Why more careful selection is key to restaurant success

Fast growth isn’t necessarily the best growth.

This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast features Pete Pascuzzi, the CEO of MRI Heritage Brands, to discuss the best strategies for unit and franchise growth in a post-pandemic era.

MRI is a Texas company that operates several chains, including Uberrito, Casa Ole, Monterey’s Little Mexico, Tortuga and Crazy Joe’s.

Pascuzzi talks about why the company is more deliberative with its franchisee and site selection. A lot of mistakes are made when chains quickly get franchisees into the system and push them into bad sites. He talks generally about site availability and the cost of getting into locations these days.