Proud family legacies come together

Usually, diversifying is a business decision. For Tom McGwire, it was also a family decision.

"My parents met at a conference for family businesses," McGwire says. "My mom was there from Honey Baked Ham, and my dad was a third-generation owner of a manufacturing business that my great-grandfather started in 1921. He invented a product called the ceramic band heater."

Industrial Heater Corp in Connecticut makes parts for companies that build plastic components. It still makes the ceramic band heater, but it's a relatively small part of the business.

McGwire started doing assembly work on the production floor when he was 16. He went away to college, came back for a sales role, went away again, and returned to become the owner and CEO.

His family also has an ownership stake in Honey Baked Ham, which was started by his great-grandfather on his mother's side. Multiple family members have been franchisees.

"It's not very popular in New England. It's kind of ubiquitous in the Midwest, down South, California, and some places," McGwire says. "I would always be at my family's house out in Michigan, and they'd have it in the fridge all the time. They'd always be talking about it, trading war stories. I'd go home to Connecticut, and I'd tell my friends about Honey Baked Ham, and they didn't really know about it."

An uncle brought the franchise to New England, but it hasn't developed in the region as well as it has in other parts of the country. McGwire felt like something should be done.

"I was inspired at a shareholder meeting, and I said, 'How can I help?' I wanted to do my part and grow the brand in New England," he says.

He's the managing partner of Red House Connecticut, which bought two stores in Connecticut and then a third in New Jersey. A fourth restaurant is under construction in Rhode Island and expected to open by the end of the year. The plan is to develop a total of 10 Honey Baked Ham units.

Management and leadership skills carry over from Industrial Heater Corp. Food service and manufacturing are both regulated industries, so that wasn't a surprise., but there's been a learning curve to go from B2B to B2C.

"The standardization within the franchise system, I think, makes this business model easier to adapt to for an entrepreneur," he says. "In my manufacturing business, I can't call my competitor and ask him for his P&L. I can't ask them how much they're spending on labor. But in the franchise system, we have a whole network of stores that are successful."

He also has the benefit of a solid team. In addition to the experienced employees who came with the stores Red House Connecticut bought, McGwire has family members around the country who know what it takes to successfully operate Honey Baked Ham restaurants. He also has his dad and brothers to contribute, and his fiancé does bookkeeping and accounting for both of the family businesses.

"It always comes down to people," he says. "All businesses are hardworking people who come in every day and do a good job."

Now that he's at the helm of two family legacies, McGwire doesn't anticipate adding more brands. It's time to focus. "We have a lot to accomplish up here that we've committed to," he says. "I'm not going to waver from that until we're done."