Franchisee Interview With Danny Lehan

Village Inn Multi Unit Franchise Owner Discusses His Experience

Owner of 9 Village Inn franchise locations in the state of Florida, Danny Lehan has been with Village Inn since he was 14 years old. As a teenager, he rode his bike to work as a busboy at Village Inn in his neighborhood, and with time, climbed the ranks to franchise partner in 2011. Now he brings the brand he has grown up with to other neighborhoods, spreading classic breakfast dishes, dinner and lunch staples, and pies worthy of a place on your holiday table.

Why did you invest in Village Inn?

Number one was love of the brand. Village Inn has a great community feel, and the community loves Village Inn. I have worked in all positions and have done everything from A to Z as far as the operating system. I knew the system like the back of my hand, so it was very quick and efficient for me to operate. For me personally, it was a good fit. The profitability has been good, and we’ve doubled our size every two years.

What are the most popular menu items in your stores?

Bacon and eggs. We’re known for our skillets, and our pancakes are the best in the business. Our pies are amazing. Our French toast is world class, and now we’re stuffing it with cheesecake. So I’d probably say skillets are number one, because they are uniquely filled with classic favorites, pancakes, number two, and pies, number three. But the number one thing we are selling, though, is just bacon and eggs.

What is the ongoing support like from your corporate franchise team?

Corporate has been 100%. Behind location finding and approval, they’re quick on their feet to lend a hand with operational questions. Between IT and marketing, we feel very well supported. Some of the tech they have added, such as the Village Inn app for our consumers, has been a great resource. It’s been able to maintain and help us retain and get more frequent visits by our guests. The franchise team and our franchise consultant have helped us so much. I can’t say enough about how much support and love we feel. I’m just in love with the brand. I’m in love with the people. I’m in love with the new leadership. They’re a big cheerleader for me, and it just keeps me going. And I want to thank them. They’re always readily available. And they’re quick to solve any issues that come in your way.

What makes Village Inn different from competitors?

Number one, our franchisor, and the support we get – it’s world class. Number two is the supply chain and food quality. The pies create an additional revenue stream too. And that’s how we’ve been able to get our average unit volume to $2.1 million, because of the different branches, the breakfast all day, the pie offerings, and some very stable, consistent dinner offerings.

What makes the best Village Inn franchise owner?

Probably the number one thing would be love of people. We’re in the people business. So we will be looking for happy, people orientated, systems focused, and value centric people. Also someone that understands building skills through a well-rounded system. So we are looking for someone that would speak well and probably have a basic understanding of operating the systems. If you operate a system that’s how you build success. So that would be some of the things that I would discuss with a new franchise partner.

Why is now a good time to invest in a Village Inn franchise?

I think it’s a great time to invest in Village Inn right now, even though they’re saying we’re in a downturn recession. I personally feel, and I’ve also witnessed in my 30+ years of being with Village Inn, that this is a recession resilient business. People choose us more during bad times. They choose us more because it’s that great comfort food. And that’s probably why the brand has been around for over 65 years now.

Learn More about Franchising with Village Inn

Are you ready to bring classic American breakfast, dinner staples, and delicious pies to your community? Village Inn is experiencing a refresh with a bright new future ahead and an experienced and eager team ready to help you grow your business. Village Inn is looking for new entrepreneurs as we are poised for nationwide expansion.

To learn more about the history of Village Inn, investment costs, and how we support you, visit our research pages here. To start a conversation with our franchise team about starting your path towards Village Inn franchise ownership, fill out our inquiry form here. We’ll be in touch with a complimentary copy of our Franchise Information Report, containing more information about the Village Inn franchise opportunity. We look forward to hearing from you!