With diversified experience across finance, marketing and hospitality, Kevin and Michael Mulcahy, Leo Nolan and Wyatt Batchelor have always shared a passion for one day striking out on their own. That passion led to a group conversation between the four, where they shared their individual visions and discovered a cohesive way to collaborate, thus formalizing MBN Brands.

Since its inception, MBN Brands has completed transactions with over 120 restaurants under management, including owning and operating 65 Jimmy John’s stores across Utah, Colorado, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Arizona to-date. MBN Brands recently signed a 30-unit development agreement, making them the 2nd largest Jimmy John’s franchisee by size.

“When we were evaluating an opportunity with Jimmy John’s, the brand overwhelmingly checked the boxes when it comes to brand recognition and stability, growth potential and unit economics,” Batchelor said.

“Jimmy John’s is a universally recognized brand that has exceptional customer sentiment and it’s a brand that presents a great opportunity for growth. The team at Jimmy John’s has done a great job of making profitable restaurants through various marketing initiatives, product innovation and restaurant design. Now that Jimmy John’s has the resources of Inspire Brands, we believe the business will prosper even more. “

Since joining Jimmy John’s in 2019, MBN Brands has utilized the brand’s field support to assist with new openings and has open lines of communication with leadership, creating a collaborative relationship between the franchisor and franchisee.

“Jimmy John’s takes the approach of listening to their franchisees, whether that be a new marketing initiative or product rollout. We enjoy working with the Jimmy John’s team in testing new ideas in our stores and helping in any way we can. Jimmy John’s is always happy to return the favor and we could not be happier with our partnership,” Batchelor said.

“The leadership team at Jimmy John’s is knowledgeable, experienced and adaptable. They possess all critical aspects of a proper team in the QSR industry. The team makes their decisions from empirical data that support a business case. When a new initiative is proposed you can be assured that this idea has been thoughtfully planned, tested and has a high ability to not only obtain success but sustain it.  However, the greatest quality is their adaptability. Their perfection lies within their ability to quickly acknowledge when plans need to be adjusted in order to produce a successful outcome. For these reasons and more, we enjoy working with their exceptional leadership team and we look forward to many more years of fruitful collaboration.”

The early success MBN Brands has seen in its first two years as Jimmy John’s franchisees and its extraordinary relationship with brand leadership is why they’ve committed to opening 30 additional locations to become one of the largest franchisees in the system.

“Perhaps the most encouraging experiences with Jimmy John’s has been the resiliency of the business during the pandemic,” Batchelor said. “Everything from the inherent nature of the business to how Inspire and Jimmy John’s leadership reacted to the pandemic has confirmed our original thesis and desire to sustain our investment in the brand.”

To learn more about franchising opportunities at Jimmy John’s, go to jimmyjohns.com/franchising.