Band of Brothers: Houston Trio Named Twin Peaks Franchisee of the Year

Brothers Joe, Ricky, and John Rosa were no strangers to the restaurant business. The three had grown up working in the Italian restaurant their mother and father operated. Ricky even went on to operate his own restaurant for three decades.

But three years ago when the Houston trio saw a television news story on "Nightline" detailing new restaurant concepts that were thriving in a down economy, they took note. One of the restaurants in the story was Texas-based Twin Peaks, a casual restaurant known for its mountain sports lodge setting and attractive female servers.

"We were looking for the right concept to invest in," says Ricky Rosa. "After watching that special and meeting with the Twin Peaks executive team, it was clear Twin Peaks was the right fit for us."

So the brothers created The Avalanche Food Group in 2009 and opened their first Twin Peaks restaurant near Houston. They must be doing something right because the franchise recently named them "Franchisee of the Year." The award was handed out at the IFA Public Affairs Conference in Washington, DC on September 13-14.

"Twin Peaks CEO Randy DeWitt says the brothers are deserving of the award. "They operate the most successful franchise location in our system and are excellent representatives of everything we stand for."

The Rosa brothers currently operate one Twin Peaks restaurant near Houston and plan to open a second location by the end of the year. Plans call for them to open 5 more locations during the next 6 years.