Business View - January 2015 77
A similar “feel” approach is used when determining the
right markets as well, though the company has identi-
fied California, Nevada, Idaho, New Mexico, Wyoming,
Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Illinois, Ken-
tucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia as “key growth”
territories. Franchises are also available across the
Southeast and Northeast, while “limited development
opportunities” exist in Washington, Montana, Utah,
Colorado, North and South Dakota, Kansas, Minneso-
ta, Wisconsin, Indiana and North and South Carolina.
No opportunities now exist in Oregon, Nebraska, Iowa,
Michigan and Maryland.
“Selection is an art form,” O’Shea said. “You think
you’re replicating like gangbusters and you go to a
place and it doesn’t do sales. The bottom line is that
you want to people where people are going to eat, so
they don’t have to look for you. Foot traffic and driving
traffic are important. You have to be seen. If you’re in a
place that’s hard to get to, chances are they won’t find
you in there.”
A new marketing approach and a new concept to work
side by side with HuHot are on the agenda for 2015,
she said, as is the growth of the franchise roster at an
annual rate of six to 10 locations.
“We don’t have giant targets,” O’Shea said.
“We want to keep the mindset that it’s more important
to do it well than to do it for the sake of doing it. We
won’t just do 20 stores per year if we don’t think it’s
the right thing to do. We want to continue along our
path and keep everyone happy and keep trying to do it
the right way.”
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