On this episode of Emerging Brands, Carl Howard, Chief Executive Officer of Fazoli’s shares his restaurant and franchise experience, Fazoli’s double-digit growth and the brand's significant expansion plans. Howard takes us back to his humble beginning as a busboy at Bill Knapps when he was sixteen. He had various roles at restaurants and at age twenty Howard got his first management position at The Elephant Bar. Next he became the general manager at one of his father-in-law’s italian restaurants. Eventually Howard moves his way through the ranks at Damon’s Grill, he became a franchisee of the restaurant and later became the Chief Executive Officer. Shortly after, Howard had an opportunity to join Fazoli's team in 2008. Howard talks about Fazoli's interesting history that started thirty-three years ago, it’s rocky beginning, and how cod played a part in the brand. Today Fazoli’s has 215 locations and continues to grow rapidly, they will open fifteen to twenty locations this year. Fazoli’s model combined with no franchise fee and zero royalty in year one has contributed to the growth, say’s Howard. When Howard began at Fazoli's he took a deep dive into the brand, trying to understand the double-digit decrease. Through changing food, service and technology, Howard quickly turned the brand around. Fazoli’s has always had to adapt over the years and during the pandemic, they used analytics to understand what was driving their customers. Fazoli’s was able to meet the changing needs of their consumer, and take pride in that every aspect of the brand has been upgraded. Howard says Fazoli's is definitely in the virtual concept business, having three virtual brands Macaroniville, Wingville, and Wow Bao. Be sure to listen to the Emerging Brands Podcast to hear Carl Howard talk about how Fazoli’s gives back and the programs in place for taking care of their employees. Howard also shares his personal connection in partnering with Feed The Children.