmere and what's cool is it's a pickled I guess the best way to say it is it's pickled and they different flavors of hotness mild medium hot We have two in our store. We have a mild, which is like your traditional with the carrots and the celery and, the peppers within it. And then our one that's proprietary to us, that's only pepper celery. And then of course it's in it, like it's a oil based and it's got the red pepper flakes in it. That gives it the kick. And, what's really cool is that the same ingredients in our hot peppers is the same ingredients we use to make our Italian beef. So it marries those two flavors together and it is just the best sandwich in the whole world. And I'm not saying that cause I grew up in it. I truly believe it. Yes.

Jeremy: 10:23

love that. I love that. So talk me through, you guys are, you guys have expanded. You talked about some of the pain and suffering as you guys have expanded beyond the first couple of units. You have challenges because the bread is going to be different. The beef is going to be different. The water is going to be different. Talk me through how you guys think about that as a brand and as a organization, because consistency of product and making sure that the product is as high quality as possible is critical to ensuring the success of that restaurant. And so if I'm used to coming there and I'm, I grew up on the sandwich and then you put a store in Phoenix and it doesn't taste anywhere close to the same, you're going to be like, what the heck, this doesn't taste right. So talk me through how you guys even consider that and what you're guys You know, market development phases look like as you guys are trying to make sure that the product stays consistent as you get beyond the kind of core.

Kacie Dancy: 11:10

I think that, and we have certainly fallen on our face in this, we have moved up in as far as, like I said, Kalamazoo, which is Michigan, which two hour drive, right? We put it on a college campus and, best of both. We thought it was going to be amazing. It's not a college campus, the town to support. Port is a big town. and again, you fall on your face when you learn these hard things that you didn't think about. And of course a lot of learning experience, big learning curve. there's someone now in house that has worked for us for 20 plus years, that is the guy that goes around each store and, of course, tastes the sandwiches. And it's like a. a mystery shop deal. It's not a scheduled visit that he comes in, but he's certainly, and then my father, who's the CEO of the company is still very much involved. He will pop in and taste that beef and taste the sausage and take, just to make sure all the products. And I think that's the best way to do it is a mystery shop. A secret shop to make sure. And then of course, a lot of it comes down to training. Are they being trained? Is it, is it the right person? They're not just putting, Joe Schmo off the street onto the grill to, to do it for the first time. Or certainly not to cook and slice the beef every morning if they've never, if they haven't done it multiple times. And so I think when that comes down to it, it comes down to training and then, we're learning as we go too. we've thought certainly about doing commissary because of course, if we wanted everything to be exactly the same commissary would be our way to go. but right now it takes away from our brand right now in our story and kind of the thought behind our brand and the cooked and fresh, daily and trying to keep everything, as fresh as possible for that customer. right now we're not there yet. And so that's why I say it's, we're not willing to go out of market bar, far out of market. Until we have that all figured out, because of course, customer, We don't want to let a customer down, and we don't want to mislead a customer to come to one of our restaurants, and then they come, and that's not the experience that they're used to back in Chicago. And we're certainly not there yet, but like I said, we're in Illinois and Indiana right now, and I hope to grow that number continually as we go on in the years. But, certainly, it's not easy. Lots of growing pains.

Jeremy: 12:58

Absolutely. And haven't been in the restaurant industry for 30 plus years. I've watched it. I've watched people struggle and I've watched people, make the same types of mistakes, which is why where some of these questions come from. Casey, I'm going to flip around a little bit. Something you said on your intro, you talked about how passionate you Your stores are about being part of the local community. And I philosophically believe that restaurants are the heart of many communities because that's where people congregate. That's where people celebrate. That's where people mourn. They do a lot of things inside of restaurants around the table and around food. Obviously COVID, took a big hit. Bite out of all of us as it relates to that. But as things have come back around, why is that such a critical component to what it is that you guys do? Because it, you put it out in the front, which means it's something that's important to you guys. It's important to be part of that community. Why is that such a critical component that, that they live in are part of that community, towards the growth and the success of what it is that you guys do.

