Today's news for the franchise & small biz owner

ATLANTA – Arby's Restaurant Group, Inc. announced today that it has hired hospitality executive Paul Brown as its chief executive officer. Formerly the president of brand and commercial services with Hilton Worldwide Inc., Brown will begin at Arby's on May 13. "Paul is the ideal leader to further Arby's strategic vision and build upon our strong sales performance and momentum," said Jon Luther, chairman of the Arby's Board of Directors. photo/Arby's Restaurant Group Leading the chain in same-store sales increases for over nine quarters, Arby's president Ms. Hala Moddelmog will now report to Mr. Brown. Arby's has struggled with increased competition during the soft years of the economy. The franchisor bought Wendy's in 2008 but then...

NEW YORK – A district judge had a few choice words for an attorney filing multiple lawsuits against Subway franchisees, who were not compliant with disability laws that protected his disabled clients. Quoting a legal giant who helped pave the way for passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) legislation, the judge stated, “A lawyer is either a social engineer or he’s a parasite on society.” Then, in addressing the case before him he exclaimed, “The conduct of counsel is indicative of a parasite disguised as a social engineer. It must stop.”  Adam Shore, representing wheelchair-bound Mike Costello, who often frequents Subway sandwich restaurants in his neighborhood is the culprit Judge Sterling Johnson, Jr. referred to. The disabled...

DENVER – An anonymous franchisee sent out a desperate plea last weekend to store owners across the country, urging them to join others in a new blast of litigation against Quiznos.  “We are nothing more than an ATM machine to the Quiznos corporation; every time they want more money they increase our costs! We are not failing because we run bad stores, we are failing because of the greed driving the Quiznos corporation! Even Bernie Madoff would be proud of this scam. It's time to step up, take action, and force change!” The email states that the franchisor continues to eat away at store owners’ profitability by eliminating the rebates they desperately depend on to keep their stores alive. But the unnamed sender says even that lifeline wasn’t...

Molly Maid franchisee Bryan P. Frantz of Missouri, photo: BBB ST. LOUIS — A Missouri-based Molly Maid franchise owner was arrested in February for using a key reserved for cleaning days and allegedly later sneaking into the apartment to perform a first-degree burglary job. Franchisee Bryan P. Frantz, age 31, posted a $35,000 bond on February 25.   The apartment resident said she was working from home Friday afternoon when she heard someone come through her front door, according to investigative reporters at the St. Louis Better Business Bureau and a police report. She thought it was her husband but became suspicious after hearing someone rummaging through her kitchen cabinets. She confronted Frantz as he was inspecting her husband's prescription medication. Thinking...