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Name: Raj Patel
Title: President
Company: The Hari Group
No. of units: 104 Dunkin’, 23 Dave’s Hot Chicken, 7 McAlister’s Deli, 2 Tide Cleaners
Age: 38
Family: Wife and 2 daughters
Years in franchising: 15
Years in current position: 15
“Leadership matters as much as the brand, and relationships matter more than money.”
As the son of a Dunkin’ franchisee and now the owner of more than 100 Dunkin’ locations, Raj Patel might have seemed destined to follow in his father’s footsteps. But his career path was not always so clear. Initially drawn to investment banking, Patel interned with Smith Barney and Merrill Lynch, gaining early exposure to the world of finance. Ultimately, the allure of the restaurant industry and the opportunity to build and scale a business led him to franchise ownership.
“I didn’t go to school to become a franchisee, but I knew I wanted to control my own destiny,” Patel says. “I don’t think there is a better way to do that than in the restaurant industry. That may be the most lucrative industry in the world if you are willing to work hard and put in the time. Leadership matters as much as the brand, and relationships matter more than money. If younger franchisees can focus on those two principles, the sky is the limit.”
Patel got his start in franchising with Jersey Mike’s Subs at 23. He grew from one location to 12 in four years. During that time, an opportunity emerged to become a Dunkin’ franchisee, a move Patel viewed as the more established and lower-risk path. He sold his Jersey Mike’s locations, and his Dunkin’ ownership became the foundation of his entrepreneurial career.
Today, Patel serves as president of The Hari Group, which operates more than 130 units with Dunkin’, Dave’s Hot Chicken, McAlister’s Deli, and Tide Cleaners. His portfolio is poised for further expansion following a recent development agreement to bring approximately 30 Mike’s Red Taco restaurants to the Chicago market. In 2025, Patel reached a major milestone when he opened his 100th Dunkin’ location, which was also the brand’s 10,000th store.
“When you start off, you don’t always think you’ll get a certain number,” Patel says. “People don’t realize that the restaurant industry is a long grind to get to where you want to go. Even when you get to 100 units, you are still chasing and fighting. It was special, but the work is not done.”
With Dunkin’ and Dave’s Hot Chicken driving much of the growth, Patel would like to add roughly one unit per month across the portfolio and reach 200 locations within the next five to seven years. Despite operating five franchise concepts, Patel’s strategy is less about developing separate brands and more about building density within a region.
Today, The Hari Group has locations across six Midwestern states with the bulk of its units concentrated in Illinois and Indiana, an approach that allows the company to leverage its operational infrastructure and regional expertise across brands.
Even as Patel remains focused on day-to-day execution and continued growth, he occasionally steps back to reflect on how far the company has come over the past 15 years. He says progress comes from setting clear goals and manifesting them into reality.
“I didn’t think about 100 units and getting to where I am today,” Patel says. “In the back of my head, I knew where I wanted to go. Did I think we would get there this quickly? No. We rode a great wave, we picked great brands, and we were conservatively aggressive along the way. It has been quite a ride.”
First job: I interned at Merril Lynch for two summers while in high school.
Formative influences/events: My grandmother helped raise me and gave me old-school values. Entrepreneurship has always been in the family. My grandfather owned an appliance business in India before moving here, and my father was a franchise owner with Dunkin’.
Key accomplishments: Opening our 100th Dunkin’ location last year, which was also the 10,000th Dunkin’. Growing up, I thought 10 locations would have been a stretch.
Biggest current challenge: We are currently in the most uncertain environment in the past five years. Costs are rising, and we are seeing the middle class get hammered. Real estate and construction costs are increasing as well.
Next big goal: Double unit count at Dave’s in the next three years and continue a 10% growth annually with Dunkin’.
First turning point in your career: Having a bad business partner taught me how to communicate better with investors. It also taught me the importance of hiring good people for your team.
Best business decision: Working with local community banks. We never felt pressure from those banks after we opened. We know we can rebound from a down quarter, and community banks know your story, and there is mutual trust.
Hardest lesson learned: You can’t fix everything yourself, and you need a full team. You get what you pay for when it comes to the talent around you.
Work week: 24/7. There are no real days off.
Exercise/workout: I work with a personal trainer two to three times a week and work out at home three days a week.
Best advice you ever got: Leadership is as important as the brand is. It is something I learned from talking to people in the industry.
How do you balance life and work? They are intertwined throughout. I make sure I’m there for the important things at home, but when work calls, I make sure I am there to keep things moving. There really is no turning off.
Guilty pleasure: Golf.
Favorite book: Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell.
Favorite movie: “Good Will Hunting” and “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
What do most people not know about you? I really don’t know. I consider myself an open book.
Pet peeve: Laziness.
