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$4.95 U.S. • $5.95 Canada • PERIODICALS Catherine Tan-Gillespie, president of KFC U.S., with Scott Mezvinsky, the brand’s global CEO, at KFC’s headquarters in Plano, Texas. The News and Information Source for Franchisingwww.franchisetimes.com FEBRUARY 2026 + EXPLORE PRIVATE EQUITY’S PLAYBOOK + HOW TO MONETIZE DATA BATTLE MODE AT KFC INSIDE THE LEGACY BRAND’S LATEST COMEBACKUPFRONT 8 We check out three coffee concepts so you don’t have to, in FT Undercover 10 Why Big Chicken evolved its operator ‘type,’ in Behind the Sales By Alyssa Huglen 11 CPK’s new owners look long term, in FT Online By FT Staff 12 Skiptown top dog draws on experience By Joe Halpern 14 Monster Mini Golf tees up growth push By Alyssa Huglen 16 My Salon Suite ‘zees focus on people By Matthew Liedke 18 London’s Black Sheep takes shot at U.S. By Emilee Wentland 20 Live 2 B Healthy helps seniors stay fit, in The Upstart By Alyssa Huglen COVER STORY 22 Once the dominant player in franchised fried chicken, KFC is losing ground to an assortment of QSR competitors. But while it may be down, KFC is far from out, its new leaders say. And the brand is ready to put up a fight. By Laura Michaels FRANCHISE FOCUS 29 A&W’s revitalization intertwines legacy, innovations By Alyssa Huglen 32 ‘Zee sees opportunity in tough markets By Joe Halpern $4.95 U.S. • $5.95 Canada • PERIODICALS Catherine Tan-Gillespie, president of KFC U.S., with Scott Mezvinsky, the brand’s global CEO, at KFC’s headquarters in Plano, Texas.The News and Information Source for Franchising www.franchisetimes.com FEBRUARY 2026 + EXPLORE PRIVATE EQUITY’S PLAYBOOK + HOW TO MONETIZE DATA BATTLE MODE AT KFC INSIDE THE LEGACY BRAND’S LATEST COMEBACK CONTENTS ON THE COVER 22: KFC U.S. President Catherine Tan-Gillespie and Global CEO Scott Mezvinsky 12: Skiptown CEO Mike Rotondo 18: Black Sheep’s Eirik Holth, left, and Gabriel Shohet 14: Bowling at Monster Mini Golf FEBRUARY ‘26 Volume 32 Issue 2 Cover photo by Daniel MottaFEBRUARY ‘26 VOLUME 32 ISSUE 2 41: Snapdragon Capital principal Julia Sublett 51: New 76 Fence franchisee Bob Wolf 35: Miami- based Jetset Pilates FITNESS FINANCE & GROWTH 35 Boutique fitness concepts are gaining more ground By Joe Halpern TOOLKIT 38 Smaller firms invest in franchising for strong ROI By Emilee Wentland 41 Investors get active at the unit level By Matthew Liedke 43 How granular data drives operations By Matthew Liedke INTERNATIONAL 47 Gong Cha capitalizes on global specialty drink boom By Laura Michaels 48 U.S. brands enjoy popularity in Ecuador By Laura Michaels NEWS & VIEWS 51 76 Fence signs major deal for Texas expansion push By Matthew Liedke 55 Big Applebee’s franchisee adds Qdoba By Matthew Liedke COLUMNISTS 59 Mediation can preserve relationships. Plus it’s faster, cheaper than litigation. By Emilee Wentland 60 How much responsibility rests on the franchisor to drive system revenue? By Alicia Miller 61 Feast upon data nuggets from LTOs to loyalty and even those bad reviews By Nicholas Upton IN EVERY ISSUE 6 First Things First 46 Scoreboard 56 Executive Ladder 62 Grab BagYou know every detail matters, from supply chains to smiling faces. We know it too. We’re not just consultants, we’re neighbors who understand what it takes to stay stocked and keep customers coming back. From inventory management to fi nancial planning and AI-driven insights, we help you serve your community even better. Get started at CLAconnect.com/eat. ©2026 CliftonLarsonAllen LLP. CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP) is an independent network member of CLA Global. See CLAglobal.com/disclaimer. Investment advisory services are off ered through CliftonLarsonAllen Wealth Advisors, LLC, an SEC-registered investment advisor. Serving your community starts long before the checkout line. We’re right there with you. W hen Taco Bell first introduced the Doritos Locos Tacos in 2012, a collaboration with mega snack company Frito-Lay, I was unimpressed. A taco shell featuring the Doritos nacho cheese flavor? Meh. Not that I had even tasted it yet, but I rolled my eyes at the hype when Franchise Times covered the story at the time. How would this be groundbreaking for the brand? Who cared about Doritos? I learned a couple of things 14 years ago: No. 1, a 40-something mom was not who Taco Bell was out to impress. Their demographic was 18-to-34-year-olds and who do care VERY MUCH about Doritos. No. 2, I stink at the prediction business. The Doritos Locos took hold and the restaurants sold 1 billion of those tacos in the first year, and they are still selling strong today. Because we reported on the success of that launch, and many others from the Mexican brand through- out the years, I always wondered why parent company Yum Brands didn’t seem to share best practices with its other brands, KFC and Pizza Hut. In the case of KFC, it seems they’ve been thinking