ALL IN THE FAMILY

Daughter continues family legacy at Cousins Subs.

OPEN YOUR OWN HIGH-PROFIT SUB SHOP

Concept: Founded in 1972, Cousins Subs is a restaurant specializing in East Coast-style submarine sandwiches made with the finest ingredients served on a variety of freshly-baked breads, along with salads, soups, chips and soft drinks.

Franchise Facts: Total investment ranges from $198,700 to $314,300, including a franchise fee of $25,000 for new franchisees and $15,000 for existing franchisees and a $5,000 Grand Opening fee. Continuing service fees are 6 percent of sales, a 2 percent national advertising fee of 2 percent and an additional 3 percent spent locally or toward an organized co-op.

Training and Support: Cousins Subs provides three days of classroom training at corporate headquarters and 30 days of in-store training. The company assists franchisees in site selection and restaurant construction as well as providing continuous operations and marketing support. Each franchisee has a field consultant and a marketing consultant who visit the shop regularly to advise on operations, marketing, cost controls and personnel, among other topics.

For more information, contact Cousins Subs, N83 W13400 Leon Road, Menomonee Falls, WI 53051. The phone is: 262-253-7700 www.cousinssubs.com

Ask any child what they want to be when they grow up and they will most likely answer, “I want to be just like my mom and dad.” Christine Specht, the daughter of Cousins Subs co-founder Bill Specht, is no exception.

Born in 1974, just two years after her father and his cousin, the late Jim Sheppard, opened the first Cousins Subs shop in Milwaukee, Christine literally grew up with the concept. By the age of 15, she was working part-time in her parents’ restaurants doing everything from making sandwiches, bussing tables and working the register. While she enjoyed the family business, Christine took a hiatus from Cousins while attending Marquette University and American University – where she earned a bachelor’s degree in criminology and a Master of Public Administration, respectively – and spent time volunteering with homeless families in Florida and working in a variety of legislative positions. By 2001, however, Christine realized she couldn’t deny her roots and returned to Cousins to head up the company’s newly-created human resources department.

“Coming back to Cousins was like putting on an old sweater: even though you haven’t worn it in a while, you still remember exactly how it feels and smells,” said Christine, now 34. “It’s what my family talked about around the dinner table my entire life. It’s part of who I am and to reintroduce something of that magnitude back into my life was a great feeling.”

After her return, Christine knew she would be with Cousins for the duration of her career but fate intervened to dictate in what capacity. As Bill and Jim aged, they no longer wanted to be involved with the company’s day-to-day minutiae and began searching for an individual capable of continuing Cousins’ commitment to excellence well into the future. When Jim passed away in July of 2007, Bill knew that he needed to look within the company for its new leader and approached Christine about assuming the role of president.

“This was not a plan laid out upon my arrival by any means but so many things that happened over the past year – specifically Jim’s death – brought these concerns to the surface,” said Christine. “It was a very serendipitous occurrence, yet I am confident that I’ll do right by my family and make the next 30 years just as, if not more, exciting for Cousins than the previous 30.”

Since becoming Cousins’ president and chief operating officer in March of 2008, one of Christine’s first duties has been restructuring the organization to align individuals’ skills with the system’s needs as well as visiting all Cousins franchisees and getting to know them in their own environments. This approach has elicited an extremely positive response thus far, strengthening old relationships and building new ones within the company. Christine is also implementing intelligent, strategic growth in all markets and reworking the franchisee selection process.

“We aren’t just expanding for the sake of expansion; we want to make sure we have the right people in place,” said Christine. “In many systems, if you can breathe and write a check, you can own a franchise. Cousins has always had an excellent screening process but now we’re being even more judicious about everything from cultural and social compatibility to real estate. We could have 350 locations right now but we have 150 because we have been so selective. It may create more challenges and take us a little longer to reach our goals but this strategy will make our system stronger overall. That’s what’s most important to me.”

By the end of 2008, Christine expects Cousins to increase its number of units to roughly 170 and, through continued growth in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Arizona and North Dakota, hopes to have approximately 220 restaurants in operation. There are currently 40 units in various stages of development and the company is seeking a mix of multi-unit operators to open three to five restaurants within a short period of time as well as multi-concept franchisees who already own restaurants of a non-competing brand wishing to expand their portfolios.

Christine is also spearheading a revamped “discovery day,” where prospective franchisees will visit Cousins’ Menomonee Falls headquarters and immerse themselves in all aspects of the business before both sides make their final decision.

“Instead of just having our potential franchisees sit through presentation after presentation, we want them to get in there and get their hands dirty,” said Christine. “We want them to know what a lunch rush is like and how it feels to start work at 6 a.m. and close at 10 p.m. We want to know right away if this relationship is going to benefit all involved. A one-sided commitment just won’t cut it.”

Though this is a time of great change for Cousins Subs, one thing remains constant: Christine still wants to emulate her father and make her family proud.

“They say that your family will love you no matter what and that’s no different in my family,” said Christine. “But I know I have some big shoes to fill and I plan to do everything in my power to continue the Cousins legacy well into the future.” •