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$4.95 U.S. • $5.95 Canada • PERIODICALS CEO Nate Garn leads Sizzling Platter, the eight-brand franchise operator acquired last year by Bain Capital in a massive transaction that earns the Franchise Times Deal of the Year. The News and Information Source for Franchisingwww.franchisetimes.com MAY 2026 BRANDS PUT SPOTLIGHT ON SNACKING CAPITAL SPRING’S SIZZLING HOT SALE WINS FT DEAL OF THE YEAR DEALMAKERS RECOGNIZES BEST IN FRANCHISE M&AUPFRONT 8 We check out three chicken franchises and report back, in FT Undercover By FT Staff 10 Referrals power growth at Express Employment Pros, in Behind the Sales By Alyssa Huglen 11 Basecamp Fitness has a new owner, plus more in FT Online By FT Staff 12 Comfort food stars at Roni’s Mac Bar By Emilee Wentland 14 Ducklings Early Learning takes flight By Alyssa Huglen 15 ‘Agape capitalism’ still wins at Donatos By Joe Halpern 16 Passion powers i9 Sports franchisee By Matthew Liedke 18 Blushington’s CMO touts inclusivity, in The Upstart By Alyssa Huglen COVER STORY 20 With new owner Bain Capital, mega franchisee Sizzling Platter is poised to keep growing its eight-brand portfolio that includes Little Caesars, Wingstop and Jamba. The $1 billion sale by CapitalSpring captures the Deal of the Year title in the 14th annual Franchise Times Dealmakers project. Get the full story and check out more winners as we recognize top players driving franchise M&A. By Joe Halpern, Alyssa Huglen, Matthew Liedke, Laura Michaels and Emilee Wentland $4.95 U.S. • $5.95 Canada • PERIODICALS CEO Nate Garn leads Sizzling Platter, the eight-brand franchise operator acquired last year by Bain Capital in a massive transaction that earns the Franchise Times Deal of the Year. The News and Information Source for Franchising www.franchisetimes.com MAY 2026 BRANDS PUT SPOTLIGHT ON SNACKING CAPITAL SPRING’S SIZZLING HOT SALE WINS FT DEAL OF THE YEAR DEALMAKERS RECOGNIZES BEST IN FRANCHISE M & A CONTENTS ON THE COVER 20: Sizzling Platter CEO Nate Garn 18: Blushington CMO Nicki Maron 25: Brix Holdings CEO Sherif Mityas, left, and Legacy Brands International CEO Amol Kohli 14: Ducklings Early Learning MAY ‘26 Volume 32 Issue 5 Cover photo by Basin + Range PhotographyMAY ‘26 VOLUME 32 ISSUE 5 49: Pulse Real Estate founder Natalie Pebbles 56: Ice cream franchise Nite Creamery 45: Fitness franchise Alloy Personal Training NEWS & VIEWS 56 Juice It Up franchisees plot expansion in Houston, in The Wire By Matthew Liedke COLUMNISTS 63 Franchisee lawsuit, bankruptcies paint a strange picture at Hawaii Fluid Art By Emilee Wentland 64 As PE winds shift, challenges for some, even more opportunities for others By Alicia Miller 65 With better integration of robotics, operators can flex their own playbooks By Nicholas Upton IN EVERY ISSUE 6 First Things First 55 Scoreboard 60 Executive Ladder 66 Grab Bag FRANCHISE FOCUS 41 Snacks, smaller meals & protein cater to GLP-1 users By Emilee Wentland 43 How GoTo Foods is winning with snacks By Alyssa Huglen FITNESS FINANCE & GROWTH 45 Fitness franchises embrace the power of AI tools By Joe Halpern TOOLKIT 49 From banks to big boxes, conversions fuel expansion By Beth Mattson-Teig 52 Turn real estate into real costs savings By Liz Wolf 54 Franchisors temper growth optimism By Laura MichaelsHITTING A ONE RESTAURANT AT A TIME. Grand Slam ® 60+ 96% 220+ 70+ Seeking best in class franchisees to leverage the Denny’s Franchise Difference with… Years of franchise experience Of our restaurants are franchised systemwide Dedicated franchisees worldwide Years as a family favorite dining experience Mark Levis Sr. Director Franchise Business Development Barry Wells Sr. Manager Franchise Business Development Visitto learn more mlevis@dennys.com bwells@dennys.comA s someone who has interviewed my fair share of franchise investment bankers and financial advisers over the last few years, they are still reporting to me that M&A activity remains tepid. And I write “remains,” because it seems they have been waiting for market forces to improve for three years now. But, as our annual Franchise Times Dealmakers Awards show us once again in this month’s issue, no matter what the market, the interesting and creative deals still get done. Reading through the issue, I found a few other reasons why: • Diligent work with franchisors on franchisee deals: In our cover story this month, we highlight the sale of multi-brand franchisee Sizzling Platter to private equity firm Bain Capital by PE firm CapitalSpring. One herculean task was getting eight different franchisors to bless the sale. “That’s what made it complicated, is that you weren’t dealing with a uniform target … because all the brands were starting in different places,” CapitalSpring’s Eric Herrmann told FT Managing Editor Emilee Wentland. “Because of the history [with Sizzling Platter], Bain was trying to—as anybody would—to get to a uniform standard, in terms of the agreements with the brands,” Herrmann said. “Different brands take different views on how flexible they want to be, or how important certain aspects are. You’re fighting a five- front war, so to speak, at the same time.” • Due diligence is not for the faint of heart, but required: Dealmakers Award winner AES Restaurant Group acquired 115 Arby’s locations from franchisor Inspire Brands and 40 from another franchisee. “We’ll send teams out and visit every location for every market and walk through the restaurants to see what’s going on,” AES CEO John Wade told FT Senior Reporter Matthew Liedke. “We determine what things can be improved upon, and it’s definitely an all-hands-on-deck effort. We visited all 155 locations to get our eyes on everything.” • Finding the right private equity partner is paramount. According to Crunch Fitness CEO Jim Rowley, it takes some “speed dating” to find the right fit. They “really took the time to get to know my team, get to