Red Robin, Wingstop franchisee Mike Axiotis shares tips for expanding portfolio
The CEO of Lehigh Valley Restaurant Brands shares how the team selected Wingstop for its second franchise and looks ahead at industry issues in 2025 Mike Axiotis has had the quintessential restaurant career. The CEO of Lehigh Valley Restaurant Brands (LVRB), a Pennsylvania-based franchise group with 20 Red Robin locations and 10 Wingstop units, started his career washing dishes in his uncle’s diner before working his way up to a partner at that restaurant. He then became an employee with what is today LVRB and worked his way up to manager, general manager, district manager, and vice president of operations at the company before taking his current role as president and CEO. Today, Axiotis — who also serves on the board of the National Restaurant Association — is overseeing the expansion of LVRB, which included buying into the Wingstop system and opening 10 locations over the past two years. The company recently updated its name (it was previously Lehigh Valley Restaurant Group) to reflect the expanded franchise portfolio. Axiotis joined the latest episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches to talk about how Lehigh Valley Restaurant Brands is thoughtfully expanding its portfolio, why he’s optimistic for 2025, and which issues the National Restaurant Association is particularly focused on for the coming year. In this conversation, you’ll learn more about why: In franchising, you’re betting on both the horse and the jockey Your franchise decisions should account for where the puck is going Consolidation should help the restaurant industry in the coming year Restaurant associations offer a great resource for growing operations Contact Sam Oches at sam.oches@informa.com.
admin
Mike Axiotis has had the quintessential restaurant career. The CEO of Lehigh Valley Restaurant Brands (LVRB), a Pennsylvania-based franchise group with 20 Red Robin locations and 10 Wingstop units, started his career washing dishes in his uncle’s diner before working his way up to a partner at that restaurant. He then became an employee with what is today LVRB and worked his way up to manager, general manager, district manager, and vice president of operations at the company before taking his current role as president and CEO.
Today, Axiotis — who also serves on the board of the National Restaurant Association — is overseeing the expansion of LVRB, which included buying into the Wingstop system and opening 10 locations over the past two years. The company recently updated its name (it was previously Lehigh Valley Restaurant Group) to reflect the expanded franchise portfolio.
Axiotis joined the latest episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches to talk about how Lehigh Valley Restaurant Brands is thoughtfully expanding its portfolio, why he’s optimistic for 2025, and which issues the National Restaurant Association is particularly focused on for the coming year.
In this conversation, you’ll learn more about why:
- In franchising, you’re betting on both the horse and the jockey
- Your franchise decisions should account for where the puck is going
- Consolidation should help the restaurant industry in the coming year
- Restaurant associations offer a great resource for growing operations
Contact Sam Oches at sam.oches@informa.com.
