Daniel Halpern is the co-founder and CEO of Jackmont Hospitality, an Atlanta-based restaurant management company that owns and operates 37 different TGI Friday's restaurants and other independent concept restaurants. The company was co-founded in 1994 by the late Maynard Jackson, the first Black mayor of Atlanta, and his family.
One of the most successful TGI Fridays franchisees in the U.S., their restaurants are located in various states including Georgia, Florida, Pennsylvania, Maryland, South Carolina, and North Carolina -- many of which are located in some of the country's busiest airports.
The Hartsfield-Jackson International Atlanta Airport, for example, conveniently houses four of their TGI Friday's restaurants.
While airport locations are much harder to operate compared to street locations, Halpern says they have decided to really target the airport space because they see great opportunities and profitability there. He told Black Enterprise, "The revenues are high, but you must have a very good operator in place for it to run smoothly."
When Jackson sadly passed away in 2003, Halpern said that there was a lot of negativity about the company's ability to stay afloat especially when their revenue dropped to just $9 million in annual revenue. But he and the team felt the responsibility to keep the business growing, and have done just that.
In 2019, the company recorded over $170 million in revenue and was even named Franchise Group of the Year at the annual TGI Fridays' Global Business Conference.
For more information about Daniel Halpern or Jackmont Hospitality, visit www.jackmont.com