Abdujabbor Mehrubonsho shares a bustling day in the life of a Pizza Pizza franchisee
By Hannah Foulger
Nine years after purchasing a Pizza Pizza franchise with a friend, Abdujabbor Mehrubonsho is now the proud owner of his very own location in North York, Ontario. “Each day we serve 80-120 customers,” he says. The hours can be long and the store is busy, but Mehrubonsho loves his job.
“I like working for myself. And I love making pizza. I like serving customers and making sure everyone is happy,” Mehrubonsho says. The role of franchisee fits him well, as he likes having the freedom to control his schedule.
On the rise
Originally from Afghanistan, Mehrubonsho immigrated to Canada in grade nine, where he attended high school then studied police foundations. While in school, he worked at a Pizza Pizza, and continued to do so for another two years.
He tried out office jobs, but thought, “This [is] definitely not for me.” Plus, he couldn’t get Pizza Pizza off his mind. “I wanted something more challenging.” he says. “I wanted to get the experience of ownership and running a branch on my own.”
Mehrubonsho saw others who had stepped into the role of franchisee, how they had started from zero but were able to turn their business into a success. “So I thought, ‘You know what, I’m going to be a success as well,’” he says. “I told myself that I could do it. And one day, I did.”
Mehrubonsho purchased his first Pizza Pizza franchise with someone he had worked with at the quick service restaurant, a friend he knew he could trust.
“Honestly, I didn’t know much [when I started],” he says. There was a steep learning curve; he worked to learn the basics of dealing with customers and managing the money.
“I didn’t have experience dealing with people, dealing with customers. Dealing with money was challenging in the first few months … I spent a lot of hours in the store, going from the morning to finishing late at night, because there was so much for me to learn, and so much for me to catch up and get on top of.” As his business partner had another location and was less involved in day-to-day operations, this gave Mehrubonsho the opportunity to grow on his own and learn to tackle every aspect of the business while also having the financial support of his partner.
After he felt that he had learned what he needed to learn, he made plans to buy a franchise on his own. “I completed my partnership with my friend, and moved to restaurant 77,” he says.
At the time that Mehrubonsho purchased his first Pizza Pizza, he was single. Now, he’s the happily married father of two. After nine years of being a franchisee, Mehrubonsho now has the flexibility he needs to be with his family and is spending less and less time in the store. His eldest son, at five years old, brags to his teachers and friends that his father works at a Pizza Pizza, and he occasionally gets to hang out with his dad at the store.
Eyes on the pies
These days, Mehrubonsho arrives at the store before 10 a.m., seven days a week, before any of his front-of-house staff show up. He makes sure the restaurant is “presentable, nice, and clean.” After opening the doors at 11 a.m. and preparing the kitchen for service, he and his employees wait for hungry customers to arrive. The earliest orders of the day are often placed by schools—particularly on Fridays, when Mehrubonsho’s team frequently sends out over 90 extra-large pizzas.
After the lunch rush, things cool down again around 2:30 p.m. until customers start thinking about dinner, around 4 p.m. That’s when more people come into the store to pick up individual slices or whole pizzas, and deliveries start going out.
Mehrubonsho often has two to three drivers working in the evenings, along with a cook and their helper, as well as a cashier and an additional front-of-house support employee. On busy days, like holidays or Game Days, Mehrubonsho schedules an extra staff member to help in the kitchen. These staffing details aren’t left to Mehrubonsho to figure out alone; the Pizza Pizza main office lets him know when to prepare for busier sales days. And it’s this kind of care and courtesy from the franchisor that makes Mehrubonsho feel supported as a franchisee.
While he’s able to be present for his family—particularly now that he’s comfortable with the ongoing success of his business—Mehrubonsho still keeps an eye on his phone in case his staff need any support. “I do tell them that if anything happens, I’m a phone call away.” Sometimes, this means staying up past midnight. Fortunately, the flexibility that comes from establishing his own franchise means he’s still able to get enough sleep before heading to work the next day.
Although Mehrubonsho always makes himself available to his staff if needed, after nine years of hard work, Mehrubonsho can trust his employees to provide excellent service even when he’s not in the store. The key to good leadership, Mehrubonsho says, is “observing people to see if they can work with you and if they love what they do. I want to make sure they are happy with the work they do, and we move forward with that.”
Mehrubonsho is also in charge of the store’s inventory. He keeps track of how much product they use and places orders to replenish their supply three times a week, with new product arriving on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.
Success in the baking
Mehrubonsho’s also the one attending training sessions at the Pizza Pizza main office whenever they develop a new menu item. After training, he’s able to pass on this knowledge to his staff so they can properly handle the product. Pizza Pizza’s continual communication with their franchisees is another reason why Mehrubonsho feels so supported.
“If I have a question, I just call or email them. I get my answer right away.”
When Mehrubonsho first bought his franchise, he attended a training program at the main office, but today Pizza Pizza runs a hybrid program with both online and in-person modules. After a potential franchisee completes their initial training, they are sent to an already established location for practical experience. This location’s franchisee can then relay to the franchisor how well the new franchisee is doing and if they are ready to run a location on their own.
In Mehrubonsho’s opinion, a successful franchisee with the brand is “Anyone who wants to prove to themselves that they can run a business, that they can become successful, earn money, and have a successful life.” He adds, “They can rely on Pizza Pizza to do it.”
In the next few years Mehrubonsho plans on purchasing another Pizza Pizza franchise because, for him, one location is just not enough. He wants to keep expanding and growing, as a franchisee on the rise.
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