January 26th, 2021 by Jason Keeler
DE SOTO, Kan. — Jan. 26, 2021 — Goodcents Deli Fresh Subs, the Kansas-based chain with 63 locations throughout the Midwest, has named Farrellynn Wolf its new CEO last year. As Wolf takes the helm, she’s marking her new role with a bold move, fundamentally changing the brand’s signature product — adding 30 percent more meat to its freshly-sliced subs.
While other brands are looking for ways to cut costs by trimming down their menu and products, Goodcents, on the other hand, is ramping up its investment, giving customers more of what they love about the brand, 30 percent bigger hand-sliced subs served on freshly baked, soft bread.
“We know it’s an unexpected move but we’re confident we’re taking an already-delicious sub and making it even better,” said Wolf. “Our guests love the idea of a sandwich packed with more protein and we think it will be yet another reason our guests choose Goodcents.”
The decision is just one of several innovative moves Goodcents has made this year, all designed to help the chain’s franchisees not just survive the pandemic’s hit on the industry, but thrive.
Goodcents is no stranger to menu expansion. Last year, the chain rolled out Goodcents-to-Go meals, hearty, single-serve dinner options, including salmon, pot roast and pasta, which are also growing in popularity. During the stay-at-home orders, the brand added meat and cheese by-the-pound to its menu lineup.
“We’re not seeing other restaurants enhance their products across the board like we are,” said Wolf. “When you’re in a league by yourself, you raise your own bar.”
Same-store sales for the popular brand are up nearly double digits over this time last year.
The chain, known for its soft bread, baked fresh twice daily, will introduce the new sandwiches Jan. 25.
Wolf started with Goodcents 22 years ago as CFO, when the chain had only a handful of restaurants in the Kansas City area. She plans to leverage her deep brand knowledge — and recent wins — to continue growing Goodcents through its franchisee-owner base.
About Goodcents
Goodcents has 30-years experience as a leading sub sandwich franchise. Founded in Lenexa, Kansas, and headquartered in DeSoto, Kansas, the company is known for its signature bread recipes baked fresh twice daily in the restaurants, hand-sliced meats and cheeses to order and hearty pasta and dinner options ready to go. Visit Goodcentssubs.com or download the Goodcents app to order. Connect with Goodcents on Facebook at /GoodcentsSubs; Twitter @EatGoodcents, Instagram @EatGoodcents.
July 6th, 2020 by Jason Keeler
DESOTO, Kansas — July 7, 2020 – To celebrate the highly-anticipated return of Major League Soccer, Sporting KC and Goodcents will give away 16-inch subs to 270 fans – enough to span the full 120-yard length of the Children’s Mercy Park pitch from goal to goal – ahead of Sporting’s match at 7 p.m. CT on Sunday, July 12th at the MLS is Back Tournament in Florida.
The partnership kicks off today with a commercial featuring local legend Matt Besler, an Overland Park native and Sporting KC captain, who grew up eating Goodcents after his games. In the commercial, Besler reflects on his time playing youth soccer and the legacy he hopes to leave his own children.
“I’m thrilled to support Goodcents, a locally-owned company and my go-to spot for game day food growing up,” said Besler. “I’ve been getting subs there since it was called Mr. Goodcents and now we take our family.”
Fans need to download the Sporting KC – Official App by Thursday, July 9, Noon CST to learn how to claim their 16-inch Goodcents sub before Sporting plays Minnesota United live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes.
In addition, children under 12 can get a free cookie throughout the summer by wearing Sporting gear or their own youth jersey to their local Goodcents.
“We’re so excited for the opportunity to partner with another local franchise,” said Arielle Long-Seabra. “We’re both locally-owned, committed to the Kansas City community and, given the fact that Matt grew up on our sandwiches, this felt like a natural partnership for both of us.”
Additional partnership-related events will be announced throughout the season via the Sporting KC app, online at www.goodcentssubs.com, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @EatGoodcents.
All details about the Fill-the-Pitch Sub Giveaway will be available on the Sporting KC app, including the following conditions. The free subs are available to the first 270 fans to claim them. The Goodcents’ Benjamin is excluded from the offer. Winners can schedule to pick up their sub at a later date. Only one free sub per guest. Must be 18 to claim the prize.
About Goodcents
Goodcents has 30 years’ experience as a leading sub sandwich franchise. Founded in Lenexa, Kan. and headquartered in De Soto, Kan., the company is known for its signature bread recipes baked fresh twice daily in the restaurants, hand-sliced meats and cheeses to order that are available for delivery. Visit goodcentssubs.com or download the Goodcents app to order. Connect with Goodcents through Facebook at www.facebook.com/eatgoodcents and Twitter @EatGoodcents.
May 11th, 2020 by Jason Keeler
We are excited to welcome three new franchisees (so far) in 2020! We have officially awarded four franchises that will include two new Goodcents locations and two transfers of existing locations.
