To Empire Builders,
Happy Monday and welcome to another edition. Today’s newsletter gives some insights on the latest podcast with the Founder & CEO of Tint World, as well as some thoughts on the “Burger Wars”.
Let’s dive in 🫡
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What’s on My Mind 🧠
McDonald’s is in a League of Their Own
A lot has been written since Burger King reported earnings late last week.
The headline:
• Burger King U.S. same store sales were up 8.5% in Q2
That’s following a 5.8% SSS bump in Q1.
Meanwhile, McDonald’s posted just 0.8% SSS for Q2, and Chris Kempczinski talked a lot about what they got wrong.
So if you’re taking a snapshot of the brands today, then it’s obvious Burger King has major momentum, while McDonald’s is stagnant and maybe taking a step backward.
That said, there are still no “burger wars”.
2025 AUV stats
Large % increases in SSS are easier to come by when your AUV is lagging behind the competition.
It’s worth remembering in 2025, 1 McDonald’s location did the revenue of ~2.5 Burger King units.
And when you look at systemwide sales in the U.S. for 2025, the gap is even bigger:
Burger King: ~$11 billion systemwide sales
McDonald’s: ~$55 billion systemwide sales
The brands are simply in different leagues.
And that’s not meant as shade toward Burger King, nor it’s franchisees.
Their performance this year is awesome to see, especially given the number of years they’ve been working towards this with the Reclaim the Flame campaign.
I even recently spoke to a 140+ unit owner on Empires about why things have come together this year for them.
So all in all, there is legitimate reason for Burger King to feel good about the current state of affairs.
But that said….it’s a long way to go before we have a real conversation about “winning” the burger wars at the national level!
Live on Empires 🎧
Building Tint World - Charles Bonfiglio
Charles Bonfiglio is the founder and CEO of Tint World.
Before that, he was a Meineke franchisee as early as 1983.
In our conversation, he shares how he went from:
➡️ Growing up in his father’s Brooklyn clothing factory
➡️ Becoming one of Meineke’s top franchisees
➡️ Building Tint World into a national brand
Today, Tint World has more than 150 locations, and recently nabbed a 20x EBITDA investment from Susquehanna Growth Equity.
Charles is now aiming for 500 units open within the next five years.
This is an awesome story of success, and frankly I came away thinking Charles is one of the most underrated entrepreneurs in franchising.
Here are a few of my favorite quotes…
“I bought a one-way plane ticket, took two suitcases of everything I had, and flew down to Florida by myself. The first couple of nights, I slept in the rental car”
“A lot of franchisees misconceive marketing as an expense, not an investment for ROI”
“I was scared. I thought they were going to crush me and take my business away”
“It costs you nothing to be nice to people, and it comes back tenfold if you do the right thing”
“I thought I sucked at sales. But I really wasn’t selling. I was showing and telling. I would never sell. I would always tell”
Check out the conversation on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts!
QSR Corner 🍔
Bain Capital is Acquiring Gong Cha
The private equity firm will assume control of a 2,200-unit global chain, with at least 240 stores in the U.S.
Franchisee Takes over Mr Gatti’s
Longtime franchisee G. Brint Ryan acquired the remaining ownership in the pizza chain. The transaction also begins CEO Jim Phillips’ planned retirement after more than a decade
Burger King Rises While Popeyes Falters
Burger King’s revival has gained momentum in recent months, Popeyes has continued to struggle despite its turnaround efforts.
7Brew launched a Mobile App
The new app could aid the coffee brand’s growth by driving sales and raising the quality and volume of consumer data it collects.
Salad and Go Closes 70 Stores
The struggling chain filed for bankruptcy protection, and Dutch Bros is buying all the real estate and related assets.
Wendy’s Franchisees See Traffic Decline After Cutting Breakfast
The brand is trying to find ways to improve the daypart, which now represents roughly 5% of sales compared to 8% in Q2 2020.
Best of the Rest 🧱
Inside Buc-ee’s Numerous Trademark Lawsuits
A callout from comedian John Oliver gas thrust Buc-ee’s legal strategy into the spotlight.
Spirit Halloween is Acquiring Hot Topic
Hot Topic and its subsidiaries will continue to operate independently and will maintain their headquarters in California.
Private Equity Firm Tries Buying 100+ J.C. Penney’s
Onyx Partners is offering $934 million for the properties.
Tourism Economics Boosts Hotel Segment
After hotels outperformed expectations in H1, due in part to the World Cup, the pair now projects higher RevPAR growth for full-year 2026 as well as 2027.
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. Changes Name
The rebrand to Neighborhood Intelligence underscores the company’s ambitions to move beyond retail and into home services.
That’s it for today’s newsletter, if you enjoyed it, please forward to anyone else in your network who would benefit or find it interesting!