Franchise Rankings & Awards
Franchise Update Media recognizes the leaders shaping the multi-unit franchise industry through its annual rankings and awards programs. Four times a year, we publish lists highlighting the country’s largest franchisees by total units, the brands they operate, and where they do business—offering insight into how these top operators have built and scaled their success. Each year, we also present our MVP Awards, honoring multi-unit franchisees across several categories of excellence, along with our STAR Awards, which recognize outstanding performance in franchise development, recruitment, and responsiveness. Explore these rankings and award winners to learn from the best and brightest in the industry and discover the strategies behind their achievements.
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July 31st, 2026
 Born in San Antonio, TX back in 1952, Church’s® is a quick service restaurant famous for their handcrafted, hand-battered fried chicken, homestyle southern sides, and Bold Texas Flavor®.
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Sam Covelli says he grew up in the restaurant business working in his father's McDonald's. Under his father's leadership, Covelli Enterprises eventually grew to 26 locations, one of the largest McDonald's franchisees in the country.
- Tracy Staton
- 32,638 Reads 3 Shares
"Sometimes interesting things happen in a bad economy," says Dawn Lafreeda, CEO and president of Den-Tex Central Inc. in San Antonio.
- Debbie Selinsky
- 15,833 Reads 1 Shares
Tom DiMarco knows his numbers--and they're getting bigger every year.
- John Carroll
- 5,663 Reads 5 Shares
On the cusp of turning 30, Bryan Selden was looking to grow his business.
- John Carroll
- 5,191 Reads
Because of my 25-plus years devoted to best-practice hiring techniques, I may be thought of as an "old dog" by some, but that doesn't mean I can't learn any new tricks, and I picked up a few at the recent Multi-Unit Franchising Conference in Las Vegas.
- Mel Kleiman
- 5,548 Reads 24 Shares
Social Media has certainly proven to be a fantastic medium to cross-reference opinions, insight and perspectives. I often utilize Social Media to gain varying thoughts from both within and outside the franchise community.
- Paul R Segreto
- 20,900 Reads 1,020 Shares
For most multi-unit franchisees, the need for dependable hard-working employees is paramount to creating a successful unit. Face it, without top-performing employees, there's really no chance of having a top-performing unit. This makes recruiting employees a top priority. Yet many multi-unit operators still struggle with finding, hiring, and retaining great employees. But there's hope - and at least 10 proven ideas you can try.
- Kerry Pipes
- 6,230 Reads 278 Shares
One evening in 1982, Iris Cohn's husband, Dick, came home and told the family he wanted to open a Taco Bell restaurant in the Chicago area. So the couple took their daughter, Jennifer, to one of the restaurants, where they proceeded to order one of every item on the menu. "We were hooked," she recalls. Putting everything on the line, the Cohns became the first Taco Bell franchisees in the Chicago metro area, growing steadily over the years to become one of the brand's largest franchisees.
- Debbie Selinsky
- 11,530 Reads 2 Shares
The idea of operating a Taco Bell restaurant first came to Iris Cohn one evening in 1982.
That's when her husband, Dick, came home and told the family he wanted to open a Taco Bell in the Chicago area. So the couple took their daughter, Jennifer, to one of the restaurants, where they proceeded to order one of every item on the menu. "We were hooked," she recalls. Putting everything on the line, the Cohns became the first Taco Bell franchisees in the Chicago metro area, growing steadily over the years to become one of the brand's largest franchisees.
- Debbie Selinsky
- 6,746 Reads 55 Shares
Retaining employees is an ongoing challenge for new franchisees -- and a key ingredient in building a successful business. After training employees to do their jobs well, the franchisee's goal is to retain them as productive, reliable workers. It costs much more to hire and train replacements than it does to work with current employees to improve their job performance.
- Eddy Goldberg
- 29,321 Reads 5 Shares
When Indianapolis native Greg Willman and his friend Phil Salsbery talked years ago about forming a small investment company or owning and operating franchise concepts, they consciously omitted the restaurants category. "Neither of us knew anything about the food industry or had any experience in it," recalls Willman, who had worked in marketing and product development at large pharmaceutical, chemical, and medical device corporations.
- Debbie Selinsky
- 10,193 Reads 1 Shares
Many new franchisees discover that they love being a franchise operator but often quickly learn that they can't always be in the store overseeing operations at all times. This is especially true as single unit operators expand. Since hourly employees typically need oversight, guidance, and sometimes redirection, many franchisee operators often turn to unit managers to help them keep the unit operating at maximum efficiencies. It's this "point man" who often wields the knowledge and power that can significantly affect a franchisee's bottom line. Naturally, you want talented and motivated managers.
- Kerry Pipes
- 22,321 Reads 3 Shares
Your hourly employees…they're the face of your franchise business. They greet and serve customers and are essentially the cornerstone of your customer service efforts. So it only makes sense that if you've gone to the effort to recruit right that you would want to make sure that you keep those top employees happy and motivated. You might be surprised how poorly some franchise operators actually are when it comes to motivating their hourly employees.
- Kerry Pipes
- 26,802 Reads 3 Shares
Shiny objects marketing is a simple principle, ancient in origin and easy to apply. From open-air markets in Nepal to the local mall, everyone tries to make their product or service stand out. Yet many savvy entrepreneurs fail to grasp the full meaning of this elementary skill and run into difficulties when trying to put it into practice.