Eric Lessard has been managing two locations in the Phoenix market for roughly 2 years and has decided to dive head-first into ownership. He will be purchasing one of the locations he has been managing and opening a new location as well. Rakesh Patel is new to our concept and in that same fashion will be opening a new location in St Charles, MO. Brian Schwenkter is a long-time member of the Goodcents family, working in the restaurants his father has owned in the Saint Louis market since he was 16 years old, and is officially purchasing one of those two locations himself. While the initial signing days (and our group photos) took place just prior to the current pandemic, Lessard chose to sign for his second location digitally amidst stay-at-home orders.
We cannot be more excited to be growing our family both internally and externally, especially during such uncertain times. We are proud to be performing as well as we are thanks to our fair and honest promotions during this pandemic and look forward to the many new franchisees who would like to join us on this journey as a result. “We’ve been in business for over 31 years now, we’ve experienced recessions and downturns and now pandemics and our brand is as strong as it has ever been,” Director of Franchise Development Jami Bond said. “We are so excited to continue serving our existing guests and make many new ones happy soon!”
Want to learn more about the vast opportunities for growth as a Goodcents franchisee? Visit our new and improved franchising site at OwnAGoodcents.com.
April 17th, 2020 by Jason Keeler
On March 20th, we launched our #StockTheFridge promotion as a response to the fallout from Covid-19. With grocery stores running low on basic necessities but filling up with people, we knew we needed to provide an affordable, safe alternative to getting some meal-time staples. We began selling our meats and cheeses for $5 a pound*, our Goodcents To Go meals for $5 each and our signature soft loaves of bread for $0.75 each.
This was not a profit-driving endeavor for us, in fact it was quite the opposite. We recognized a threat both to our guests in their ability to maintain food security as well as our franchisees in their ability to maintain business security as our lobbies began to close. The goal of this promotion was to provide some necessary products to our guests at a price that was fair to them and that could create enough cash flow to pay the bills and our valued employees working on the front line.
On April 5th, the Goodcents Foundation announced the #PayItForward program. This program gives guests the ability to purchase extra pounds of meat and cheese at checkout to then be delivered to local charities. We have partnered with 13 nonprofits in our varying trade areas, listed below, to assure local donations stay local. “We have received an overwhelmingly positive response, but one response we had not accounted for was the desire of our guests to purchase some of these goods for a neighbor in need. We were surprised but proud, and we felt the need to facilitate this goodwill to the best of our abilities.” said Stacy Glazer, Executive Director of the Goodcents Foundation.
This pandemic was not something any restaurateur was prepared for. Closing lobbies, procedural alterations, fluctuating availability of products, many new challenges reared their heads. But, we knew, no matter the challenge, if our local businesses supported our guests in an honest and affordable way, we would come out on the other side of this stronger. And thus far we have. We have experienced comp system sales that outperform the industry average by 2-3X. We even have restaurants posting positive comp sales! We are inexplicably grateful for our hardworking Goodcents crews knocking it out of the park by continuing to uphold our cleanliness and freshness standards and for our loyal Goodcents guests and their response, and we feel proud of what we have been able to accomplish thus far. We can’t wait to see what we can continue to do together in the future.
Our Partners:
City Union Mission
Operation Food Search
Tabitha Health
Salvation Army of Springfield
Let’s Help, Inc.
Open Door Mission
Kansas Food Bank
Open Door Service Center. INC
The Banquet
Marceline Coordinated Welfare Council
Flint Hills Breadbasket
Abundant Harvest Food Kitchen
Bixby Community Outreach Center
*Currently excludes Roast Beef
December 4th, 2019 by Jason Keeler
Goodcents cookies are great any day of the year, but what if you could have them EVERY DAY of the year for free? During the holiday shopping season, Goodcents is offering a great gift solution that gives year-round while benefitting a local charity.
December 4 is National Cookie Day and the launch of the Goodcents “Free Cookies for a Year” card. The card costs only $25 plus shipping and is redeemable in any Goodcents store around the country for a free cookie every day of the year starting January 1, 2020.
All proceeds from the sale of the card will benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters Kansas City, providing an extra gift of a charitable tax deduction for the person who purchases the card.
“Big Brothers Big Sisters is excited to partner with Goodcents on National Cookie Day,” said Micheal Lawrence, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Kansas City. All donations will go directly towards matching more of our 446 waiting kids with a caring, adult mentor that will help them defend, empower and ignite their potential.”
The Goodcents “Free Cookies for a Year” card is a limited gift since only 1,000 cards will be sold nationwide.
“We are pleased to have two national organizations working together to help youth while providing an exciting offer for our great-tasting cookies on National Cookie Day,” said Mike O’Toole, Goodcents President. “We hope to sell out of our cards and present Big Brothers Big Sisters with our donation as part of the holiday season.”
