A truly successful franchise is one where franchisees are eager to reinvest and open more locations because they see strong profitability and long-term potential. In contrast, this company is operating from a place of desperation, trying to open new stores by recruiting anyone.

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It’s essentially a one-man operation—the CEO serves as the innovator, product developer, and marketer, but lacks people skills. He’s a micromanager who gives little initiative to his corporate team and is extremely stubborn when it comes to his own decisions. He never proactively checks in with franchisees to understand how their business is doing or to offer meaningful support. While he might listen to experienced operators, he rarely, if ever, acts on their input.

They need to focus on real innovation, launch fresh product lines, and improve social media marketing to attract a younger audience. The brand currently relies on an aging base of loyal customers, with little effort to engage the next generation—resulting in steadily declining traffic at the restaurants. On top of that, the private equity firm that owns the brand invests minimally, making it difficult to hire qualified corporate talent. Instead, they often bring in people from struggling companies, hoping they can somehow turn Togo’s around.