Custom AI System Deep Dive

Johnny T.

Former COO, Blaze Pizza | Practical AI for Owners

I have spent 22 years in restaurant and franchise operations, most recently as Chief Operations Officer at Blaze Pizza. Before that I led operations and training across 2,000 units, 5 brands and 60 countries at Focus Brands (now GoTo Foods), and I started out building training and franchise support at Red Mango, supporting its growth to 200+ locations. Along the way I have coached 1,000+ owners, franchisees and leaders, from small cohorts up through 350- and 500-unit chains across multiple brands. Today I coach owners and entrepreneurs, using the Five P's: People, Profit, Process, Promotion and Priority. Every business stands on all five, and when one is cracked, everything on top wobbles. We start by seeing it, sorting it, and picking the one P to fix first. From there the plan is practical: a simple 90-day plan, a weekly rhythm that holds, clearer numbers, and follow-up on what was committed and what slipped. I also help owners set up practical AI, built on 4 years of AI coaching and about 300 people coached on AI, with one rule: AI drafts, the owner is the filter, and nothing leaves without the owner's OK. The aim is to simplify the complex so the business takes less of the owner's time, not more. Results:* At Red Mango, I built the operating and training systems that supported a startup brand's growth to 200+ locations, including international markets. At Focus Brands, I advanced from Director to Vice President in three years and coached about 100 international owners. At Blaze Pizza, I brought field operations, off-premise strategy and enterprise-wide training systems together as one executive agenda. With small-business owners: a service-business owner's best month on record, with profit up 47%; a studio owner moving from about a 1% margin to 25%; a wellness-practice owner's office visits up 92% in three months. *Owner-reported, not audited. Percentages only; no dollar figures. Clients are not named.