Building a Community Around Your Brand with Larry Sidoti of Garbanzo Meditteranean Fresh

Author: Josh F. Brown
10/15/2019

Larry Sidoti is the CDO of Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh, a 2019 Fast Casual Magazine Top 5 Movers and Shakers brand and the leader in fast-casual Mediterranean cuisine. Garbanzo has nearly 30 locations in Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, Minnesota, Texas and Virginia. Larry is a trench-hardened veteran in the food and beverage industry with over 20 years of restaurant and franchise experience. Larry began his career in the mid 1990’s when he founded the raw juice and smoothie concept, Juice It Up. Sidoti developed an amazing company culture and grew the concept to over 180 units.

Key Takeaways:

[0:18] Today’s episode of Franchise Euphoria is brought to you by IndyFranchiseLaw.com, a leading resource in the franchise space. Head over to IndyFranchiseLaw.com learn more!

[0:59] Josh introduces today’s guest, Larry Sidoti, the Chief Development Officer of Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh.

[2:14] Josh welcomes Larry to Franchise Euphoria.

[2:50] Larry gives an overview to how he got his start in the franchising industry, which started with the concept Juice It Up.

[5:24] Larry reflects on the challenges of growing a new concept vs. expanding a legacy brand.

[7:23] Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh has gone through several stages of growth over the past decade but is now going through the “emerging franchisor” phase.

[11:54] Larry describes what the experience of walking into a typical Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh is like to the average consumer.

[15:22] Larry comments that everybody eats, but the experience of serving others is never more prominent than in a restaurant.

[19:12] Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh is looking for a variety of franchisees including single-unit operators, multi-unit operators, and area developers.

[21:52] Larry suggests that one of the biggest questions franchisees should ask themselves before they decide to franchise with a business is “are you willing to marry their ideas”?

[23:37] Larry prides himself on his empathy towards his franchisees, which comes naturally as a former franchisee himself.

[27:29] Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh sets themselves apart from their competitors with their low franchising costs, stellar unit economics, and the foundation of a quality product.

[30:45] If you’d like to learn more about the Garbanzo concept, visit one of their websites listed below.

[31:26] Thanks for listening, and please, reach out to Josh anytime through email at josh@franchiseeuphoria.com. If you enjoyed this interview, please leave us a review on iTunes.

Mentioned in This Episode:

josh@franchiseeuphoria.com

www.franchiseeuphoria.com

www.indyfranchiselaw.com

http://www.eatgarbanzo.com

http://eatgarbanzofranchising.com

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Josh Brown

Hi! I’m Josh Brown, franchise attorney and creator of the Franchise Euphoria podcast. I’m just your average guy who loves to golf, eat hibachi, and immerse myself in the ever-expanding franchise world.

My goal is to navigate entrepreneurs and all people interested in the current events of franchises through all the hottest topics and most popular tools for success. Going on four years now, Franchise Euphoria is hotter than ever and ready to help you plan and execute a pathway to success.

Josh Brown

Great and applicable information from professionals in the franchise world that are doing it every day. I’ve listened to 3 episodes: Gutter Brothers, Woofies, and Cycle Bar. Enjoyed all and looking forward to hearing more.

Highly recommend. Great guests. Filled with tons of helpful information.

Josh and his wide variety of knowledgeable guests are truly rockstars! They deliver quality (and free!) franchise knowledge and advice in each and every episode. The great advice they provide, combined with the engaging way they deliver it had me hooked from the very first listen. Thanks for putting out such a stellar show Josh - keep up the great work!

This podcast provides the advice necessary to start building, growing, and scaling your business TODAY! The host asks probing questions of his guests that add value to the listeners in an immediately implementable way!

What do you get when you combine business savvy, legal expertice and a great personality? You get the ultimate podcast for franchise owners. Josh Brown brings it all togehter perfectly with Franchise Euphoria. Not only does he possess all of the skills and abiliites above, but he has great guests, asks awesome questions and created the ideal podcast for this niche. If you have a franchise, or are considering it, subscibe to this show and consume all of the content!

Started listening to Josh's podcast after the wife and I decided to buy a franchise and I quickly went through about 200 episodes on 1.5x & 2x, before signing on to purchase a franchise. Josh's info was an invaluable part of our decision to buy, and after listening to so many episodes, I felt like I knew and trusted him on a personal level, so it was a no-brainer to enlist his services when it came time to review the franchise agreement. Josh was super easy to talk to and very empathetic to our needs, and being first time business owners, we needed all the empathy we could get. Josh helped us negotiate a great deal with the franchisor and we were very happy with his services. Great podcast, great guy, great service to anyone involved in the franchise world!

Very interesting discussion. I found the information valuable.

I've just completed the legal process of franchising my business and have now begun selling franchises. Just found this podcast and it's an incredible resource! Great content and Josh is a very engaging host. Highly recommend for franchisors and franchisees.