How Jennifer Durham Lets the Numbers Lead | Potbelly SVP of Franchise & Development

Jennifer Durham has scaled franchise brands across restaurants, hospitality, and wellness - from Checkers & Rally's to Cooper's Hawk, Hand & Stone, and now Potbelly, where she's leading the brand's push from 467 shops to 2,000 locations. She's also a CPA, which means when she talks about unit economics, she means it.

In this conversation at IFA 2026, Jennifer makes the case that franchising has been measuring and marketing to the wrong number. New unit count looks great on a banner. But it doesn't tell a prospect how long it takes to get open, how long it takes to get profitable, or how the existing network is actually performing. Those are the questions serious candidates are starting to ask - and the brands that can answer them honestly will win the development race.

We also get into Potbelly's approach to preserving struggling locations rather than closing them, why the scarcity mindset that drives a franchise sale can damage the franchisee relationship post-close, and what Jennifer thinks franchising needs more of and less of right now.

What we cover:

• Why new unit count may be the wrong development headline
• The metrics that actually tell the franchise story: time to open, ramp to profitability, same-store sales growth
• How Potbelly gets creative to keep struggling shops alive
• The scarcity mindset problem in franchise development
• Jennifer's take on Item 19 standardization
• A leadership lesson about leading through other people's expertise
• The future of franchising — and what Jennifer is optimistic about

Guest: Jennifer Durham, SVP Franchise & Development, Potbelly
Host: Katherine LeBlanc, Fractional CMO | Founder, Apollo CMO & MyPodcastHost
Recorded: IFA Annual Convention 2026

The Franchise Leader Spotlight Podcast is part of the ⁠My Podcast Host ⁠Franchise Podcast Network.