the same thing. For this month’s cover story, Franchise Times Editor in Chief Laura Michaels interviewed KFC Global CEO Scott Mezvinsky, who was presi- dent of Taco Bell’s North American and international business before the move to KFC, and prior to that was TB’s global chief strategy and financial officer. He is joined by social media guru Matt Prince, who was Taco Bell’s director of brand communication and PR before making the move to the legacy chicken concept. “One of the things I’ve taken from Taco Bell is the great innovation that they do ... and I think we can do that at KFC as well,” Mezvinsky told Laura. “I think our products lend themselves that way.” The article features interviews with other KFC leaders and reveals how they intend to get back market share in the very-popular chicken segment, and sector they once led. “When I think about the comeback plan, it’s all about us as a brand getting our feistiness back, our fight- ing spirit back,” new KFC U.S. President Catherine Tan-Gillespie said. You’ll want to read Laura’s account of how leadership is pushing the brand to relevance. While one C-suite is bringing back a brand, another CEO is taking his experience to launch franchising for another. Mike Rotondo, who as CEO of Altitude Trampoline Park, Edible Arrangements and Tropical Smoothie Café helped to grow and scale those brands, has joined franchisor Skiptown as CEO. Skiptown, a pet care brand that offers dog grooming, boarding and other services, launched its fran- chise program in October. Like many C-suite leaders in the sector, Rotondo will use technology—the “tech stack”—to make it easier for customers to engage with the brand. But in addition to technology, he told FT Senior Writer Joe Halpern, there’s still a focus on people. “It also comes down to motivating the people and training people you work with,” Rotondo said. “Yes, I will push people and I’m probably not for everybody. But I’ve been doing this long enough to know the importance of surrounding oneself with talented individuals and providing them with the support and free- dom to excel.” There are plenty of other stories in this month’s issue about CEOs—for both franchisors and franchi- sees—who are pushing to grow their brands and how they say they will accomplish it. And, we’ve thrown in some coffee tastings, mini golf and root beer for good measure. My prediction—and I think this time I’ll get it right—is you’ll stick with this issue to the very end. Don’t overlook innovation, or the importance of people FIRST THINGS FIRST Volume 32, Issue 2 Publisher/Vice President: Mary Jo Larson mlarson@franchisetimes.com Associate Publisher Lucas Wagner lwagner@franchisetimes.com Editor in Chief: Laura Michaels lmichaels@franchisetimes.com Managing Editor: Emilee Wentland ewentland@franchisetimes.com Senior Writers: Joe Halpern jhalpern@franchisetimes.com Matthew Liedke mliedke@franchisetimes.com Reporter: Alyssa Huglen ahuglen@franchisetimes.com Senior Graphic Designer: Joe Veen ads@franchisetimes.com National Sales Director: Kevin Pietsch kpietsch@franchisetimes.com Sales Support: Jenny Raines jraines@franchisetimes.com Digital Marketing/Web Development: Adam Griepentrog adamg@franchisetimes.com Emma Barry ebarry@franchisetimes.com Allison Olson aolson@franchisetimes.com Conference Services: Gayle Strawn Rachel Tegethoff Alie Leonard Production Staff: Steve Hamburger, Manager Steve Schmidt Accounting: Matt Haskin, Controller Jill Evans Franchise Times Corp. Continental Franchise Review® John Hamburger, President To contact Franchise Times: Franchise Times Corp. 2808 Anthony Lane South Minneapolis, MN 55418 www.franchisetimes.com Phone: (612) 767-3200 Fax: (612) 767-3230 Advertising/Classifieds: Call (612) 767-3200 Subscriptions: Subscription rate is $35 per year, $59 for two years. To order, change address or other customer service, call (612) 767-3200. Franchise Times reserves the right to decline subscription/back issue requests. Reprints and back issues: To order, call (612) 767- 3202. Back issues are $9.95 plus shipping. Reproductions of any kind are not authorized. It is a violation of copyright law to reproduce all or part of this publication or its contents. Franchise Times (ISSN 1530-3748) is published 10 times per year (monthly except for combined issues June/ July and November/December) by Franchise Times Corp., 2808 Anthony Lane South, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55418. Periodicals Postage Paid at St. Paul, Minnesota and additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to Franchise Times, 2808 Anthony Lane South, Minneapolis, MN 55418 Entire contents copyright ©2026. Publications mail agreement No. 40064408. