Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue II, 2014 | Page 42

REC ON NECT: M U LT I - B RA N D 50
BY KERRY PIPES

Peak Performers

S

Steve and Joanne Reitz aim for “perfect every time”

teve and Joanne Reitz are partners in life and in franchising.
Since we last checked in with
him (2009, Q4) the two also
have been partners in exploring. In
2010, with their teenaged son Matthew,
they climbed Tanzania’s Mt. Kilimanjaro (19,341 feet). “It was an amazing
trip,” he says. In fact, Joanne has been
bitten by the exploration bug and has
climbed several other mountains since,
including Everest Base Camp in Nepal.
But back at home, it’s still business as

40

MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISEE IS S UE II, 2014

NAME: Steve Reitz
TITLE: President
COMPANY: Reitz Enterprises
NO. OF UNITS: 8 Supercuts, 3
Fi ve Guys Burgers and Fries
AGE: 60
FAMILY: Wife Joanne, son

Matthew

YEARS IN FRANCHISING: 22
YEARS IN CURRENT POSITION: 22

usual for the husband-and-wife team.
When we last chatted with Reitz, he
had 7 Supercuts salons in the Jacksonville, Fla., area and had just opened his
first Five Guys Burgers and Fries restaurant in his territory of Western Oakland
County, Mich. Reitz, who now lives in
Florida, grew up in Detroit. His brother,
a contractor, still lives in Michigan and
has handled the construction of Reitz’s
Five Guys units there.
“It’s been a tough market during the
past 4 years,” he says. “Restaurant sales