Photo: Garnett Workun and his wife Darlene
After nearly 20 years growing a Little Caesar’s franchise, Garnett Workun,’84 BCom, ’87 MBA, and his business partner took their biggest leap yet: creating original restaurants. In the past
opened Burrito Libre: Fresh Southwest Grill, and a hamburger joint, Rodeo Burger. Both three years they’ve
restaurants were recently awarded Golden Fork Awards for best food of their type by Edmonton’s Vue Weekly. Between the Little Caesar’s and the new businesses, Garnett and his partner now operate 26 restaurants in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia.
who wants a
burgerrito? G A RN E T T W O RKUN
How did running franchise restaurants prepare you to create your own establishments? A franchise is a good place to start and gain some valuable experience. It can remove a lot of the risk; if the concept worked somewhere else, replicate the market conditions and it should work again. If you pick a good one, a franchise allows you to learn and practice the basics.
hand-cut Kinnebec potatoes fries, delicious buns freshly delivered by Bee Bell Health Bakery, and condiments made on-site.
Why did you decide to branch out? We felt confident that after 20-plus years in the business we were ready to do something on our own. We identified a definite hole in Canada for high-quality fresh Mexican food served quickly, and we came up with Burrito Libre to fill that hole. We also felt there was a big gap in the market between the purely fast-food, low-cost, low-quality burger
In addition to food, what are the keys to running a good restaurant? People and location. Nothing compares to the challenge presented by people. This is something I used to absolutely take for granted -- “if not you, then I’ll get somebody else.” I definitely learned the hard way that we have great restaurants because we have great people operating these restaurants. We want people who are not only passionate about serving our customers, but passionate about serving their fellow team members. I spend upwards of 70 percent of my time in our 26 restaurants, identifying those who have the passion to serve. They are given maximum opportunity to grow and take on additional responsibilities.
Alberta is THE heartland OF burgers -- burgers are considered soul food. We created Rodeo Burgers to fill that gap. and the $12 casual dining burger.
What sets your restaurants apart from other burrito or burger bars? They definitely stand apart from a design and menu perspective. We wanted to significantly ramp up the quality of typical fast food without sacrificing speed of service. With Burrito Libre, everything is prepared fresh on-site. Nothing is frozen or out of a can. Our guacamole is made fresh four times a day, and our meats are slow cooked for nine hours. Similar comments apply to our Rodeo Burgers. Quality shines with 100 percent Angus beef ground daily,
How do you choose a location? We spend a lot of time analyzing real estate, doing demographic research, studying traffic counts, and identifying geographic and psychological barriers. Nothing makes a location like a good piece of real estate, and nothing compensates for selecting a poor piece of real estate. What’s the best part of owning your own restaurants? If you love food and enjoy dealing with people, restaurants are a great place to be. It can be extremely satisfying to put in the time scouting a location, negotiating a lease, going through construction, securing investments, and then seeing it all pay off. Sometimes, the stars and planets seem to align, and you realize it is running better than you ever imagined. That is something really special. None of my business ventures have been as profitable as well-run restaurants.