Kacie Dancy: 13:51

Because I will certainly say, and the pandemic was a huge eye-opener for us. If we wouldn't have had the support of the community, I don't know, we would still be here today. And when I say that, it's because. like I said, we're an integral part of the community. we have had, it's crazy. We've had people that started in our restaurant, 40 years ago, one of the first employees and now their kids are working for us or their grandkids are working for us. And so during that pandemic, you know what it was like. it was ghost towns, but we never, we never really shut down. And of course, we've lost a lot of our employees, but of course, like a lot of people have lost their jobs as well. So there was teachers that lost their jobs that worked for us years ago that had come into our restaurant to help us out just to, like I said, help. And so I think that a community support, not only are you serving hopefully a great product and giving them a good experience, but they're also helping you stay in business. And so I always say customers are great, but your fans, and when you turn those customers into fans and then family, your business, it's almost a no fail. and I will say married with treating your employees like family, I think then as far as a restaurant goes, you're not just another, no one's dream job is to work the line at a restaurant. And I always say that's nobody's dream job. I think when they're family to you, and I think that, the things that we've talked about in growing up in the restaurants and teaching all the things that, you know, that they learn as far as getting scheduling and, missing Saturday night out with your friends, but having to go into work. I just think that it's a huge learning curve, obviously, for them and for us, but, Being part of the community, we do fundraisers like all of our fundraisers as far as like the bounce back nights and and like you said like we cater people's funerals. we cater people's baby showers We can you know, all the circle of life we cater people's weddings And so it is so cool to get to know those families and to be a part of their families And then you see them get married and then you're like, oh, how's that? and then they get pregnant and then The baby. And like I said, and then they grow up and then they're 16 before and then they're working alongside of you. So it's cool to see. And people always ask, oh, do you have employment issues? And of course we have employment issues, but not as much as I would say, as your local corner franchise, not just like a McDonald's or something else. just because we are such an integral part of the community.

Jeremy: 15:49

Growing your business can mean big time logistical questions like, how am I going to keep up with all these local deliveries? Let UberDirect offer you a helping hand. With UberDirect, you can take orders on your website, via app, or by phone. Then drivers who are part of the Uber courier network will pick them up from your store and deliver them to your customer's doorsteps. Sounds simple, right? Delivery just got better with UberDirect. Check out uberdirect. com to learn more. Yeah. And it's funny. You tell the story. I, there was a diner that I grew up going to with my grandparents and when my grandmother passed away. we went back to that diner and the kids of the owners, the great kids of the owners were serving us our breakfast that morning at the diner. And these are kids that I grew up running alongside of and their kids now are serving me because they're now in their, in their teens and twenties. But I grew up alongside of the kids growing when I was six years old. And so my dad was actually telling some of that story the other day. And it's funny, but to your point, That place is one of the places when I go back to my grandparents' community that I go to, because John and Ke watched me grow up. They peeled my hot dogs. they changed my diaper in the back when I was little because my grandfather wouldn't do it. as silly as that sounds, but it's true. and I love that you guys put that on the forefront of what it is that you guys do. So thank you for sharing that. thank you for sharing that story. just once again, Casey, you talked about the original model when you guys got upset at the first store was a license agreement. Now you're doing a franchise. I guess in your mind, can you describe what that, what does that mean to you so that I can get into what does it look like and what is it that you guys are looking for in potential partners to grow the brand and beyond the 16 stores you guys are in today?