What did you want to be when you grew up? I always wanted to be in the financial world, working in investment banking, etc.
Last vacation: Paris and Saint-Tropez in July.
Person you’d most like to have lunch with: My dream would have been with Kobe Bryant.
Business philosophy: You get rich on doubles and singles. You don’t need a home run. The little deals can get you where you need to be.
Management method or style: I don’t know if you can have a single management style. It changes very quickly, and it all comes down to who we have in leadership and where.
Greatest challenge: The rising costs of labor and construction. We already pay employees above market wages, and they keep increasing. High construction costs change how aggressive I can get on certain deals.
How do others describe you? Passionate.
Have you ever been in a mentor-mentee relationship? What did you learn? Not in a conventional manner, but I have surrounded myself with people I can lean on during my life. I have people I trust to help me run the numbers and create banking relationships that have guided me.
One thing you’re looking to do better: Bringing on talented people faster. Sometimes, we have waited too long and have lost good people.
How do you give your team room to innovate and experiment? I have set boundaries on our basic goals; if it fits our end goal, they can do whatever it takes to get there. I can also trust our team, which makes things easier.
How close are you to operations? It depends on the brand and what is needed—some days more than others and some months more than others. It just depends on what the business needs at that time.
What are the two most important things you rely on from your franchisor? Growth and innovation.
What you need from vendors: Reliability and consistency. We also need them to be flexible because things don’t always go to plan, and we need them to work with us.
Have you changed your marketing strategy in response to the economy? No. You should change it based on who you are marketing to. Each generation is in a different place, so it’s not a one-size-fits-all approach.
How is social media affecting your business? It’s everything in every possible way. People look to social media for what to eat, when to eat, and where. It’s wild.
In what ways are you using technology (like AI) to manage your business? Our financial modeling is shifting to AI, and we also use it for projections. Accounting functions are being done with AI reconciliations and comparison reporting. We are also using AI to help with local store marketing.
How do you hire and fire? The goal has been speed to make quick decisions on both. If someone doesn’t fit our culture, we need to address it quickly.
How do you train and retain? By having a good leadership team, trusting them to lead by example, and creating an environment to keep talent engaged. Then provide consistent training, ongoing development, and opportunities for growth so that team members feel supported and want to stay.
How do you deal with problems with employees? Quickly. You can’t let problems stay. They will affect your whole team.
Fastest way into your doghouse: Through laziness and not following through.
Annual revenue: More than $100 million.
Goals over the next year: Increase the top-line revenue by 15%. There are two ways to look at that, which are same-store sales and new-unit growth.
Growth meter: How do you measure your growth? I don’t pay attention to unit count. It is all top-line and bottom-line revenue.
Vision meter: Where do you want to be in five years? 10 years? Within the next five years, we plan on bringing in two new brands and growing those into double digits. We have smart and sustainable growth. It’s as if we are going to keep these units forever. Is there a chance to sell in 10 years? Yes. But in that time, I would also be thrilled to reach 200 units. I just don’t know.
Do you have brands in different segments? Why/why not? Yes. Tide is part of our mix, but our focus right now is clearly on food. It’s what we do best, where we have the most experience, and where we see the strongest economies of scale.
How is the economy in your region(s) affecting you, your employees, your customers? The middle class is getting crushed, but the market is currently at an all-time high. There is not a one-size-fits-all approach to engaging guests, which is what makes things so difficult today.
Are you experiencing economic growth in your market? No. We are seeing a population decline now.
How do changes in the economy affect the way you do business? In 2020, I took my foot off the pedal to wait and see what happened, but some other brands didn’t. I learned that regardless of the direction of the economy, you should come out okay as long as you structure deals within your realm.
How do you forecast for your business? If you have a good brand and have developed it correctly and have good leadership, the goal should be positive same-store growth every year. But to forecast, we always keep sales flat, tick up cost of goods sold (COGS) and labor, and make sure we’re overly focused on the small things.
What are the best sources for capital expansion? Community banks and personal dollars.
Experience with private equity, local banks, national banks, other institutions? Why/why not? We only do business with small community banks that we know well, and they know us.
What are you doing to take care of your employees? We pay competitive wages and have retirement plans available in each of our brands.
How are you handling rising employee costs (payroll, minimum wage, healthcare, etc.)? We take the hits as they come. That’s why you always need to be growing in your top and bottom line.
What laws and regulations are affecting your business, and how are you dealing with them? The rising costs for minimum wage, food, and real estate are a three-headed monster. We need to see what is next. The IFA has lobbied for a fairer tax rule to help in that fight.
How do you reward/recognize top-performing employees? We have bonuses and internal recognition on a daily and weekly basis.
What kind of exit strategy do you have in place? I don’t have a strategy in mind right now. All the brands in our portfolio are very stable.