In the News

Flynn Restaurant Group, owner of eateries including Applebee’s, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, is at the vanguard of menu strategy.

What does it take to build one of the biggest franchise companies in restaurant history? Discipline and a perpetual focus on the bigger picture, Greg Flynn says.

The firm added 937 Pizza Hut and 194 Wendy’s restaurants. It now owns and operates more than 2,300 restaurants generating more than $3.5 billion in annual sales—and Flynn gestured upward when asked this March for his updated sales forecast. “We are meaningfully outperforming in both systems,” he said, declining to name numbers. “Quite meaningfully.”

What do you get when you combine the largest franchisee in the U.S. with the second biggest? One of the largest operators of any sort in the U.S.

In a crisis, great leaders take the long view and look for ways to improve the business for long-term success — from real estate acquisitions to finding more efficient ways to operate. And when you’re the largest franchise operator in the U.S., leading in a crisis means retaining a position of strength.

Betsy Mercado, senior vice president of human resources for Flynn Restaurant Group, was chosen for the NRN Power List by CEO Greg Flynn for how she supports the growing organization and works to create opportunity for women and minorities within the company.