Kacie Dancy: 17:20

So the licensing agreement was very much so that as they opened, they opened their own mom and pop shop, right? So licensing was just to use the brand and use the name. but it wasn't as specific on to make sure you had the same experience if you were at one location versus another. And so when the, it was the government that kind of came after us and said, ah, you have too many locations here. What are we doing? You're operating as a franchise, but you have licensing agreements. So that's when in 2010, we became a franchise. And so now I'm growing and there's been certainly a lot of growing pains, there as well. Because if you are licensing agreement and working as a mom and pop shop, now we're coming and saying, Hey, you got to use this. You got to do that. we're not, this is not brands, so there's been definitely growing pains there, but as we grow, we see the benefit, the power of numbers. And to advertise for 16 stores versus one stores, a lot more beneficial to do it, especially, I know you're into technology and all the things that have come to grow. And so a lot of our franchisees are older. And so they're not, some of our locations still take orders with pen and paper, like an old school diner, like you said, and you put it back in the kitchen and they're looking at it. And Definitely, about half our locations are up to date in the technology and the other half are not so much. And, we have KDS screens in the back of the kitchen that for ease of, reading a note because a lot of times we'll be like, oh, we can't see. Is that a K? so

Jeremy: 18:25

what does that mean?

Kacie Dancy: 18:26

what does that mean? So in a lot of ways technology has helped us fast forward that. But again, like anybody else, I think we still have our woes as far as Being from a franchise or from a licensing agreement to a franchise. and then the growth structure, I think that it'll help us continue to grow. as the more unified we are. And so that's why, like I said, we're still at pain points, of course, of things that they would like to do differently. but it's been gosh, 13 years, or 14 years, excuse me. And I finally feel that we, I, every year we get a little bit better, a little bit better, a little bit better as far as, when you go into one location, you still get the same feel as when you're in your, the original location. so yeah, I think that, yes, franchising, obviously, especially beyond state bounds, is the way to go.

Jeremy: 19:10

Yeah. So talk to me a little bit about what it is, what is it you talked about non traditionally you talked about being inside of a casino, you talked about being inside of a gas station, you talked about being in a small little, takeout only what is an ideal franchisee look like? is it in line? is it standalone? Is it drive thru? Is it an end cap? as people have started to consume food in different ways, you talk about, you talk about all of these different ordering modes. your traditional subway, Jimmy John's fits a certain model. A Chick fil A obviously fits a different model. And, some of these national brands, we recognize what they look like. But for those that aren't familiar, what is Pops looking for? Is it an inline? Is it a standalone building? Is it a 5, 000 square foot? Is it 2, 500 square foot? Is it 10, 000 square feet? What is it that you guys are looking for in properties and then really in, in franchise partners, as you guys are going out to try and grow? Okay. Yep. Yep.

Kacie Dancy: 20:23

I would have the drive thru, I would have the seating, I would have, casino, they have the small casino on the side. that's another form of revenue. I think you need to take advantage of every form of revenue. on the flip side of that, I will say that what I do love about our structure is it's specific to you and all I would hope is that, When we do that initial interview process for the franchisee that wants to come on board with us, is that you share those same values. that, you're not just looking to put anybody in your store to run your store. that you will have a hand in what goes on and who's working the store, if not yourself. you definitely can see a difference when someone just throws any old manager in on that. And I think the customer can feel it as well as, like I said, not only from the taste of the quality to the, the customer experience when they're first ordering. so I, I would like to say that I would hope that they would share the same core values. And if not, then it's really not a good match. But what I like about it is we're very versatile as far as what works for you. if you only had a small piece property, we can make that work. If you had a large piece property, if you wanted to rent, if you wanted to own. again, we're very versatile and our royalty structure is very low. And so with that being said, my dad, he never left the store for his first X amount of years. And so he knows how hard he had to work to build his restaurant and build this brand. And so he, as little as possible wants to take that from the next friend, the next kind of generation of franchisees, because it's very hard to open your own restaurant. what is it? The first year, I think 60 percent of franchisee or a restaurant's fail. And within the first five years, 80%. And so he understands all that he understands, what it takes to really get an, a restaurant up and running and, he wants, to make our franchisees as successful as possible, but also have that working relationship where, yes, we want you to be successful, but we also want you to have our core values, and to have that customer have that same experience, whether it is a gas station or whether it is a standalone or whether it is a drive thru.