Cards can be purchased online here. Cards can be redeemed at any Goodcents location for the duration of 2020. To learn more about Big Brothers Big Sisters of Kansas City, head over to their website here.
September 21st, 2018 by Jason Keeler
Former Goodcents franchise owner and industry veteran promoted to lead Goodcents growth and expansion
DE SOTO, Kan. –Goodcents® announced the promotion of Mike O’Toole to lead the company as Chief Growth & Support Officer. O’Toole will direct the strategic vision of the business, including continued franchise growth, franchise support, menu innovation, and overall customer experience.
“Mike is a seasoned veteran who has worked in the franchise and corporate realm for many years,” said Joe Bisogno, chairman and founder of Goodcents. “He uniquely understands the needs of our business and has a clear vision for our growth moving forward.”
O’Toole has been part of the Goodcents leadership team for more than 12 years, most recently as the company’s Executive Director of Operations. Starting as a Goodcents franchise owner, he’s also worked with the company as a Regional Trainer, Franchise Business Consultant and Director of Training and Operations. Prior to joining Goodcents, O’Toole also worked in various leadership roles for KFC, Taco Bell, and Yum! Brands.
As part of the Goodcents leadership team, O’Toole has played a key role in a variety of recent successful initiatives for the business that have contributed to its success and growth.
Franchise Satisfaction and Awards
Overall franchise satisfaction for Goodcents is the highest it’s been in more than three years. Goodcents was recently recognized as a top franchise for 2018 by Entrepreneur Magazineand Franchise Business Review, the leading market research firm in the franchise industry. Goodcents was also named one of the Top 50 Best Franchises by FitSmallBusiness.com in 2016 for positive financial performance.
Digital and Enhanced Ordering Strategy
Goodcents launched a new digital consumer interaction and ordering strategy has helped significantly boost sales. This includes a new website, mobile app, online ordering, digital loyalty platform, and a new ‘Goodcents of the Future’ restaurant prototype featuring some of the industry’s first in-store and drive-thru digital ordering kiosks.
Digital Training and Support
The Goodcents Franchise Support team developed its own video and text-based digital training tools that significantly improved operational quality and efficiency. New employees no longer reference training materials through a traditional printed binder or guide. All training materials are optimized for mobile and tablets through an interactive text-to-learn program, as well as a self-guided training and support platform called Goodcents University.
Business Growth
Goodcents announced its first restaurant to surpass $1 million in annual sales across its system of more than 80 locations across the United States in 2017.
“I’m honored to have the opportunity to lead the Goodcents business, together with our amazing staff and franchise owners,” said O’Toole. “After nearly 30 years, our brand is stronger than ever and I’m excited for our continued growth and expansion opportunities ahead.”
To learn more about Goodcents Franchising opportunities, visit https://goodcentssubs.com/franchising/.
April 18th, 2018 by Jason Keeler
If you ever have the chance to meet Hardip ‘Singh’ Dosanjh, you’ll know right away that he was meant to work in the restaurant and food service industry. His passion for good food combined with his positive, outgoing personality is the perfect recipe for success.
Singh was born in Punjab, India and moved to the U.S. with his parents in 1978, then to Kansas City in 1979.
As a young teenager he worked at various restaurants and became the youngest General Manager of Furr’s Cafeteria in the company’s history at the age of 19. Working 70 hours per week for more than 10 years, he was determined to work his way up into higher leadership positions, but the demanding hours of the job were taking a toll.
While working at Furr’s, Myron Green (now TreatAmerica) approached Singh and asked him to help manage a variety of its corporate cafeterias across the Kansas City area.
“This opportunity couldn’t have come at a better time,” said Dosanjh. “Joining Myron Green was a key turning point in my life and my career, allowing me to make more money and have more time to help raise a family.”
Singh spent more than 16 years leading and managing numerous cafeterias for TreatAmerica, including HR Block, Yellow Freight, Commerce Bank and Powell Gardens. He had a unique entrepreneurial approach and was very successful building and growing the cafeterias he managed, quickly becoming one of the top performers across the company.
He originally began investing some of his extra earnings into real-estate, but sold out of those right before the downturn in 2008. Shortly after, a friend reached out to him and his wife, Inderjit, about the possibility of owning their own Goodcents restaurant.
“I had always dreamed about owning my own restaurant, but I didn’t want to start something from the ground up,” said Dosanjh. “Goodcents provided a unique turn key opportunity that I knew would be a steady, consistent investment for our family.”
Singh and his wife Inderjit purchased their first Goodcents restaurant at 87th and Antioch Rd. in Overland Park, Kan. in 2012 where they were able to more than double revenue within the first three years. And subsequently purchased a second Goodcents restaurant shortly after off I-435 and Roe Ave. in Overland Park, Kan., both of which they still own and operate today.
