Scott Gillie

Managing Director

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Scott Gillie serves as a Managing Director at Fairchild and the head of Fairchild Franchise Finance.  Mr. Gillie has been involved in all aspects of restaurant franchising throughout his career.  Most recently he is a Franchisee and Managing Partner in the Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen and Checkers Drive-Thru systems.  Working together with his partners, Scott secured franchisor approvals; spearheaded funding efforts; identified potential locations; negotiated leases; supervised construction; hired management and crew; secured all vendor relationships and opened and acquired the partnership’s initial locations in the Carolinas. Prior to his current partnership and as a sole franchisee, Scott previously acquired real estate and developed a new ground up prototype Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen in South Carolina.  He owned and operated the restaurant from August 2014 until disposition as part of an asset purchase agreement in February 2016.  The restaurant was consistently ranked in the top 5 of 99 locations in its region as it relates to service excellence. Previously he was owner and operator of 18 Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen restaurants in Louisiana.  In 2010, Scott identified and negotiated the acquisition of 18 Popeye’s restaurants located in the Baton Rouge area.  He completed the acquisition due diligence; identified and hired the operating team; negotiated terms and approvals with the franchisor; arranged the financing; established reimage plans and budgets; negotiated leases and lease terminations; upgraded facilities; and set up the accounting and back office systems.  Scott and his team operated 17 units after termination of one unit’s lease.  He subsequently sold the business in 2013 under a purchase agreement after completion of an operational and financial turnaround.

Scott has also been a paid consultant and advisor in the areas of brand selection; operational turnaround; new unit and market openings; acquisition analysis; investment due diligence; reimaging; back office; and franchisor evaluation. Prior to becoming a franchisee, Scott was an experienced franchise sales and development executive with nationwide responsibilities for several major chain quick service restaurant companies including Orange County, CA based concepts El Pollo Loco and Johnny Rockets; as well Arby’s and Dairy Queen.  In roles of increasing responsibility, Scott was involved in all aspects of new and existing franchisee operations and development including training and opening new restaurants; real estate site selection; and identifying and qualifying new, prospective franchisee operators.  Scott has experience in and knowledge of many major metro areas throughout the U.S.

As a Vice-President and Director of Franchise Development at Johnny Rockets and El Pollo Loco, Scott was responsible for franchise development and sales for all domestic U.S franchising.  At Johnny Rockets, the primary development focus was non-traditional development for casinos, airports, colleges and universities, where he participated in the RFP processes, as well as for tourist locations and major urban areas.  At El Pollo Loco, Scott was responsible for all franchise sales and development for the company.  The primary development focus was in taking this strong regional chain to markets outside of Southern California.  Scott spearheaded efforts to sign major development deals with experienced multi-unit operators in markets such as Chicago; New York; New Jersey; Atlanta; Orlando; Charlotte; Norfolk; and Boston.  Additional focus was placed on expansion through the existing franchisee base, contiguously outside of the core markets of Los Angeles and Orange County in Southern California.
At Dairy Queen, Scott was responsible for franchise sales and development for the Southeast U.S.  The primary development focus was in bringing the new prototype Dairy Queen Grill and Chill to new trade areas of existing markets as well as taking the well-known national brand to new and unpenetrated markets.

During his eight-year tenure with Arby’s, Scott was responsible for franchise development for the southeast and southwest U.S.  As part of a three-member team, he set up a new franchising program for a major brand that had not franchised for several years.  Scott was responsible for many development deals that were signed by new and existing franchisees over the ensuing six years with geographic responsibility that covered approximately half of the country.  Prior to moving to the development side at Arby’s, Scott was responsible for franchisee operations; training; strategic planning; the operational default process; and new unit openings for Arby’s franchisees located in seven states throughout the Southeastern U.S.

Before joining Arby’s, Scott worked with the Taco Bell owned double drive thru chain called Hot ‘n Now.  Scott was the Area Manager in the first HNN development market with P&L responsibility for seven restaurants in the Charleston, SC area and then subsequently for nine restaurants in the Central Valley area of California.