From Friendly’s server to company owner: How Brix Holdings’ new leader draws on his roots

What propels someone from serving breakfast at Friendly’s to owning the entire company? For Amol Kohli, now owner of Friendly’s parent company Brix Holdings through his investment group Legacy Brands International, the long journey required patience, hard work, and good timing.

Kohli comes from a first-generation Indian-American immigrant family and said he was taught the value of hard work at a young age. As a teenager, one of his first jobs was working as a breakfast shift waiter at his local Friendly’s on the weekends, where by age 18 he had worked his way up to store manager. Kohli went to business school at Drexel University during a time of economic downturn, and while in school, he received a call from his boss at Friendly’s who was acquiring stores and wanted help running the back office.

“When the time came to graduate college, I came out with high marks in finance, and now I had three to four years of experience on the restaurant administrative side,” Kohli said. “I came to the fork in the road and stuck with what was working. So, when the opportunity came for me to apply to franchise in my early 20s, I did it. … This whole thing has just been a natural evolution.”

By 2018, Kohli was the youngest franchisee in the Friendly’s system. But as his career as a multi-unit franchisee developed, Kohli had no idea it would lead to ownership of the entire company.

“I realized after becoming a father that there was such a love for Friendly’s as a familiar brand,” he said. “I was able to experience the brand like I never had before in my life. I don’t care how many business books you read, you cannot experience interfacing with a decently run Friendly’s as a parent until you go to one. And I kept thinking, ‘Families need this. We can do better.’ … Once I got to 20-30 units, it gave me a voice in the company, but there was no guarantee [the acquisition] was going to happen.”

Kohli is developing a strategic plan for Brix Holdings, which, besides Friendly’s, also owns Clean Juice, Orange Leaf, Red Mango, Smoothie Factory + Kitchen, Souper Salad, and Humble Donut Co., which includes franchisee success and smart development.

“We’re not here to make sharp turns,” he said. “Let’s grow responsibly. My No. 1 priority is for people to know that franchising is a real career path, and not just for millionaires. … We want to build a platform that allows that visibility, exposure, and moderate comfort to those who are looking to be a part of this space.”

For Kohli, responsible growth starts with infilling regional markets and then identifying the right new markets for the Brix brands, many of which are not well-known outside of their home states and cities. While he does not want to give specific store growth goals, Kohli said that it makes sense to take things “25 stores at a time.”

“One of the things I love about Brix is that most of the brands are regional but have demonstrated proof of market in other markets,” he said. “We want to infill the East Coast with Clean Juice and Friendly’s, and I think Texas would be a great market to get into. … I think a lot of these brands can be in many neighborhoods throughout the country, but I don’t have a hard unit number yet.”

Besides development, Kohli wants to focus on preserving the legacy of Brix Holdings’ regional brands, particularly Friendly’s, while also modernizing them. Friendly’s recently began revamping its tech stack, including the launch of a new mobile app through Lunchbox, AI testing, and business intelligence investment. He is also open to acquiring more brands in the future.

“Our No. 1 focus is to continue making sure what we have is good and stays good,” Kohli said. “Then, as we look to onboard [more brands], we have to think if it strategically makes sense, not just from a dollars perspective, but from an operational one. There’s no specific hunt to go spend and acquire in the next six months, but [acquisitions] are definitely in our target range.”