In the News

Sales at America’s biggest restaurant franchisee plunged 60% after COVID-19 hit, but the company survived. Why? “The strength of the team,” says owner Greg Flynn.

As founder, chairman, and CEO of Flynn Restaurant Group (FRG), Greg Flynn is the nation’s largest restaurant franchisee on a quest to be the industry’s premier operator. “It means being able to walk into a franchise convention and have people wonder, ‘How do they do it so well, at such scale?’” says Flynn.

He bought his first Applebee’s 20 years ago, and since then has redefined what’s possible in the franchise industry. His philosophy: Be different, then go big.

With the purchase of 368 Arby’s restaurants, the entire portfolio of seller U.S. Beef Corp., Flynn reaches $2.3 billion in annual sales. That makes the company the first privately held franchise company to crest the $2 billion mark.

Over a 17-year career, Greg Flynn built the nation’s largest franchisee empire: Flynn Restaurant Group LP, a business that spans the country with three different brands — Applebee’s, Panera Bread and Taco Bell. With so many restaurant chains selling locations, franchisees have become increasingly powerful in the business of selling food to customers. And Flynn […]

Jordan Stackhouse is an employee at the Taco Bell in Hope Mills, North Carolina.  Devin Cokley is an employee at the Taco Bell in Whiteville, North Carolina. Both will be receiving Live Mas Scholarships towards education. Jordan Stackhouse Scholarship Submission Scholarship Reveal Devin Cokley Scholarship Submission Scholarship Reveal

Flynn is the first franchisee to win the award in its history. Greg Flynn, who used his real estate investment savvy to build the largest restaurant franchisee in the country over a 17-year career, on Monday was named Nation’s Restaurant News Operator of the Year. Read the full article in Nation’s Restaurant News. Listen to […]

The story of Greg Flynn, Founder and CEO of Flynn Restaurant Group, was featured in Forbes‘ article, “The Super Sizer: How Greg Flynn Became America’s Largest Restaurant Franchisee with $1.9B Revenues.” “Flynn hasn’t just made money; he’s changed the structure of the franchise industry. While franchisees have traditionally been small, local operators, Flynn created the […]