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$4.95 U.S. • $5.95 Canada • PERIODICALS Former NBA star Carlos Boozer, center, is a co-founder of Impeccable Capital alongside Amit Sehgal, left, and Rob Tanner. Through its restaurant arm, Impeccable is a franchisee of Popeyes, Freddy’s and Del Taco. The News and Information Source for Franchisingwww.franchisetimes.com APRIL 2026 MEET THE PRO ATHLETES TURNING THEIR COMPETITIVE FIRE TO FRANCHISING LEGAL EAGLES RECOGNIZES TOP FRANCHISE ATTORNEYS POWER FORWARDUPFRONT 8 We check out three retail franchises and report back, in FT Undercover By FT Staff 10 ServiceMaster aims to build ‘not-so-sexy’ brand appeal, in Behind the Sales By Alyssa Huglen 11 Dave’s backers bet on tacos, plus more in FT Online By FT Staff 12 McD’s owner continues family success By Joe Halpern 14 Bouquet Box makes florals the event By Emilee Wentland 16 Medtech CEO grows Tropical Smoothie By Matthew Liedke 18 Knight School captures chess players By Alyssa Huglen 19 Careful growth for SoCal Candle CEO, in The Upstart By Alyssa Huglen COVER STORY 20 Carlos Boozer made a name for himself in the NBA. For his next act as co-founder of Impeccable Capital, he joins Rob Tanner, Amit Sehgal and Jeff Postal in making a restaurant development and real estate play in two of the fast-growing counties on the East Coast. Boozer is among the pro athletes who see promise in franchising. From the NBA and NFL to the WNBA, MLB and even banana ball, these athletes are turning to a new page in their business playbooks. By Laura Michaels and Emilee Wentland $4.95 U.S. • $5.95 Canada • PERIODICALS Former NBA star Carlos Boozer, center, is a co-founder of Impeccable Capital alongside Amit Sehgal, left, and Rob Tanner. Through its restaurant arm, Impeccable is a franchisee of Popeyes, Freddy’s and Del Taco. The News and Information Source for Franchising www.franchisetimes.com APRIL 2026 MEET THE PRO ATHLETES TURNING THEIR COMPETITIVE FIRE TO FRANCHISING LEGAL EAGLES RECOGNIZES TOP FRANCHISE ATTORNEYS POWER FORWARD CONTENTS ON THE COVER 20: Impeccable Capital co-founder and former NBA player Carlos Boozer 25: Flynn Group exec Rasheeda Clark 18: The Knight School 12: McDonald’s franchisees Joe and Leigh Chamness APRIL ‘26 Volume 32 Issue 4 Cover photo by Celia D. LunaAPRIL ‘26 VOLUME 32 ISSUE 4 70: Bonchon CEO and Food On Demand Conference speaker Suzie Tsai 73: Jetset Pilates franchisees Bill and Jen Hoge 62: Pure Barre, part of the Xponential Fitness portfolio FITNESS FINANCE & GROWTH 62 Facing sales slowdowns, Xponential tackles changes By Laura Michaels 66 Connect with fitness leaders at FFGC By FT Staff TOOLKIT 67 Digital engagement, social media in spotlight at IFA By Emilee Wentland 70 Discover off-premises insight at FODC By Bernadette Heier NEWS & VIEWS 73 Jetset Pilates primed for Phoenix development push, in The Wire By Matthew Liedke 77 Large Inspire franchisees add Jollibee By Matthew Liedke COLUMNISTS 83 Mighty Dog franchisees allege fraud as franchisor files its own lawsuits By Emilee Wentland 84 AI’s potential to transform franchising includes a major power balance shift By Alicia Miller 85 Fast value, tiers and plenty of tweaks keep restaurant loyalty leveling up By Nicholas Upton IN EVERY ISSUE 6 First Things First 71 Scoreboard 80 Executive Ladder 86 Grab Bag Meet the 2026 class of Franchise Times Legal Eagles, the top attorneys in franchising. Get their insights on federal and state regulatory issues, the impact of AI, forming franchisee associa- tions and more hot topics in franchise law. By Joe Halpern, Alyssa Huglen, Matthew Liedke, Laura Michaels and Emilee Wentland Research by Jenny RainesW hen husband Doug was coaching sons Ben and Sam in both baseball and basketball years ago, I learned a few things as an outside observer and a fan on the sidelines. First, parents get way too caught up in game, and their child’s performance. Settle down, folks. Your kid is not going to be the next Cy Young pitcher. Secondly, to advance in the game, it took a combination of skill, practice and diligence—on both the play- ers’ and the coaches’ part. It was all about commitment. In this month’s issue of Franchise Times, we highlight athletes-turned-franchisees and their stories of bringing their sports backgrounds with them into the business world. “There’s so many intangibles that it prepares you with: the patience, the preparation, the resilience that you have as an athlete, doing the same small details every day and not getting bored with those,” Damiere Byrd told Franchise Times. “Ultimately not being afraid to fail.” Byrd is a former NFL receiver who played on several teams, including the Arizona Cardinals and the New England Patriots. Today, he owns three Bumble Roofing territories in the Charlotte, North Carolina, market. People like Byrd are why some franchisors have concentrated on recruiting them as franchisees. They have the drive—and many have immense capital after playing in the elite leagues. Carlos Boozer, who graces our cover this month, is another example: The standout NBA star who played for teams such as the Utah Jazz and the Chicago Bulls, is the co-founder of Impeccable Capital. After retir- ing from the game in his 30s, he wanted to harness his energy and not be a “couch potato.” Impeccable Capital, through its Impeccable Restaurant Group, owns multiple Popeyes, Freddy’s and Del Taco locations and 1 million square feet of retail space in the Carolinas—just what the group needs to con- tinue to grow. It was NBA star Shaquille O’Neal who took Boozer under his wing and introduced him to restaurants and franchising. “I had a great conversation with Shaq, who’s one of my mentors,” he said. “And you know, he was talking to me about, whether there’s a war, whether there’s a pandemic, everybody has