The next time you dip an Al’s Italian Beef in gravy or bite into a Nancy’s pizza, your consumer experience may be enhanced by student research from another well-known Chicago institution: DePaul University.

As part of an undergraduate business course, 17 DePaul entrepreneurship students collaborated this summer with Chicago Franchise Systems of Tinley Park, Ill. – which licenses 60 Al’s and Nancy’s restaurants in three states – to evaluate operations, finances, marketing and service quality at stores in the chain. 

The students spent five weeks interviewing franchise owners, employees and customers at six Chicago-area Al’s and Nancy’s restaurants.  They studied demographic data for each store; toured the Al’s Beef training facility in Orland Park; pored over the firm’s financial statements and interviewed franchise executives. From their analysis, they provided the executives with their recommendations for improving operations and growing sales, from new methods for tracking store finances to marketing through social media.

“Chicago Franchise Systems gave students full access to their operations and employees; they were looking for fresh ideas,” said Harold Welsch, DePaul’s Coleman Entrepreneurship Chair, who taught the course. “They opened their books so students could study cost data, which provided a rare opportunity for an extraordinary learning experience.”

Impressed with the class and its professor, Dave Howey, president of Chicago Franchise Systems, called the students’ research and ideas “very worthwhile,” particularly their recommendations for utilizing social media sites to reach out to young consumers.

“The students provided a new set of eyes and a new point of view.  They looked at it from different angles and provided an in-depth, third-party overview, which is very valuable.”

DePaul’s strong network of alumni played a big role in bringing together the franchise and the students.  Michael Stadnicki, vice president of franchise development for Chicago Franchise Systems, earned his undergraduate management degree from DePaul in 2000 and is currently enrolled in DePaul’s evening MBA program. 

He studied entrepreneurship with Welsch and credits the hands-on approach of DePaul’s highly ranked entrepreneurship program for his career success.  His first foray into entrepreneurship after graduation—Nextdayfunding, a credit card system for taxicabs—started as a proposal that he created under Welsch’s tutelage to win a student business plan competition. He then worked as executive vice president for Francorp, the largest franchise consulting company in the U.S., before joining Chicago Franchise Systems in 2007.

Stadnicki welcomed the chance to work with his mentor again through the class research project and to provide current students the kind of hands-on, practical learning experiences he had at DePaul. “DePaul is Chicago-based, and Al’s and Nancy’s are Chicago institutions. This provides great synergy,” he said. “Students understand the local brand.  Through the project they gained first-hand knowledge about business.  It also was very valuable for us to get their insights on procedures, processes, markets, store layout and financials.”

DePaul MBA student and graduate assistant Neil Feuling, a restaurant veteran and business consultant who helped the undergraduate students identify a diagnostic model and utilize industry resources to enhance their final report, said studying an existing franchise is a great way for students to learn about founding their own businesses. 

“Students were able to learn about both the exciting and the challenging aspects of owning a business from the individual franchisees,” he said.  “You need an entrepreneurial spirit to be able to run these businesses and to grow the franchise.”