Jeremy: 22:05

that's awesome, because you don't find a lot of franchise groups that are willing to, be open to the format, which I love that you guys are able to make those things work. Ironically, I was watching a YouTube video within the last 48 hours, and Of a lady that was running a Japanese restaurant at the bottom of a subway station. It was Bon Appetit or something. And it's and she was, it's in a subway station in New York City and she's doing crazy volume and has full seating for six months out. And, but it's like those non traditional venues to be able to really, Impact the community is great. And with that, I guess one of the other questions that we get asked a lot on the franchise model is, are you guys looking for established franchises that already have a bulk of other brands? Or are you guys looking for those on our operators that are looking to make it, get, one or two properties for themselves or their family to be able to be able to grow.

Kacie Dancy: 22:53

So that's funny. My dad, obviously being the one that had the growing pains of growing the business for, and kind of me being the next generation of seeing growth and what does that look like? And the reason our growth plan is so slow is because if he would have his way, he would only sign on franchisees that were going to work their restaurant. they would definitely not be multi, unit operators, and they would certainly not be these corporations that buy these brand and, So far, so on and so forth, but as obviously, that's the way of the world right now. And, these groups are the way to grow your brand. And so again, I think it goes back to, is it a good fit? I think that conversation would be had. And as far as what that's going to look like, who are going to run your stores, of course, multi unit operators are, are great. We have a bunch of them and ironically they are all family owned. We have one guy that's an operator, he has 10 children. three, three of his children all own locations and so it's cool. We have a we have another one. That's a four unit operator They're all brothers. Each brother has a location and then they all own one together So it's very cool to see that the family family dynamic is still within our franchisees but of course we still have one off operators and like I said, it just has to be a good fit I think it's not so much like cookie cutter and that's what diversifies our brand. It's not cookie cutter as much as it is being a franchise, if that makes any

Jeremy: 24:06

but it's franchise, but like you said, you guys give some level of autonomy to allow them to be part of the local community. They can't go change the beef recipe, but they can do different LTOs or different things that are related to the local community that they can support the school or this project that's going on and

Kacie Dancy: 24:21

I love it.

Jeremy: 24:22

sounds like

Kacie Dancy: 24:23

Yup. Now on the head.

Jeremy: 24:25

I'm going to turn the script a little bit on you and talk to you. You've got four kids. I believe you said before we hit record that you're married. What's the family order when you guys go into the store, what's the family order for those that maybe show up and it's like, Hey, this is what I get. This is what my husband gets. Don't even tell me all, but you got four kids. What do they, what do you guys order? What's your favorite? What's your

Kacie Dancy: 24:43

dogs.

Jeremy: 24:44

items? Hot dogs.

Kacie Dancy: 24:45

Hot dogs and it was just actually a crazy story. So it's national hot dog day last Wednesday in case you didn't know. and we our brand 13, 13 13, 284 hot dogs we sold in one day and so Hot dogs, although our beef is what we're best known for the hot dogs are what we sell the most of and so again, it's a proprietary to us and they always My dad is very specific when choosing the flavor profile that there's no seeds on our buns, which I know is not always good when people from Chicago want to hear the traditional Chicago dog does have seeds on the bun. And but my daughter calls them polka dots. she's, I don't like my polka dots on my bun mom. So she does the hot dog. my son will do a cheeseburger. my little guy does chicken nuggets. I normally do a beef for combo. I'm a sucker for a beef and combo. And then my husband actually loves the chicken pita. We have a guy, and so we've, I've grown up on it, right? I've eaten there my whole life. And so we have a guy that's worked there forever and ever. And so my husband walks in and he's Can you just make me something, And he puts his untraditional spin on our traditional menu. And I, it's easier for me to continue to eat the own, like the same food over and over. But my husband's always What else can I try?