to eat.” Boozer’s best advice to other professional athletes: Educate yourself on your finances. Don’t leave it up to someone else. You’ll want to read the rest of his advice and his story on how he and other athletes have stepped up to the plate and taken their best shot. (Mixed metaphors intended.) You don’t have to be an athlete to bring earlier career experiences to your franchise business. Jim Breidenstein, an eight-unit Tropical Smoothie franchisee, helped other entrepreneurs build medical technology companies. He’s competitive, and feels he knows how to build a successful enterprise since he had done that multiple times. “I wanted to know what the top 5 percent [of franchisees] were doing” in sales, he told FT Senior Writer Matthew Liedke about when he was first reading the FDD. “If I can’t be in that, I probably shouldn’t be in the business. That was my barometer.” Read on to learn why he’s so bullish on the brand that more loca- tions are on the way. Also featured in this month’s issue is our annual Legal Eagles, the list of the top franchise attorneys nation- wide and in Canada—plus expanded coverage on the top legal issues in the franchise sector, from AI and state legislation to M&A and bankruptcies. We’ve had many of these top attorneys weigh in on these top- ics and more. What are the trends that will affect your franchise business? Plus, we have conversations with one franchisor who got a call from Louis Vuitton (the brand, not the guy) and another from the Minnesota Vikings, all in pursuit of their services. There are these and so many more franchise journeys to read about this month, you’ll want to dig into the plate and read it until you get to the end zone. (Yes, that was intended, again.) Mixing sports metaphors and lots of smart lessons FIRST THINGS FIRST Publisher Reach Mary Jo at 612-767-3208 or mlarson @ franchisetimes.com Volume 32, Issue 4 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 6A8.8 Franchise Times | April 2026 BRAND INTELLIGENCE We check out three retail franchises and report back A rriving to Bricks & Minifigs (A) with a mission—in this case, making tiny versions of me and my husband—is probably the way to go. In a store filled with tiny pieces, it would be easy to fall into a Lego fugue state and hang out for hours. But maybe that’s the point. Bricks & Minifigs is a resale Lego retail franchise that buys and sells Lego sets and pieces. This store outside Minneapolis had a create-your-own flower station, a minifig area in which you can pick pants, shirts, faces, hair and accessories to make a little guy, a huge variety of Lego sets and a ton of loose bricks for the DIY-er. With more than 300 locations in the United States and Canada, the retailer has exploded in recent years, opening 150 stores since 2023. Its stores also offer birth- day party bookings. As a resale store, starting a Bricks & Minifigs operation is cheaper than some retailers because there’s not a large upfront inventory cost. I spent about 45 min- utes during my visit carefully selecting pieces to compose caricatures of me and my husband, which were $5 apiece. The upshot: Bricks & Minifigs made a repeat customer out of me—and now I need to make mini versions of all my friends. —E.W. A s an apartment dweller, hardware store visits are minimal. Recently in need of some bungee cords and a tape mea- sure to tackle the transportation of a table, a trip to Ace Hardware (B) in a Minneapolis sub- urb was on the list. A knowledgeable employee quickly pointed me in the right direction and offered advice on the most cost-effective items; $28 later the items were in hand. This store, located in a residential area, had the feeling of a neighborhood shop. Its footprint wasn’t large, meaning the aisles weren’t spacious, but inventory was plentiful. Speed of service was on point, and the two employees encountered lived up to the “helpful hardware folks” part of the brand’s tagline. As the largest hardware store franchise, with more than 6,000 global locations, it’s easy to find an Ace. Beyond the basics, stores offer services such as blade sharpening, advanced lawn care through its YardRx subscription and same-day delivery of thousands of items. Though stores are typi- cally smaller, 3,000 to 12,000 square feet, Ace competes with big-box home improvement companies such as Lowe’s and Home Depot. The upshot: While it’s a major global concept, Ace Hardware brings a local feel to its stores and employees are quick to assist. —M.L. A couple of steps into a Play It Again Sports (C), and your eyes immediately jump around the array of sports and fit- ness equipment options. At least that was my experience walking into a store in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Play It Again Sports, with about 300 units, has sold new and secondhand sport- ing goods for more than 40 years, aligning well with parent company Winmark Corporation’s other secondhand retail concepts, Plato’s Closet and Once Upon a Child. A lovely staff member pointed out the different sections to the store, which was helpful given how many there were. With everything from golf clubs and soccer cleats to workout gear and at-home fitness equipment, the number of sports and fitness activities represented was surprising. Though I walked out empty-handed (it was tough to pass up a colorful pair of used roller blades), it’s understandable why the brand has found success with families and local sports teams of all ages—made clear when a group of wide-eyed kids trailed in with their parents shortly before I left. The upshot: Play It Again Sports features a wide variety of sports gear offerings, making it a slam dunk for fitness enthusiasts and families on the hunt for affordable options. —A.H. 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. Next >