Bill Phelps

I saw systems, I saw processes, I saw this thing's ready to go to be a franchise concept.

And so that combined with the leadership, right, Bill Phelps and Andrew Fugali and what they've been able to do, yeah i mean that i was in

yeah and for some background for folks who might be listening you know bill was also that's kind of where the dave's hot chicken story erupted as well when he came in there and you know i think he's got a he's at least from my observations he's got a kind of similar track record here where you sort of walk into this small brand, but it's got the systems and executive lineup of a really large brand.

He has a really good idea of how to build a head of growth, and I know that sounds simple.

Because I think a lot of times, the thing about franchisees, I mean, they'll give you a really good perspective.

They do tend to be dealing with 10,000 problems at once and are a cynical bunch, which is why we love them.

But You know, they are still going to be the ones that can talk to the most about whether the franchisor is actually supportive or not, which, you know, I imagine in your all case and Bill Phelps is a track record of doing this.

That's usually where it starts.

But now, LeBron, anybody who knows his story as a restaurant investor will not be surprised at all by the news that he has invested in Mike's Red Tacos.

So Mike's Red Tacos is the latest concept to be picked up by Bill Phelps, who... has created kind of a community here in Southern California of investing in growth brands.

He co-founded and grew and sold Wetzel's Pretzels, and then as an investor, Blaze Pizza, and then Dave's Hot Chicken.

And so LeBron...

The connective tissue is Bill Phelps here, but LeBron, it all goes back to when Westwood Pretzels was first growing, John Davis, who's a movie producer here, the son of a big mogul and oil tycoon that the show Dynasty was apparently based on, and his dad was a very rich man, owned 20th Century Fox.

John Davis loves to invest in restaurants.

So he invested in Wetzel's Pretzels, had a good experience, did well.

So when Bill Phelps invested in Blaze Pizza, which was created by Wetzel's Pretzels co-founder Rick Wetzel and his wife, John Davis wanted in.