 a proud product of Fayetteville State University, a strong advocate of the national HBCU community and one of our great entrepreneurs. We are privileged again to be joined by my dear brother, one of my favorite of five Qs nationwide. Brother Nicholas Perkins, the founder and CEO of Perkins Management Services Company, incorporated with a major, major announcement. Brother, one, it is always an honor to have you on. Two, I got to share this story before you get into it. You told me when we met about a decade ago that your dream was to be the first billion dollar black on 100% black on food service company. And today you are taking a major step towards that goal. Tell us all about it, brother. So I've been very fortunate in having had the opportunity to enter into a asset purchase agreement with movies incorporated to acquire the Fudd Rutgers hamburger chain. As you know, about two months ago, we became the largest franchisee of Fudd Rutgers purchasing 13 soon to be 14 locations from them. And now we have a very unique opportunity to become a franchise owner. And this is a monumental occasion that has never been done before where you have a hamburger chain that's a gourmet hamburger chain international brand owned by an African American. So I feel very honored and privileged to have the opportunity to acquire this brand and to reestablish it, to borrow it and to sustain it long-term. So I'm very delighted to be in the situation that I'm in now and very grateful to the movies team and the board of board at movies. We've worked very diligently over the past two years and working to arrive at the point that we are now. So the asset purchase agreement was executed and announced and made public on yesterday and we are looking to close in the next 90 days or so. I mean, and just to be clear, particularly for young people who will hear this and need to understand the gravity of the situation, you're gonna be the first owner of a major national burger franchise. One, a brand that we're all familiar with, we've all seen driven paths live near Fudd Rutgers. And that's gonna be you, bro. Like, I can't really get over it because it's like to know somebody that's doing something that major, this is like Reginald Lewis kind of major, right? So what is the feeling around that? What is the feeling around that to know that you're in that kind of stratosphere at this point so early, relatively early into your career? You, we're 40 years old, bro. Like, what does that feel like? Well, I feel very blessed. I have, as you know, competed in contract food services sector now for 16 years. And, you know, I have constantly tried to find ways to grow the company and diversify the company and strengthen it overall. And this was a very unique opportunity for me to be able to add a different revenue stream for Perkins globally as an organization. And, you know, I'm just excited about, you know, our enterprises, family of companies now, you know, to welcome Perkins cafeterias, which will also be opening this fall, a cafeteria style restaurant that we've developed, you know, now with acquiring the Fudd Rutgers restaurants that we operate as an operator. And now the actual franchise is becoming the franchise or the entire system now also welcomes a family of franchisees into our company. And for us to be able to be in a situation like this, I can't tell you, it's just been a tremendous blessing. And as you say, very relatively early in my career, you know, but at the same time, you know, it's been rewarding. It's been a very tough road in terms of the amount of diligence that it's taken to get to this point, you know, a lot of bumps in the road along the way, but, you know, I've stayed the course and we've been fortunate enough to be able to arrive at where we are right now. So I feel very blessed and very fortunate to be here. Do you think, now, this is a deal that's probably gonna close in form this fall, probably around September, October, that's correct? Yeah, or sooner. Okay. Yeah, yeah, 90 days is what we consider to be a very liberal estimate. You know, I believe that we will close much sooner than that, but when you're dealing with, you know, a public and trading company as Louis is, you know, there are a number of boxes that you have to check, you know, along the way. So we feel like a 90 day, a window of time is will be sufficient, but there is a possibility that we could close sooner than that. You look at what you're doing with this chain, you look at things that like Byron Allen is doing with acquiring stations, is there a strategy behind amassing certain brands? And then I imagine in looking towards the future to reinvent them, if you're comfortable sharing, is there a vision that you have for this franchise that you will say, here's a tweak that I can do to it, or here's some things that we can do differently that really takes it over the top? Fuddruckers has had some challenges in this recent past and, you know, it is somewhat of a turnaround at this point when I would be acquiring the company. So the initial phase stage of the turnaround process will be undergoing what I have developed as a three phase strategic plan to stabilize the company and ready the company for long-term growth. But growth, however, is not the initial step. So we've got several things that will need to be done before we start growing as a franchise. And so the ultimate goal is to introduce to the world, the world's greatest hamburger, right? You know, I don't advocate for or sell anything that I don't believe in. And so I fully intend to take this