First Sobelmans Pub & Grill Franchise Sees Record Sales Weeks After Opening

When it comes to making the best burgers and Bloody Mary’s, there’s no doubt that Sobelmans Pub & Grill is the brand to beat. Since opening its first location in Milwaukee, Wisconsin nearly two decades ago, the brand has solidified its position as a Wisconsin fan-favorite. That’s why it’s no surprise that Sobelmans’ emergence into the franchising industry is going off without a hitch.

Even though Sobelmans ’ first franchise unit officially just opened its doors to the public in January, the restaurant is already experiencing unprecedented levels of success. The new Waukesha unit is seeing the most traffic out of the brand’s four total locations—in fact, this first franchised location was doing record sales just two weeks after its grand opening. And for the franchise owners Jimmy and Alison Dakolias, that strong momentum is just getting started.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled with the way our grand opening went. We were extremely busy right off the bat, and we’re still making more than 200 burgers and 200 Bloody Mary’s every day. It just goes to show how loyal Sobelmans’ customers are and how much of a following the brand has created,” said Alison. “It’s clear that people are happy Sobelmans is in Waukesha—customer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. That’s a trend we expect to continue as we establish even more of a presence in the local community.”

Jimmy and Alison are no strangers to the Waukesha market. In addition to their new Sobelmans restaurant , the husband and wife duo own a bar in the area. But despite being familiar with both the industry and the region, the couple says that guidance from Sobelmans founder Dave Sobelman in combination with the brand’s comprehensive franchisee training program is what set them up for success.

“Working so closely with Dave and his wife Melanie has absolutely been instrumental in our success. They have a clear vision for the brand, and they helped us bring it to life in Waukesha,” said Jimmy. “From organizing soft launches to training our kitchen staff and employees, the Sobelmans team has helped us get this business off the ground. There’s no way that we would be this successful so soon if we tried to open up a full-service restaurant on our own.”

Now that Sobelmans’ first franchise is successfully up and running, the brand has its sights set on furthering its development efforts. The brand’s second franchise location—which is also located in its home state of Richfield Wisconsin—just had its grand opening February 6th. And that momentum is expected to continue throughout 2017.

Franchising with Sobelmans gives entrepreneurs the unique opportunity to get in on the ground level of a rapidly growing emerging concept with a strong brand name. Giving their franchisees the freedom to customize their location to make it their own is unique in franchising. Since Dave Sobelman likes to put his locations into historic buildings, he makes the comparison that “ they are each like classic cars,” says Dave.

The brand also provides its franchisees with unparalleled support—both Dave and Melanie are fully committed to being hands-on throughout the entire grand opening process. And with start-up costs ranging from $276,500 to $849,000, owning a Sobelmans is a more affordable way to own your own business and be your own boss than most other food franchise concepts.

“As a franchisor, our main goal is to see our local owners succeed. That’s why we’re so involved with grand openings—the line of communication between us and our franchisees is open at all times. We’re here to help in any way that we can,” said Dave Sobelman. “Given the success of our first franchise, I’m confident that we’re building a system that will thrive for years to come. We’re looking forward to working with even more franchisees as we continue to expand not just in Wisconsin, but across the rest of the country as well.”

Cassie has over five years of digital and traditional media experience. She joined NLA after working as a television news producer in both Milwaukee and Chicago, and now specializes in aligning strategies across the board for her clients, ultimately building buzz and telling compelling stories through content marketing, social media, digital campaigns and traditional PR. Cassie has a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast and Electronic Communications from Marquette University.

In her spare time, Cassie enjoys traveling and exploring what new cities have to offer in addition to spending time with her friends and family.