How Daland Corporation grew from a single store to over 94 restaurants
Daland Corporation (Daland) is a privately held restaurant management company and independent franchisee of Pizza Hut. Chief Operating Officer, Tim Sparks talks Food Chain through the company’s history: “Daland has been around since 1976 and was one of the earliest Pizza Hut franchisees. One of our founding partners, Dale Wiggins, even worked in the first Pizza Hut restaurant on its opening day! Since then, we’ve grown considerably and now operate 12 separate entities that own and operate Pizza Hut restaurants. From our office in Wichita, Kansas, we oversee and support the operations of 94 Pizza Hut restaurants, which are located across North Carolina, Georgia, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, New York and Florida. Our assets include 82 dine-in locations, of which 37 are the “Classic” remodel concept, and 12 Delco (delivery/carryout) locations. In 2025, we have plans to open an additional Delco location in Beverly Hills, Florida.
“While our primary focus has remained Pizza Hut, Daland has experience across a broad range of brands including TJ Cinnamons, Red Hot and Blue BBQ, Sonic Drive-Ins, Panera Bread, and also Rent-A-Center. This means that we have an open mind when looking for new opportunities.” 
Tim goes on to explain how Daland approaches selecting new locations and opportunities: “For site specific locations for Pizza Hut, we obviously consider demographics and geography first. Once we have located a town that fits our criteria, we then consider the proximity to our existing markets. It makes things significantly easier when we have locations within a couple of hours’ drive of each other. This enables us to provide considerably better support. As an example, we have considered sites in other states, but because we don’t have any existing locations in those states, it becomes more difficult to provide support.
“We also look closely at competition, primarily Papa John’s, Dominos and Little Caesar’s. We study their operations, count transactions and evaluate their team members to assess whether they are operating at a high standard. We consider this data and determine potential success based on our outperforming operations. It’s a very strategic process as it’s a significant financial commitment. It is imperative that we do our due diligence and make sure it will be successful. It is a similar process for investing in other companies. When we became Panera Bread franchisees, there were under 300 locations open at the time. We spent a lot of time researching. We looked at their leadership team. We had many discussions and found that they were just as particular as we were. They would not allow anyone to become franchisees just because they had the funds; they were looking for quality partners. There is a complicated process before you are approved as a franchisee. The terms have to be acceptable to both sides, so everyone is happy with the partnership. The franchisor wants to know that the franchisee is going to build something that lasts, and the franchisee wants to know that the franchisor will support them in growing their business.
Community commitment
Tim goes on to explain how experiences in his career development have impacted the way he approaches the business now: “When I was in Junior High, my older brother worked at Pizza Hut and, by chance, I ended up as a dishwasher at the Mapunapuna Pizza Hut on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. My first restaurant general manager position was at a Pizza Hut in Plattsburgh, New York, when I was 20 years old. While I was still trying to find my way, one thing that resonated with me was Pizza Hut’s ‘Book It!’ program. Once a week for an hour, I would go and read to the children at a local elementary school. We then started doing restaurant tours for the elementary students. It was rewarding to see how excited the kids would get for their Book It! buttons and the restaurant tour. They also loved having the opportunity to come into the restaurant and make their own free Personal Pan pizza. What an experience for these kids to get to go into a walk-in freezer, and even see an ice machine that produces 500 pounds of ice! Those in the industry take these things for granted, so these were real ‘wow’ moments for the kids. It’s always fun to work with kids at this age.
“As my career has progressed, I have supported similar projects such as Toys for Tots. From our office in Wichita, we hold a fundraising campaign each year and raise between $20,000 and $25,000 for the United Way of the Plains. With Panera Bread, through collecting change at the registers that we matched, we donate $30,000+ annually to the Susan G. Komen organization to help battle breast cancer. Because of my experience with the Book It! program early on, I learned that there are many opportunities as a business person to give back to your community, that have nothing to do with your P & L. I get a lot out of that; I love that being in business enables you to do things that are really good for your community.”
With Daland approaching its 50th anniversary, Tim looks to the future, highlighting potential opportunities: “There’s lots of potential in the coffee segment, as consumers are open to trying lots of new brands outside of Starbucks. Chicken tenders are also incredibly popular nationally, so that’s definitely on our radar. It’s an interesting model; the operational complexity is minimal, which makes the processes much easier for the employees. The easier these processes are for the staff, the better operations will be. This format meets a lot of the criteria we look for when considering new opportunities. Daland is always looking for the next big thing.”