Entry Details

About the Entry

Category: 
All Content > Impact/Investigative > Upper Midwest

Title of entry: 
The Tragedy of Dominik Mendoza

Issue or Publication date:
July 27, 2023

Publication name: 
Restaurant Business

Publishing/parent company: 
Informa Connect

View Website home page:
https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/

Description of the enterprising work that went into this entry and its significance or impact on readers:

No restaurant in U.S. history has been in decline to the extent of Quiznos, which has fewer than 200 locations after reaching nearly 5,000 in 2007. But with new management and ownership, the company has been signing franchise deals aggressively and developed a costly new prototype.

RB Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Maze examined the tragic results of this grow-at-all-costs mentality. Through careful examination of numerous details, he told the story of Dominik Mendoza, who was heralded as part of a new generation of franchisees. Dominik signed a big deal to open Quiznos locations in multiple states and opened the first of what was expected to be a new generation of restaurants.

Within a year, he took his own life. It exposed deep problems with the entire process. And then the company terminated her franchise and threatened to charge Dominik's widow for lost future royalties on the closed restaurant. Also notable is this: This wasn't the first franchisee suicide in Quiznos history.

The result is a deeply reported, tragic tale that highlights the downside of franchising. The story generated considerable attention in franchise circles and helped generate 20 subscriptions to Restaurant Business.

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https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/tragedy-dominik-mendoza