Today, we’d like to introduce you to Dominique Maddox.
Hi Dominique, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for sharing your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
My story starts in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2008, when I first decided to get my real estate license. During that time, the housing market was crashing, and real estate agents were getting out of the market.
I sold residential homes for two years and quickly knew I was in the wrong industry. I have always dreamed about entering the commercial real estate industry, but I didn’t know how. In late 2010, I received an email asking, “Have you ever thought about becoming an Intermediary selling restaurant?”
I knew nothing about selling restaurants then, but the opportunity sounded exciting. I interviewed with the company and worked with one of the nation’s largest restaurant brokerage firms for seven years. In November 2019, I bet on myself and opened my own Restaurant Brokerage firm, first named EATS Restaurant Brokers, later changing the name to EATS Broker.
In August 2021, I moved to the Dallas-Fort Worth area to expand my restaurant brokerage. At the time of my relocation, I was dealing with a non-compete agreement that was crippling my business; I had to decide to stay in Atlanta and fold my Restaurant Brokerage or move to the Dallas-Fort Worth area and chase my dreams.
My inspiration came from being an African American who owns a Restaurant Brokerage Firm. I didn’t see any representation in the Restaurant Brokerage industry that looked like me, who worked full time and owned their own Restaurant Brokerage firm. I think diversity in my industry is missing, and representation matters.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My journey has been far from smooth, and I have overcome multiple obstacles to remain in business. I once heard, “You are not in business until you have been sued.” I learned this hard lesson days after starting my brokerage. The continuous legal battle about a non-compete agreement, which had me fighting for my legal rights to sell restaurants, was financially and emotionally draining.
One of the biggest struggles was defending myself financially in court while having the money to build a company. I made short-term sacrifices, missed out on social events, and sometimes paid my bills late. Building a brand from scratch has been challenging; I decided to rebrand the company and change the name from EATS Restaurant Brokers to EATS Broker in 2021.
The first company website I built was through a freelancer I found online from Pakistan. My initial website was live for about 48 hours and then disappeared. I tried to contact the developer and quickly realized I had been conned for my $2,000. The second version of my company website, which I had built by a well-respected local source, required much more money to develop, but the cost was worth it.
One struggle I have improved at is saying “No” or “I’m not the right broker for you.” When I started my Restaurant Brokerage, I was open to taking any listing and reducing my listing commission. I was taking listings even if I thought they might not sell, and I worked twice as hard on these listings, which rarely get sold.
When it comes to reducing my commission now, it seldom happens; I know I bring too much value to the transaction to reduce my commission.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
EATS Broker is a boutique restaurant brokerage located in Dallas, Texas, exclusively selling restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. Our focus is restaurants for sale in the $100,000-$2,000,000 range.
We help our clients through the challenging process of selling a restaurant. We are one of the few Business Brokerage firms in the nation specializing in selling Restaurant Franchises and Restaurant Resales.
Our clients range from Franchise Resales, independently owned restaurants, mom-and-pop operations, and five-star dining experiences. EATS Broker currently sells restaurants in Texas, Georgia, New Mexico, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Ohio, and Kentucky.
EATS Broker provides free restaurant valuations for restaurant owners considering selling a restaurant. We charge no upfront fees and only get paid when we sell a restaurant. We also help clients with Restaurant real estate site selection, Tenant Representation, Franchise Consulting, and Restaurant Price Evaluations.
We help restaurant owners get a payday!
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
The quality of connecting with people is essential to be successful as a Restaurant Broker. To succeed in this business, you must contact people daily; it’s like a contact sport.
The contact can be a lawyer, landlord, banker, vendor, client, closing attorney, etc., during the sales due diligence period. When a Broker has nothing pending, the contact will cold-call potential prospects on the phone, attend networking events, call for sale by owners, send mailers, and email potential sellers.
When a restaurant broker is not working on pending deals or prospecting for new business, the focus shifts to responding to buyer inquiries and seeking additional information on restaurants for sale. It takes an average of contacting 60-75 buyer inquiries before a business is sold. In Business Brokerage, only 30%-40% of businesses listed for sale will sell to a new buyer.
Regarding buyers looking to buy a business, only about 2% will make a purchase. It’s a numbers game, and this persistence in daily contact is a key factor in success as a Restaurant Broker.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://eatsbroker.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eatsbroker/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EATSRestaurantBrokers
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominique-maddox-cfe-66587aa/