Jeremy: 25:47

that's

Kacie Dancy: 25:48

I need something different. So he's always more willing to switch it up. I stick to chicken or beef usually

Jeremy: 25:54

So it's funny you say that there's, I'll tell you two quick stories. So I had a couple on who started biscuit belly out of Louisville, Kentucky a couple of weeks ago and we were talking about it and I was, I said the exact same thing to, to, to that couple and the husband's it's traditional, it's what's on the menu. This is what I'm ordering. And the wife's nope, and she's arguing with him on the show saying, I change it up every time. And then the second story is my wife worked at In N Out growing up and the way she gets her French fries with spread and lemon juice. Like she never eats lemons on anything else, but when she goes to In N Out for her French fries, she puts lemons on and does spread and grilled onions or whatever it is. I'm like, why is it this way? But to your point, when you eat it every day, you can change it up. And

Kacie Dancy: 26:34

Yeah, absolutely. So it's funny.

Jeremy: 26:37

thank you for telling a couple of stories of the crew at home. how do people get in touch? How do people learn more about what pops could do for them? and, if I'm intrigued, I've sat and listened and I'm like, you know what, I've always wanted to, I grew up on it and I moved out of town or, I've been wanting to get into the restaurant business, but I think this would be a great thing for the community that I'm in. How do they learn more? How do they, how do they engage with your franchise community and see what makes sense.

Kacie Dancy: 26:59

on our website, we have a franchise fill out form. Like it's a real small name in email, where you're looking. It's real generic, so to say. then we'll have someone from our team contact you back. if you're just more interested and want to, chat about the brand and look into it, I would say our social pages, Facebook is obviously a great place to get a feel for our restaurant. we just actually brought all that in house. So there's someone at the store daily kind of taking pictures and, just giving you a feel for our brand, not just like a generic picture of a cheeseburger or a generic picture of a salad. I love when social media is like that real time, there's someone, there's a face at the restaurant that's actually running your social page, not some, third party. And so she does a really good job. So if you're looking just to feel for our brand, I would definitely say check out Facebook. If you're looking to open our franchise, please email us. We also have a, info at popsbeef. com. You can email in, that, that's the same. Email that the website will take you to but yeah, I would you know, love any inquiries if it's a good fit It's a good fit. We love that but we are specific, we are picky and I would say That's why our growth has been slow But I we're really proud of our brain and we're really proud of the franchisees we have and I think that's not something you Can always find and yeah

Jeremy: 28:02

love that. And having done this for quite some time, I think the fact that slow growth, often picking the right partnerships and making sure that you can help make them successful is really critical to ensuring that the brand gets out there. and sustains beyond just the, and, I'll, I'll do an ode to a previous guest who a lot of the listeners know, Sean Walsh, chef out of San Diego. He does his own social media and he's constantly, he's built a restaurateur, barbecue place in San Diego that has built a media company because his, saying, and he talks about it all the time is nobody's coming to tell your story. You've got to tell the story of your customers and your brand and what it is that you're doing. So the fact that you guys are. On that, on that, I commend you because too many restaurants post these very glossy pictures of that burger is not really going to look this way. and you go in and you're like disappointed. You're like, this thing was supposed to sing to me and have coming off of it and it's not doing that. Congratulations for, for that. And Casey, thank you so much for telling the story. I love that, that you guys are doing this. I love that you came on to our listeners, guys. Like I said, at the onsite, you guys, have lots of choices. So thank you guys for spending time with us. If you guys have got, other people you guys would like to hear on the show, send them my way. And Casey, thank you for your time. Thank your dad for, founding the brand and,

Kacie Dancy: 29:08

I'll forward the message.

Jeremy: 29:09

and make it a great day.

29:12

Thanks for listening to the Restaurant Technology Guys podcast. Visit www. RestaurantTechnologyGuys. com for tips, industry insights, and more to help you run your restaurant better.