International Restaurant Management Group blends business success with community impact
Describing International Restaurant Management Group (IRMG) as just a ‘non-traditional’ franchisee of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen might be an understatement. A rare find in the quick-service industry, IRMG operates not only as a franchisee, but also as an operator and franchisor of its own quick-service restaurant concepts. Founder Kelly Yeung is the epitome of the entrepreneurial success story. He emigrated from Hong Kong with just a few dollars in his pocket and built a long-lasting legacy. In 1975, Kelly opened his first full-service restaurant in Miami Beach and proceeded to open three more over the next 12 years. It wasn’t until 1987 that he opened his first quick-service restaurant concept, Chinese Cafes, in Miami’s Bayside Marketplace.
Tony Napoliello, CEO and President at IRMG, is delighted to share the rest of the story with us.
“About 35 years ago, Kelly entered the quick-serve food court space within regional malls with Chinese Cafes. Prior to that, he had four sit-down restaurants but
decided to enter the quick-serve market due to the rapid rate of return on investment and the ability to duplicate the concepts. Kelly developed multiple brands under the IRMG umbrella including Yeung’s Lotus Express, which we recently rebranded as Wok A Holic; Kelly’s Cajun Grill, our own Cajun food brand; and Suki Hana, our Japanese teppanyaki concept. The company began franchising its concepts in 1996 and currently has around 50 franchisees across the US, as well as in Bogota, Colombia and Dubai, UAE. A big driver for our company’s growth has been our proven track record and an excellent reputation with leading shopping center developers. Our ability to bring multiple concepts to a shopping center and successfully operate multiple locations across a wide geographic area is unmatched in the non-traditional market.”
Exponential growth
Having succeeded with its own proprietary concepts, IRMG sought to duplicate that success by operating nationally established brands by becoming a franchisee of Burger King in the early 2000s. The company’s first store opened in Dolphin Mall in 2007 which became one of the top performing non-traditional restaurants in North America. The store count grew to 13 during that time, but in 2023, a new Area Development Agreement (ADA) was executed to open 20 new stores over the next five years, seven of which have already opened with another three slated to open before the end of 2024. The Company was recently recognized as Burger King’s North American Developer of the Year and ranks in the top five percent of Burger King’s Franchise Success System (FSS) score, the metric of operational excellence.
Seeing a shortage of national chicken chains in mall food courts, the company became a franchisee of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen in 2016. “We only had five stores going into the pandemic but signed a 30 store ADA in 2021. We have since increased our development agreement to 75 restaurants and have already opened 64 new Popeyes. We will finish our ADA next year. Over the last two years, we were named Popeyes North American Developer of the Year, having opened more Popeyes than any franchisee over a 24-month period. We also had the highest FSS score in all of North America at the end of 2023 for franchisees with over 50 locations. Most recently, we opened our first Starbucks in November 2024, and we are planning to open a minimum of 12 to 15 more before the end of 2025.
Streamlining operations
Technology plays a pivotal role in IRMG’s growth and operational efficiency. To support its expanding portfolio, IRMG has implemented tools like self-service kiosks for seamless order-taking and off-premise sales. The adoption of Restaurant365, a leading accounting and operations platform, will unify multiple software systems previously used across brands like Burger King, Popeyes, and IRMG’s proprietary concepts. This integration provides real-time financial insights across the unique brands to streamline operations and enhance decision-making.
As IRMG surpasses 200 stores in 2024 and eyes 300 by 2027, technology ensures the corporate team remains efficient. Tools like Expo for simplifying business intelligence and DTiQ to monitor order accuracy and transaction integrity, while Clip Money simplifies cash deposit management, frees managers to focus on in-store performance.
Additionally, IRMG partnered with Paycom to manage payroll at scale. “With sales expected to exceed $180 million, manual processes are no longer feasible,” explains Tony. By leveraging technology for tasks like payroll, sales analysis, and cost control, IRMG stays agile, efficient, and poised for sustained growth.
Care for the community
Moving on to a different topic, Tony tells us more about IRMG Cares, an initiative through which the company positively impacts the local community. “During the pandemic, we realized how fortunate we were at IRMG; we had no debt at the time which enabled us to grow without the debt servicing obligations faced by some of our colleagues. To express our gratitude, we wanted to give back to the local community and help address food insecurities and educational needs. We created a charitable initiative called IRMG Cares, and work on a project every quarter. For example, around Thanksgiving or Christmas, we provide 100 to 150 bags of non-perishable food to underprivileged children in local schools. Similarly, at the beginning of the school year, we donate around 300 school supplies kits filled with writing materials, crayons, markers, some snacks and other supplies to children in need.
“We have also partnered with a local tri-county school called the Seed School, which houses and educates children from families whose income is at or below 200 percent of the federal guidelines and who are either in foster care, receive welfare, or have an immediate family member who is incarcerated. At the SEED School, the children are provided with their own hygiene products, which isn’t necessarily the case once they get home. To address this need, we work with the school to provide hygiene products for the children to take home. IRMG Cares’ mission is also integrated into our vendor contracts with certain brands, which require them to contribute to IRMG Cares, allowing us to impact even more people in the community,” Tony ends.
With a diverse portfolio that includes franchises, proprietary concepts, and community initiatives, IRMG has proven itself as a leading force in the quick-serve restaurant industry.