BWW SPOTLIGHT
GETTING TO KNOW
Sarah Yatchak
S
15
SCORE | 2015 Issue 1
The franchised business model increasingly has come under
attack in the past few years, so figuring out how to preserve
separateness on key issues—while at the same time striving for
brand protection—is important work that we must do,” she said.
“I think Franchise Business Services has a clear role to play in
terms of maintaining necessary separateness.”
When away from work, Yatchak turns her focus to her
family. She and law-school-sweetheart-turned-husband, Patrick,
have a 6-year-old daughter named Gillian.“She gives us a run
for our money every day—much like her mother, I’m told,” joked
Yatchak. In addition to being a busy attorney, wife and mother,
Yatchak likes to attend concerts with friends or spend time
training in Russian kettlebells, one day hoping to become certified to instruct.
Overall, Yatchak is an excellent advocate for Buffalo Wild
Wings® and her sentiments mirror that of many franchisees.
“There are a lot of things to love about the Buffalo Wild Wings®
brand, but one thing that stands out is the extent to which the
brand epitomizes connectedness and fun! It’s great to know that
everything we do is focused on achieving that goal.” S
THE
enior Attorney and Director of Franchise Relationships & Development Sarah Yatchak was no stranger
to Buffalo Wild Wings® before joining the company in
2011. In fact, she had already worked with the brand
as outside counsel for five years at the law firm of Faegre &
Benson. While there, she counseled both mature and emerging
franchisors on matters involving franchise registration, disclosure, relationship and general business issues.“I really enjoyed
my experience as outside counsel and was excited to be asked
to work full time for B-Dubs® as a member of the in-house legal
team,”she said.
Going into law appealed to Yatchak early on.“I’ve always
had a love of learning and knew that I wanted to go to graduate
school after college. Law school seemed like the natural next
step for me, as it played to my strengths and offered an exciting
challenge,”she recalled.
After graduating cum laude from Hamline University
School of Law in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Yatchak began her
career in franchise law with the Minneapolis-based firm of Dady
& Garner, P.A., where she litigated franchise and distribution
disputes nationwide from 2002 to 2005.
Presently, she has split legal and business duties with
Buffalo Wild Wings®—all focused on franchising.“My day is
typically filled with meetings related to various franchise-facing
initiatives, drafting and editing various contracts and other
communications, engaging franchisees in conversations about
development and other general issues, working with Franchise
Operations on different matters, addressing franchise relationship issues that arise, and triaging on different franchise-related
issues. It varies by the minute!” she said.
In her role, Yatchak engages regularly with franchisees on
key system issues and other matters that are important to them
as small-business owners. One avenue for ongoing discussion is
through serving as a company representative on the Buffalo Wild
Wings® Franchise Advisory Council (FAC).“I love to talk with
franchisees on a one-off basis too—ideally, in their markets so
that I can get a better sense for how they’ve built their success,”
she stated.
Acutely aware of the scrutiny put on the franchise model
by edicts such as the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB)
joint-employer ruling, Yatchak appreciates the attention Franchise Business Services (FBS) can give to certain issues that a
franchisor cannot or should not.“As we all know, there are many
external pressures that impact franchisees and franchise systems.