know myself … so I got out of the speed dat- ing trap and was able to go on some single dates,” he told FT Reporter Alyssa Huglen of their match with PE firm Leonard Green & Partners. Finding the right PE partner—one who, yes, brings the capital, but also advances in technology, strategic insight, and operational expertise—can accelerate growth and unlock long-term value. For Sizzling Platter CEO Nate Garn, having CapitalSpring as a partner before the pandemic and through- out was a lifesaver for the company: “… they were a restaurant-only investor at the time, [and it] added a lot of value for us in terms of, what are best practices right now? What are people doing across the board to respond to this? And how can we come out of this even stronger?” The management at Sizzling Platter expects that to continue with Bain, with the PE firm already bring- ing “a greater sophistication” on various aspects of the business. It’s not all about PE and M&A, however. In this month’s issue, we cover other creative award winners, from a founder who sold his stake to management and funded it in a highly differentiated process, to an advisory firm which, instead of advising a growing business, worked through a process to save stores from the chopping block. You’ll want to read these stories and more, because the most interesting deals aren’t always the biggest ones— they’re the ones that find a way to get done. Choppy M & A waters can’t stop creative dealmaking FIRST THINGS FIRST Publisher Reach Mary Jo at 612-767-3208 or mlarson @ franchisetimes.com Volume 32, Issue 5 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 Kelly Krogstad 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 6A8.8 Franchise Times | May 2026 BRAND INTELLIGENCE We check out three chicken franchises and report back A statue of a cartoon bee greets customers at Jollibee (A), and the buzz continues inside, where about a dozen tables are full as groups share buckets of fried chicken at 2 p.m. on a Tuesday. The Filipino chain with more than 1,700 global locations is making a concerted franchise push in the United States, where it’s nearing 100 units. During a visit to a Dallas-area restaurant, the mission was to try the brand’s mainstay: a two-piece Chicken Joy meal with Jolly Spaghetti and a side of gravy. Yes, you read that right. Jollibee’s fried chicken is served with spaghetti—and not the traditional Italian variety. The brand’s version is doused in sugary sauce and comes complete with hot dog slices and grated cheddar cheese. An odd pairing, to be sure, but somehow it works. The chicken hit the right notes of tender and juicy, with a lighter breading than that of a KFC or Popeyes. The combo is a substantial meal and clocks in at $14.49. Like many other fast-food chains, Jollibee is upping its beverage game. A delicious Dragonfruit Quencher cost just $1.50. The upshot: Jollibee is poised to win over American consumers with a menu that’s both familiar and delightfully unexpected. Next up: an ube hand pie. —L.M. F or someone who’s serious about wings, it’s odd that Wingstop (B) wasn’t in my rotation, despite the brand’s 3,000 global locations. That changed with a trip to an inline store near Minneapolis, where a 10-piece order of traditional bone-in wings, half original hot and half garlic parmesan, were waiting. This diner’s hot take: Wingstop’s offering was fine but a bit underwhelming. The meat itself was tender and juicy, but the majority of the wings lacked a solid crispy outer layer. This could have been because of the takeout factor, but that’s generally how customers use Wingstop. The original hot, which is the brand’s take on a classic Buffalo sauce, also had a bit of an odd sweet tang to it. The garlic parmesan, a dry rub, fared better. It’s a simpler flavor combination but it was effective. The design of the restau- rant was clearly made for takeout and delivery, with a digital display board showing orders categorized by channel type. A few tables give customers the option to dine in, but most were occupied by people waiting for pickups. The upshot: The wing experience is fairly similar to others in the category, with a flavor profile not unlike competitor Buffalo Wild Wings. Wingstop, however, has a price advantage, with a check of $13. —M.L. T he sweetly seasoned fries at this Super Chix (C) were a gamble. The franchise specializes in chicken sandwiches and salads, plus fries and frozen custard concoc- tions. Some reviews of this restaurant outside Salt Lake City mentioned the sweet fries, and as a fan of dipping a salty french fry in a milkshake, the side was a must-try. The fries were well seasoned and delicious without being obnoxiously sweet. Though with such a large portion, hardly half were consumed. Then came the cordon bleu grilled chicken sandwich, which was heartily topped with ham, Swiss cheese and honey mustard. It was another win- ner in my book. The items totaled $17, which felt pricey for a chicken sandwich with a side, but the large portion sizes make up for the potential sticker shock. Super Chix has loca- tions on both coasts, with 46 open as of March. For custard, Super Chix features new weekly flavors, and on my visit it was Reese’s peanut butter cup. A blended custard with mix-ins runs $6.49 and there’s only one size option, so come prepared to scarf down dessert. The upshot: Super Chix may be a little pricey, but the quality and taste of the food—plus its vari- ety of flavors—make it worth a trip. —E.W. 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. The Fitness Finance & Growth Conference connects franchisors, franchisees, lenders, investors and service providers in a professional business and networking setting. Attendees will meet, network and get an inside look at the issues, challenges and opportunities fitness brands face as they grow their companies. Register today! 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