brand and put this brand on offense and grow it. And so, you know, Perkins as a family of brands when I think about the company globally, I have determined that retail restaurants complement contract food services well. Our strategy long-term will be to grow our franchise operations individually to bring also in new franchisees, both internationally and domestically, as well as look to find a strategic marketing partnership opportunities to be able to grow and sustain the brand long-term. And ultimately, build toward that billion dollar goal I set out to accomplish very early on. So this is a step in that direction. There are a tremendous amount of very talented, a very dedicated, loyal and committed franchisee base in for a reference right now. And we are gonna give them some TLC along with an infrastructure that's gonna be in the governing role and be able to sustain and maintain a return on investment that they made in the brand, even prior to my ownership. You have always, in the times that we've talked in the past publicly and privately, you've always credited your grandmother, you know, for your background, you know, for your spirit, your love of cooking. You know, you cited folks like A.G. Gaston as role models for entrepreneurship and business. Who else is part of your universe? The students, the interns that you've brought along the way. Who else do you credit in your universe for getting to a moment like this? Well, I mean, you know, I wouldn't be here had it not been for the sacrifices of people who died and didn't know my name. I say often that the civil rights movement and that period of history is my single most favorite period of history to study as a student. You know, I'm always a student first, but I have, I have conscientiously always felt indebted to all of the people that participated in the movement to get me to a point to where I am today to be able to live out my dreams. And then, you know, I in turn have to turn around and help other people be able to accomplish and achieve theirs. And that's the beauty of being a franchisor. It empowers you to be able to help people create businesses within your business for their families long term. And so, you know, this kind of fit with my philosophy. And then the final question, bro, like you're sitting in a restaurant right now, you're very hands on with your people, with your company, you're active. I've been places where you've been, you're cooking, you're cutting vegetables and fruit. Like, I've seen you in action, brother. Like, is this something that you see will continue with working with your current franchisees, developing relationships with new ones? Is that something where you see like this can have the Perkins touch to it, so to speak? Absolutely, it has to. You know, anything that I'm involved in or anything that I'm involved with has to have my spirit in it. And, you know, I fully intend to establish this brand as a leader in the Gourmet Hamburg sector and by empowering franchisees to be able to, you know, leverage their talents, skills and abilities and maximize their return on investment in our brand in order to be able to help it grow. I'm not gonna lead this franchise system as a dictatorship. It will be led as more from a stance of shared governance and encouraging and a lightning intrapreneurship because when people make an investment in a business, they expect a return and they expect for that business to work and it has to work for them because they could have chosen any franchise to invest in. And I think what's important is that we have a system that works for franchisees, that is efficient and a system that it followed will yield a significant return on investment. And that's my goal, you know, and it's the same approach that I take at my company. And you know, and I've always been the first to say, you know, in the hospitality business, you know, you're only as good as your next meal, right? And, you know, nobody remembers yesterday, right? And if you don't get it right today, you know, there could potentially be no tomorrow. And so, you know, when I think about what that means for my organization and the type of franchise system that I want to lead, we wanna be a customer focus and customer centric organization that meets customers where they are and a brand that constantly stays on office. I mean, and you can do that with a product that Foot Ruggers has, you know, is second to none. So, I mean, just to round out, can we start saying Foot Ruggers is the official hamburger of HBCUs or what? Do you want me to wait, brother? Cause I'm glad that you mentioned that because I've just recently executed a franchise agreement with Lubies prior to our signing of the asset purchase agreement to bring the first Foot Ruggers to an HBCU this summer that will open in August at Benedict College. So, we're gonna be opening our first Foot Ruggers at HBCU this summer, which I hope will also be a catalyst to all the other historically black college and universities that will also want to brand on their campus in the future as well. So, we not only looking to be the official hamburger of HBCUs, but the official hamburger, the NFL, the NBA, the MLB as well as we go forward. So, we are a community-based organization, just as Perkins has been to get involved in the local community. It's something that I fully intend to integrate into the philosophy here at Foot Ruggers going forward. So, we will base the headquarters in Houston, Texas, building infrastructure here and look to empower franchisees all over our nation and all over the world.