Dog Haus appoints two Jersey Mike's franchisees to C-suite positions

The two executives are partners in High Performance Hospitality, which has pledged to open 50 units, including this new location in San Fernando, California. | Photo courtesy of Dog Haus

Dog Haus is moving into the next phase of its ground-breaking plan to rethink franchising as we know it.

The Pasadena, California-based fast-casual chain on Thursday announced that two longtime Jersey Mike’s franchise operators will be joining Dog Haus’ executive team.

Chris Rigassio was named president and chief development officer. And Garen Khodaverdian is Dog Haus’ new chief operating officer.

The two have also become stakeholders in the chain.

And Rigassio and Khodaverdian have also signed on as franchisees, pledging to open 50 Dog Haus locations in Southern California. Their first Dog Haus opened in San Fernando earlier this year.

New franchising model

The move is part of a slow unfolding of a plan by Dog Haus CEO Michael Montagano to build a new franchising model.

Montagano sees traditional franchising as fundamentally misaligned, with franchisor and franchisee caught in an us-against-them dynamic.

The changes at Dog Haus are designed to help the franchisor move more in lock step with franchise operators. Ultimately, Montagano also hopes to attract a network of experienced franchise operators for the Dog Haus brand that will accelerate growth nationally.

If all goes as planned, the 60-unit Dog Haus will move quickly toward reaching 1,500 locations across the country.

The plan begins with bringing these veteran operators into leadership roles.

Executive backgrounds

Rigassio, for example, is the founder and former CEO of Prospect Capital Restaurants, a franchisee of both Jersey Mike’s and Wingstop with about 70 units. Rigassio remains on the board of that company and as a shareholder.

Khodaverdian, meanwhile, is also a Jersey Mike’s franchisee with 12 units, a business he is in the process of selling to another Jersey Mike's operator as he shifts his focus to Dog Haus.

Rigassio and Khodaverdian are partners in the franchise company High Performance Hospitality, which will operate the 50 Dog Haus units across Southern California. Six more are expected to open in the next 12 months.

Their first restaurant in San Fernando has already taken on the pilot of a new menu and a new beverage program to be rolled out, said Montagano.

And that’s the beauty of this more aligned structure, he said.

“You have franchisees in leadership making decisions that are focused on making the franchisee experience better, more efficient, driving top line, improving earnings,” he said. “And they’re leading by example and then leveraging that experience to educate the larger franchise base on not only why it’s a good idea, but how to implement it effectively, with learnings along the way.”

Montagano argues this dynamic is different than when a franchisor operates corporate locations.

“[Franchisees] can say, ‘Look, I’ve been running this. Here’s what I’ve learned,’” he said.

It's not that unusual for executives on the franchisor team to also be franchise operators. What's more unusual is what will happen next at Dog Haus.

Growth strategy

In his new role at Dog Haus, Rigassio will spearhead the recruitment of 15 area directors who will each be tasked with developing 100 territories within a certain geographic region.

Montagano said those 15 area directors will be “highly capitalized, well respected” franchise operators across many brands who will, first, self-develop, then ultimately oversee the larger system they help create.

The area directors will also have an opportunity to become equity holders in the company. As a group, they will be represented with a seat on the board, giving them say in management and full transparency.

(Southern California, where Rigassio and Khodaverdian and many company-owned units operate, will remain outside that area director network, Montagano said.)

Khodaverdian, meanwhile, will focus on long-term sustainable growth for Dog Haus, working on streamlining operations, improving efficiencies, managing costs and the overall guest experience.

And more news is coming. Montagano said another C-suite hire is soon to be announced.

It’s early yet, but Montagano believes Dog Haus could soon be a case study for a new approach to franchising.

“I do believe it will capture the attention of others in franchising, both big and small,” he said.

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Lisa Jennings is a veteran restaurant industry reporter and editor who covers the fast-casual sector, independent restaurants and emerging chain concepts.