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to Express Messenger International, P.O. Box 25058, London BRC, Ontario, Canada N6C 6A8. Publisher Reach Mary Jo at 612-767-3208 or mlarson @ franchisetimes.com8 Franchise Times | February 2026 BRAND INTELLIGENCE We check out three coffee concepts so you don’t have to B itty & Beau’s (A) bills itself as “a human rights movement disguised as a coffee shop” for a good reason. After learning that more than 80 percent of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities are unemployed nationwide, founders Amy and Ben Wright decided to do something about it. They opened their first Bitty & Beau’s in Wilmington, North Carolina, in 2016 and have grown the brand to where it employs more than 450 individuals with physical and emotional disabilities in about 18 locations around the country. Count me as a fan. Along with my 12-ounce coffee for $3.75, I enjoyed a tasty lemon poppy seed muffin for $4.95. I also ordered a 16-ounce cookies and cream frappe with a splash of whole milk for later on, when a tasty pick-me-up treat was most needed. But the clear star of my visit to the Bitty & Beau’s in the lobby of the biopharmaceutical company Sanofi’s offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was my server. Katiana was delightfully atten- tive and took pride and pleasure in getting my order right. The upshot: Bitty & Beau’s is a nice feel-good franchise story that is providing a lot of great people with meaningful work and a place where they feel valued. —J.H. F or a brand that originally had a menu of just seven specialty coffee beverages, to say 7 Brew (B) expanded its offerings would be an understatement. Energy drinks, flavor-infused sparkling waters, teas, lemon- ades, smoothies and shakes now accompany the originals. For a first-timer at the drive-thru concept, it’s a bit disorienting—especially when accessing the menu in line means fumbling to scan a QR code from the car. The menu boards aren’t visible until a customer pulls right up to the stand, but thankfully the tablet-wielding employee taking orders as a dozen cars waited at 1:30 p.m. on a Sunday was cheerful and patient. This 7 Brew, just a few minutes from Denver International Airport, had been open just a couple weeks when I visited last fall and operations were understandably a bit hectic. When the 7 Brew Blondie, an iced coffee with espresso, half-and-half, vanilla syrup and caramel sauce, was handed off by yet another smiling worker, it was worth the wait. More afternoon indulgence than morning staple, the $7 drink was an ideal drive-time companion. The upshot: 7 Brew is exploding across the coun- try to the tune of 600-plus units, and with good reason, but more menu signage would improve the drive-thru experience. —L.M. A s a connoisseur of lattes, the turmeric latte at Dazbog Coffee (C) was a must-try. The earthy, slightly peppery notes of the turmeric played perfectly with the espresso, almond milk and ginger. At $7, it was priced a tad higher than a similar specialty latte from a national competitor, but the quality of the ingredients was evident. Started by brothers Leonid and Anatoly Yuffa in 1996 nearly 20 years after they emigrated with their parents from St. Petersburg, Russia, Dazbog has 18 coffee shops in Colorado and is a wholesale roaster with a robust e-commerce business. The brand’s name, a combination of two Russian words, translates to “god’s gift,” according to the company’s website, and is also an expression of good fortune. This location at the Denver International Airport didn’t have all the cozy trappings of the concept’s typical coffee shops, but its workers were welcoming. And, based on the line at 4 p.m. on a Monday, Dazbog is popular with travelers beyond the usual morn- ing pick-me-up crowd. Food offerings were limited, but with other meal and snack options in the terminal, that wasn’t surprising. The upshot: It’s unclear if Dazbog wants to expand beyond Colorado, but its menu would make it a worthy competitor. —L.M. Ever wonder how consumers feel about your franchise? Editorial staffers Laura Michaels, Joe Halpern, Matthew Liedke, Alyssa Huglen and Emilee Wentland check out three brands in a different genre each issue, and report back. ©2026 TBevCo IP, LLC. All rights reserved. This information is not intended as an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, an HTeaO franchise. It is for informational purposes only. We will not offer you a franchise in states where registration is required unless and until we have complied with applicable pre-sale registration or filing requirements in your state (or have been exempted therefrom) and a Franchise Disclosure Document has been delivered to you before the sale in compliance with applicable law. READY TO TAP INTO SOMETHING BIG? Bryan Benson HTEAO FRANCHISE OWNER “ HTeaO is your perfect blend of simplicity and scalability that fits into your portfolio seamlessly — making ownership refreshingly easier. Owning multiple HTeaO locations provides many competitive advantages, like increased brand awareness and operational efficiency.”Next >