Fast Casual: Why One Fast Casual Didn’t ‘Rush’ Into Franchising

After 12 years of operating before franchising, Rush Bowls certainly didn’t rush into anything. According to a recent Fast Casual article, founder Andrew Pudalov only changed his mind about franchising for Rush Bowls once he met restaurant entrepreneur Buddy Brown who altered his view of the industry.

Sometimes, it takes time to find the right partner. "I was extremely impressed with Buddy’s experience and accomplishments," Pudalov mentioned. "He has been a successful operator of over 300 stores and is the 27th largest franchisee of any food concept in the U.S. In addition, Buddy and his wife Lisa are incredibly hard working, extremely professional, caring and charitable. After many discussions with them, I knew they were the perfect partners for Rush Bowls."

Brown saw the potential in the concept and Pudalov due to his bigger picture mindset even with only one location. "He approached things with a much larger mindset — launching a wholesale line, engaging people on a national scale and taking a scalable approach to Rush Bowls' operations," Brown said. "Andrew set the stage for things to move to the next level, and I knew with the right guidance, resources and the proper team in place we could move the dial quickly.”

Pudalov insists that while franchising is a big change for the brand, it will not shift their core focus of providing healthy, high-quality products to customers.