Gustin, Karcher honored at MUFSO; Applebee's chairman-chief exec named Operator of the Year

Nation's Restaurant News, Oct 4, 1993 by Theresa Howard

Applebee's chairman-chief exec named Operator of Year

LOS ANGELES - Abe J. Gustin Jr., chairman and chief executive of Applebee's International Inc., reacted with surprise when he was named Operator of the Year at Nation's Restaurant News '34th annual MUFSO conference.

Low-key and soft-spoken, Gustin accepted the award amid thunderous applause from the audience, whose members bellowed with laughter when he jokingly vowed to name the company's 25,000 employees in order to thank them.

But as the laughter subsided, Gustin spoke sincerely about winning the award as operator of Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar concept. "Very rarely am I at a loss for words," he said upon accepting the award from Nation's Restaurant News publisher James C. Doherty and editor Rick Van Warner. "I can only say thank you to Nation's Restaurant News, MUFSO and all these great people sitting here," Gustin said in a voice that swelled with pride.

Looking down at his award gripped firmly in his hand and out to more than 1,000 peers who had gathered for the ceremony, Gustin said it was a tribute to be recognized by the "people you're competing with."

Gustin, 59, and six of his competitors had been named Golden Chain winners before the conference. Up for the Operator of the Year Award were Dan Evins, founder, chairman and chief executive of Cracker Barrel; Larry Flax and Rick Rosenfield, co-founders of California Pizza Kitchen; Larry Levy, chairman and chief executive of Levy Restaurants Inc.; C. Stephen Lynn, the chairman, president and chief executive of Sonic Corp.; and Chris Sullivan, chairman and chief executive of Outback Steakhouses Inc. But it was Gustin who was named MUFSO's 23rd operator of the year by NRN readers, who select the winner each year through a mail-in ballot.

In a climactic closing to the three-day MUFSO affair, the awards banquet, which was sponsored by American Express Travel Related Services, drew many of the industry's top dogs, who were on hand to congratulate Gustin and other foodservice executives honored the same evening.

Following the banquet, NRN spoke with Gustin and some of his staffers - Applebee's chief operating officer, Kenneth Hill, and the company's executive director of purchasing, John Weber. "Have you ever seen a company grow this fast?" Hill said from the dais immediately following the closing of the ceremony. "Nobody's ever been able to pull this off."

Since taking over Applebee's in 1988, Gustin has helped grow the chain from a 54-unit to a 330-unit concept, tallying about $575 million in sales on $7-per-person check averages. Nonetheless, Hill said he was surprised about the win and had pegged other Golden Chain recipients the Operator of the Year. "It was a hard group; we weren't expecting that," Hill said about the other nominees and the company's ultimate, newly bestowed honor.

But while Applebee's Gustin and Hill said they were surprised, Weber said he was confident that his boss would win. "I had a strong feeling [Gustin would win]," he said during a post-banquet party. "I know how hard he's worked and how hard the company has worked to enable us to do the job we have done in the past couple of years."

But Gustin was quick to pass credit for his success back to his staff. "I knew these guys were good because they do all the work. But I didn't know they were that good," he chuckled.

"If you hire everybody that is smarter than you, then it is difficult not to succeed, he said. Known to push late hours himself, Gustin said he often knocks on office doors and tells workers to go home well after 5 p.m. "I go around and tell them to get the hell out," he said as a shy, gap-toothed smile overtook his face.

With relatively new roots in the foodservice business, Gustin joined the industry in 1983 as a Taco Bell franchisee. Before that, he was chairman, president and director of AGA Distributors, a wholesale beer distributor.

But Gustin began to look for expansion avenues for the Taco Bell franchise outfit shortly after he joined Juneau Holding Co. and signed on as Applebee's third franchisee. Gifted with sharp foresight about the emerging casual dining trend, he joined Applebee's board. Then in 1988 Gustin and the chain's chairman at the time, John Hamra, bought the chain from W.R. Grace & Co. and took the company public one year later.

Gustin maintained the role of president and chief executive at Applebee's until last year when he was named chairman and chief executive upon Hamra's retirement.

When asked what would prevent Applebee's from suffering the same fate that has stagnated the growth of some pioneers in casual dining, Gustin said. "If you have fun working, you won't see a deterioration in your business."