Gold Star Chili Honored with Spot on Franchise Times 200+ List

By: Gold Star Chili | 1 Shares 475 Reads

Gold Star Chili is Recognized for Exceptional Business Practices in 2019

CINCINNATI (PRWEB) November 16, 2020 - Gold Star Chili is proud to announce it has been named a Franchise Times’ 200+ Honoree for 2019.

The Franchise Times Top 200+ is an annual ranking of the 500 largest franchise systems in the United States by global systemwide sales, based on the previous year’s performance. The list reflects many of the major trends in the restaurant industry, as well as the ability to grow. These year-end 2019 numbers serve as one final benchmark for the industry before the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything.

Roger David, president and CEO of GSR Brands, Gold Star Chili’s parent company, attributes the company’s success to staying attuned to consumers’ attitudes and behaviors throughout the shifting landscape of 2019 and beyond. “We stayed on top of the rich research data we had, and have,” David says, “and kept a finger on the pulse of consumer conversation and sentiment.”

Despite the myriad challenges posed by the COVID-19 outbreak, Gold Star Chili has maintained momentum through 2020, besting sales for the same year-to-date period in 2019. David said: “Prior to the State of Ohio shutdown on March 15, our sales were up 9.7 percent above 2019. From March 15 through the month of April, we went from 9+ percent up to down -0.5 percent. That was the major impact from COVID-19.”

With shelter-in-place and shutdown measures affecting all restaurant businesses, Gold Star Chili did experience the dip that was felt across the country. By pivoting to off-premise dining through drive-thru and carry-out options, as well as strategic partnerships with third-party delivery services and their newly launched online ordering platform, Gold Star was able to quickly pick up steam.

As David points out: “From the week ending May 3 through June 21, 2020, we have bounced back and are now up, surpassing last year’s sales by 7.4 percent.” He attributes the success of this period to the GSR Brands team’s focus and determination, crediting his executive team, franchisees and customers for tackling the challenges of the changing world head-on.

Bottom line, says David: “Our guests trusted us to do it right, and our marketing team communicated that very effectively.” GSR Brands’ well-established reputation over more than 50 years has instilled confidence for everyone involved, and has allowed the business to strengthen during this challenging period.

SOURCE Gold Star Chili

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