By Charlie Pogacar
When Emily Burns decided to move from franchise brokerage into franchise ownership, she wasn’t looking to reinvent the wheel. In her line of work, she had seen many franchisees succeed and others fail, which informed the way she went about franchising. She wanted to partner with a skilled restaurant operator and franchise brand with a proven track record.
Burns found what she was looking for in Round Table Pizza and area manager Rachel Hobbs.
Today, Burns owns seven Round Table locations in Nevada via her franchising company, Home Slice. Home Slice is thriving and looking into adding more stores, but Burns is quick to note that none of it would be possible without Hobbs, a 12-year Round Table veteran who worked her way up from delivery driver to area manager.
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The partnership is a testament to good matchmaking: Just as Burns might have struggled to operate stores day-to-day, Hobbs might have otherwise taken a longer road to owning equity in multiple restaurants.
The Right Opportunity
Burns didn’t set out specifically to become a Round Table Pizza franchisee. As a longtime franchise broker—effectively a “realtor for franchise businesses,” she said—she routinely helped others buy and sell franchises across different industries. But after years of seeing deals cross her desk, she was ready for a new challenge.
“I wasn’t necessarily chasing Round Table,” Burns says. “I was looking for the right brand with the right infrastructure in the right market. I’m not a turnaround specialist. I needed something already humming along that I could learn from.”
The Round Table opportunity in Reno checked those boxes. Even so, Burns says she would not have moved forward without confidence that there was someone who could manage the day-to-day restaurant operations. That’s where Hobbs came in.
The Natural
Hobbs’ connection to Round Table runs deep. Fresh out of high school in 2012, she took a job as a delivery driver—motivated by something a lot of 18-year-olds can probably relate to. “I had just graduated, and I really needed to replace my PlayStation 3 because it broke,” Hobbs said. “So the first job I applied to and the only job that called me back was for a delivery driver position at Round Table Pizza.”Â
Hobbs could not have known the path she was about to go down. She took to the pizza business like a fish to water and quickly began climbing the ranks into management roles. When Burns purchased the Reno-area stores in 2021, Hobbs had been serving as an area-manager-in-training at those corporate-owned stores. The stores had been owned by a previous franchisee who exited the business, and Round Table Pizza was running the stores while looking for a new franchisee in the background.
When Burns expressed interest in the brand, Round Table Pizza’s corporate outfit, FAT Brands, set up a meeting between Burns and Hobbs. They felt like each woman might be a perfect complement to the other. After meeting in person, Burns and Hobbs felt FAT Brands was dead on the money.
“We had a drink, started talking,” Burns recalled, “And I just knew she was someone I could trust to run the stores.”
Conquering Together, Building Trust
Burns and Hobbs’ day-to-day dynamic is built on clearly defined roles and mutual respect. Burns focuses on the financial, legal and strategic aspects of the business: reviewing P&Ls, handling leases, managing relationships with lenders. Hobbs runs operations: staffing, training, dealing with customers and managing the unpredictable realities of restaurant life.
“We know our roles, and we’re good at sticking to them,” Hobbs says. “Emily supports me but also trusts me to figure things out on the ground.”
Still, the collaboration is constant. The two stay in regular communication, talking on the phone nearly every day and aligning on major decisions. Burns describes her role as being more hands-off than hands-on, but she emphasizes the importance of staying connected.
“[Hobbs] deals with most of the craziness, but I want her to feel like she’s not out there alone,” she said.
Blocking Out the Noise
Both women credit their success to maintaining focus on their own goals rather than getting swept up in outside distractions. That’s easier said than done in franchising, where franchisees often compare notes and vent frustrations.Â
“There’s always drama if you want to find it,” Burns said. “You just have to stay centered on your stores and your team.”
For Hobbs, moving from the corporate world to the franchisee side came with a learning curve. At first, she found it difficult to shift her mindset away from treating corporate executives as her supervisors. Burns helped reinforce the idea that as franchisees, they were now running their own business—not working for the franchisor.
“It’s not that compliance isn’t important,” Burns said. “But you have to remember: They aren’t your boss anymore. You’re the owner.”
Investing in the Community
Another cornerstone of their approach is giving back to the communities they serve. Home Slice’s Round Table locations feature party rooms, which they often make available for community use. Home Slice’s restaurants have regularly hosted events ranging from school fundraisers to the classic post-youth-sporting-event dinners so often associated with pizzerias. The restaurants even once served as a home base for a local search effort during a tragic local emergency.Â
Burns and Hobbs have also built particularly strong relationships with Boys & Girls Club branches in Yerington and Carson City, donating food, supporting youth programs and even creating employment pipelines for local teens.
“We joke that we don’t make much money because we give it all away,” Hobbs said. “But seriously, investing in the community is part of our business model.”
Looking Ahead
With a strong foundation in place, Burns and Hobbs are beginning to think about expansion. Whether that means adding more Round Table locations or acquiring a different franchise brand remains to be seen.
In the meantime, they’re focused on continuing to grow their team and develop new leadership talent within their organization—laying the groundwork for future moves. Hobbs, already a business partner, sees herself staying alongside Burns for the long term “We trust each other, and we’re not afraid of the next challenge,” Hobbs says.Â
For Burns, the partnership is what makes the business sustainable. “There’s no way I could do this without [Hobbs],” she says. “And thankfully, I don’t have to.”