Goodcents became the Dosanjh’s family business. Inderjit left her career as a nurse at St. Joseph Medical Center to run the restaurants, while Singh was still working with Treat America. Their son and daughter also worked in the restaurants with their friends after school and every summer throughout high school and college.
“The thing I have loved most about running our Goodcents restaurants, is having something our family could do together and providing a platform for people to grow and learn both personally and professionally,” said Dosanjh. “I was fortunate to have some great people looking out for me along the way and now I enjoy paying that forward.”
Despite growing pressures across the fast casual industry, both of Singh’s restaurants revenues have continued to grow year over year. Singh attributes the majority of his success on having a great core team of employees and focusing on the basics of customer service. He always puts a huge focus on treating everyone equally and training his employees to know their customers.
“Our industry has lost its eye on true customer service,” he said. “All people really want is for people to make them feel wanted by remembering their name, who their kids are and they will be loyal to your business.”
February 8th, 2018 by Jason Keeler
Goodcents announced the launch of its second Centsable Kitchen concept today in Lawrence, Kan. Located at 2233 Louisiana St., the new Centsable Kitchen concept features a new line of hearty meal options that are available in grab-n-go style refrigeration units alongside the traditional Goodcents menu of freshly-sliced sub sandwiches and pastas.
The first Centsable Kitchen concept debuted in October inside the Goodcents restaurant located at 10432 S Ridgeview Rd. Olathe, Kan. 66061 (K-10 and Ridgeview Rd.).
Centsable Kitchen features a wide variety of pre-packaged meals including options like: Tri-tip, steak with roasted potatoes, Classic Lasagna, Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Carnitas Tacos, Grilled Alaskan Salmon, Mac & Cheese and more. It will also include special soup varieties. The meals are custom recipes developed by the Goodcents Culinary Team.
The meals are available for fast and convenient pick up in-restaurant, as well as delivery via the Goodcents website (within three miles of the 23rd and Louisiana location). They range from $5-9 per meal.
“We’ve had great feedback from our customers at the first Centsable Kitchen concept that launched in Olathe late last year and we are excited to continue expanding,” said Scott Ford, president of Goodcents Franchise Systems.
“We realize people’s lives are hectic and how hard it is to find hearty, nutritious options when you are on the go,” continued Ford. “Our goal with Centsable Kitchen is to deliver delicious meal options that compliment our established menu of sub sandwiches and pastas. These can be an alternative choice to in-restaurant dining or easy take-home options for later meals.”
Goodcents uses durable, leak resistant, BPA-free packaging that is FDA & CFIA approved. The containers are microwave, dishwasher and freezer safe that can easily be reused and or recycled.
For a limited time, Goodcents is running a special introductory offer of 5 meals for $20. To order online go to https://order.goodcentssubs.com/, select location #1025 and use code MEALPREP.
To see a full menu of the Goodcents Centsable Kitchen menu or to learn more, visit www.centsablekitchen.com.
October 25th, 2017 by Jason Keeler
Devinder Singh is the definition of the American dream.
He was born in Punjab, India and moved with his parents to Kansas City when he was just 9-years-old. They sought a better quality of life and good education for their children. His parents worked a variety of jobs trying to make ends meet, while Singh and his younger brother attended school in the Olathe, Kan. district.
After his father was laid off from one of his jobs, his family was introduced to Goodcents Franchise Systems. They had never been exposed to the world of franchising, but were intrigued by the opportunity to own their own business and control their own destiny.
They purchased their first restaurant in 2004. Singh spent most of his early teenage years inside the restaurant working with his parents.
“I learned a lot about entrepreneurialism and work ethic watching my parents,” said Singh. “They worked hard to give me and my brother the best life they could.”
After graduating from Olathe North High School, he went on to the University of Missouri, Kansas City (UMKC) where he earned a degree in finance, while also working two jobs. He always knew that he wanted to explore the chance of owning his own restaurant with Goodcents as well.
“I knew the business and the Goodcents Franchise team had become family to us, so I knew they would be there to support me,” Singh said.
So, in July 2016, Singh partnered with the Goodcents franchise team to open his first restaurant (776 N Ridgeview Rd, Olathe, KS 66061) in the same Olathe community where he had grown up. While he wanted to be his own boss, he also wanted to give back to the community that had supported his family.
“The community here in Kansas City and Olathe has been so important to me and my family and I wanted the chance to give back,” said Singh.
In just the first year, Devinder has grown his restaurant to be the top performer in Kansas City, and second in the system. Most days you will find him at his restaurant prepping food or training employees, but he also spends a lot of time building relationships with local schools and community organizations. He also loves spending time with his family, including his wife and one-year-old son, as well as working out at the gym.
Singh plans to open additional locations in the near future.
