MEET RON BARBER
Job: Chairman of Boneheads restaurants
Age: 66
Education: DeKalb College (attended, no degree)
Family: Wife and son
Hobbies: Golf, boating
Event that shaped life: Vietnam War
Sometimes, says Ron Barber, you just have to take chances.
In 1967, he took a big one that made some of his friends think of him as boneheaded. He volunteered for the draft, which guaranteed him at least a year in Vietnam in a job certain to land him in combat.
“It cut my umbilical cord,” says Barber, now CEO and owner of Atlanta-based Boneheads Grilled Fish and Piri Piri Chicken, a restaurant franchising company. “I saw a lot of combat. I had to see what life was all about.”
When he returned to the world, Barber, 66, worked in construction for years, first as a framing contractor and then as a general contractor and developer. He then bought Phoenix Architectural Products Inc. in Smyrna, a damage prevention and mitigation firm that contracts with organizations, hospitals and government agencies.
He is still Phoenix’s CEO. But in the last decade, he decided to branch out into what he hopes will be another lucrative field — restaurant franchising. He started with a Boneheads franchise, and now owns the whole company. He hopes to expand it to 20 locations from five by the end of next year.
Q: Why did you decide to get into the restaurant business?
A: My family was very poor growing up. I realized I did not want to be poor. No money ain't no fun. My stepson had a friend who opened a Moe's Southwest Grill in Florida. A franchise like that looked like a good opportunity, so we explored it and other franchises.
I bought a Boneheads franchise, and it still does real good. I ended up buying a second location and then eventually sold it to another franchisee.
When the economy was in bad shape, the owners ended up calling me, and they said, “Why don’t you buy the brand, the whole company?” I looked into it and ended up buying Boneheads.
Q: Sounds like a quick decision?
A: No. My best buddy owns a bunch of Burger Kings and Golden Corrals. He's real successful. There were some problems with Boneheads when I took over, including some bad franchises, but I thought I could make it work and bought the whole shebang.
There were seven stores. Now there are five. Corporate owns one, near Perimeter Mall. We have restaurants in Brookhaven, on Powers Ferry, in Memphis and Charlotte. We have one under construction in Austin, Texas, and another one in College Station, Texas.
Q: So what’s next?
A: I tried to quit work. It's just not in my nature. I took a year and went around the world, but I was bored to death. When I came back, I said, "it's time to grow Boneheads," and hired some professional people to grow it. That's what we are doing now. One franchisee in Texas is a five-store deal, opening five stores in five years. I don't plan on selling.
Q: How many employees do you have?
A: About 125. That includes the people who work in the Boneheads restaurants. Each restaurant takes about 25 people to run successfully. We have six administrative people at corporate headquarters that support the locations and the overall brand.
Q: How are you trying to distinguish yourself from the competition?
A: What sets us apart is our unique menu. It features grilled fish and Piri Piri chicken, a specialty pepper sauce perfected in South Africa by one of the men who started Boneheads. The menu is a balance of fire-grilled seafood and chicken. People like it because it lets them opt out of red meat considerations.
Q: What is your annual corporate revenue?
A: About $5.5 million.
Q: How does a franchise work?
A: A franchise costs $35,000 and prospective franchisees have to have $100,000 in liquidity and a net worth of $500,000 to be considered. If you have two stores, the second is $30,000. Store three is $25,000. Every subsequent location is $15,000.
Turnkey, to open a Boneheads is between $364,000 and $507,000.
We help them with the land and the financing. I personally don’t let franchisees select a bad location and although we don’t provide financing, we can point them in the right direction to obtain funds. Boneheads is SBA approved. Each store pays a royalty to corporate of 6 percent a year.
Q: Do you have a training facility like McDonald’s University?
A: No, but it's important that franchisees are able to operate their stores. We check them out thoroughly. A bad franchise can do you more harm than five good ones will do you. I want them to have experience in the restaurant business. It is preferable to have at least five years in the franchise-restaurant area.
All franchisees must attend and successfully complete the training program at our corporate store in Atlanta. The cost of training is included in the franchise fee.
Q: Do you tell franchisees how much they can expect to make?
A: No. That's against the law. They can talk to other franchise owners, but corporate is not allowed to disclose that information or make assumptions on profit.
Q: Where did the name Boneheads come from?
A: Two chefs were driving different cars and accidentally collided. One was from Atlanta and had been noodling a casual restaurant concept that featured grilled fish. The other was South African and he was trying to introduce the U.S. to a specialty Piri Piri pepper sauce he had perfected in South Africa. They looked at their cars, then themselves, and declared themselves boneheads. The mishap produced a professional partnership.
Q: What are your expansion plans?
A: I'd like to grow it big in the Southeast, including additional locations in Georgia, Louisiana, North and South Carolina. I also want one or two more corporate locations in Atlanta. I have rights to the Middle East as well, 10 countries. I'm hoping to sell franchises over there and other countries.
Q: Did you keep running Phoenix Architectural so you’d have cash for Boneheads?
A: Yes, that's where I got my cash to open Boneheads. I wasn't born to money. Phoenix revenues are between $8 million and $10 million a year.
Q: If you had advice for anyone looking to get into the restaurant industry, what would it be?
A: I would tell everybody, "buy a franchise." Most entrepreneurs need guidance and support to learn how to make money in this industry.
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