- Dave LaBonte
- 4,803 Reads 72 Shares
Gina Puente learned about hard work, tenacity, and the power of cash at the feet of her father, "working" in his office equipment business from the age of eight... when she wasn't busy with commercials and pageants.
- Debbie Selinsky
- 6,333 Reads 181 Shares
Franchise Update Media Group (FUMG), the leading industry resource for franchise development, announces the winners of the first-ever All-Pro Sales Awards. The competition was held as part of the Franchise Leadership & Development Conference in Atlanta at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead, Sept. 22-24, 2010. Two teams participated in the live, on-stage unscripted competition for the All-Pro Sales Team award, and each team's Best Performance awards. The winners were determined by a panel of judges and the audience.
- PRESS RELEASE
- 3,467 Reads 15 Shares
Gina Puente learned about hard work, tenacity, and the power of cash at the knees of her father, "working" in his office equipment business from the age of eight... when she wasn't busy with commercials and pageants.
- Debbie Selinsky
- 6,616 Reads 1 Shares
A couple of weeks before any speaking engagement, I distribute a 10-question survey to the meeting participants so I am well prepared to cover their most pressing concerns. One of the questions I ask is: "What is your best source for new employees?" Some of the possible answers are: "billboards, internal promotion, the Internet, job fairs, newspapers, referrals, schools, signage, and walk-ins."
- Mel Kleiman
- 6,914 Reads 261 Shares
In the late 1970s, David Griffin set out to build an auto detailing business. Some years later, he found himself at the helm of a large, scattered operation. He'd opened five separate locations in Utah, including a large central complex, along with an independent chemical business and distribution center that provided the materials he needed to clean vehicles for local retail consumers, car dealers, and the large, national Manheim auto auction company.
- John Carroll
- 9,299 Reads
When Bill McPherson was growing up in the San Fernando Valley, he dreamed of being a professional basketball player. He was good enough to get a scholarship to the University of California at Irvine.
- Debbie Selinsky
- 4,677 Reads 3 Shares
Take control at the outset of your selling process and you'll accelerate your recruiting success. It sets the stage for your entire relationship. Sales pros agree your first session with qualified prospects who have sent their applications is the ideal opportunity to begin closing. It can make the difference between celebrating another franchise sale - or losing another candidate who drifts from your reach.
- 2,812 Reads 1 Shares
In the chronicles of franchising history, some names come immediately to mind - Ray Kroc, S. Truett Cathy, Dave Thomas. The names conjure up images of independent-minded entrepreneurs with the savvy, know-how, and vision to create successful business models replicable anywhere. As part of the celebration of Franchise UPDATE's 20th anniversary, we look back at some of these colorful, inspiring, and sometimes controversial characters.
- Kerry Pipes
- 6,767 Reads 15 Shares
When Liz Goodwin of Durham, N.C., was announced as the Curves Franchisee of the Year for the Southeastern Region last October, a cry went up from across the Las Vegas hotel ballroom.
- Debbie Selinsky
- 4,937 Reads 20 Shares
Getting laid off by United Airlines in the 1982 recession was perhaps the best business move Regina and Jerry Lillie ever made (even if they didn't actually make it themselves).
- Eddy Goldberg and Kerry Pipes
- 4,492 Reads 3 Shares
Jim Valentine began his franchising career as a McDonald's crew member more than 33 years ago. During his first 12 years in franchising, he was frequently promoted until he became the supervisor of several McDonald's restaurants. That's when he decided to gather all his accumulated knowledge and experience and try his hand at franchise ownership.
- Eddy Goldberg and Kerry Pipes
- 4,274 Reads 7 Shares
Business owners understand the importance of advertising and the need to maximize how their dollars are spent. But how do you do that? For multi-unit franchise operators, much is at stake. Here's a look at what four area developers have done to make the most of their advertising spending.
- Kerry Pipes
- 5,781 Reads 51 Shares
Satisfying your customers is a misguided effort. Creating loyal customers should be your only goal. Loyal customers spread positive word of mouth for you: they come back frequently and they spend more on each visit. Plus, they're more likely to resist offers from your competition and they're usually easier to serve.
- Jack Mackey
- 4,464 Reads 13 Shares
In the world of ice cream retailing, many believe that mix-ins and premium ice cream originated in 1973 when Steve Herrell opened the now-legendary Steve’s in Somerville, Massachusetts. Today’s brands make those days seem almost quaint, like Henry Ford’s Model T in a world of 200-mph Ferraris.
- Eddy Goldberg
- 3,038 Reads 17 Shares
March 30th marked another celebration of outstanding achievement in multi-unit franchising when the 2006 FAB Awards were presented to four franchisee winners who demonstrated a level of performance resulting in significant contributions to franchisor systems. At the JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort, Spa & Golf, attendees got to see franchising at its best at the Fifth Annual Multi-Unit Franchising Development Conference & Expo.
- Carren Bersch
- 5,199 Reads 29 Shares
Jacques Lapointe founded Jan-Pro in 1991, and over the next 15 years grew the commercial cleaning company to more than 75 master franchisees and 4,500 unit franchisees. He had a solid business model, continuous and solid growth, and was looking for a way to take the company to the next level. But the day-to-day details, which were no longer challenging but still required his attention, kept him from focusing on strategic growth.
- Eddy Goldberg
- 12,999 Reads 4 Shares
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