Joe Caridi is Walker’s Doughnuts’ first franchisee. In fact, he bought his store even before the specialist doughnut business ventured into franchising. When his lease expired he signed up to a franchise.

Joe had notched up years as a franchisee with 7-Eleven and Donut King, and had run his own independent cafe in the uber cool DeGraves Street in Melbourne.

“I had been there since 2001 and I got to know the franchisors, Jim and Rose, while I was there. When they heard I was selling, they asked me to manage the Elizabeth Street flagship store.

“I was going to take a couple of years off, I needed a break after nearly 28 years of running businesses. But I was geared up to keep working.”

New location, old haunt

Joe joined the Walker’s Doughnuts business as the flagship store manager, with the understanding that if a site came up in his local area, he could run a joint venture with the franchisor. 

He was delighted when a location was found at Airport West.

“I was born and raised in the area and I know a lot of people. I’m in my 60s now, and I get a lot of the seniors come through. It’s a great place for the locals to sit down and we have a chat.

“The demographics are changing, with more young people moving into the area, but this suits our business. This is a neighbourhood shopping centre and there is a nice family feel.

“I live just around the corner from my store. I don’t have to deal with travelling or car parks!” he says.

“Ten years on as a franchisee and I’m still happy. This is a great company to work with, both Jim and Rose are genuine people. Jim was forthright about the business from the start.”

Joe already had doughnut store experience under his belt and knew from the beginning that the freshness of the Walker’s product was exactly what he was looking for.

Freshly-baked doughnuts, great franchise systems

“Walker’s makes the product fresh every day and we do the icing and decorating. That’s what I like. It’s a fresh, honest brand and the franchisee has control over what goes in.

“It’s a plain product, made traditionally, and we pump the jam in, pipe the custard, add the sugar glaze – and we don’t skimp on this! Most people love extra custard or jam.

“I like that we are doing it ourselves, and because of this it’s a high quality, tasty product.”

But beyond the sugar coatings so popular with customers (the glazed doughnut is the best seller) there is a robust franchise system that delivers on costs, procedures and support.

Joe is pleased with the costs of goods, and the whole franchise package. He’s happy to do the bookwork to keep up with the progress of his business, and reflects on how Walker’s has developed over the years.

“I can see the progress from the early days when Walkers Doughnuts was essentially the city store and my store. Now the brand has expanded to nearly 30 locations across Victoria and Queensland, with more being built and planned for next year. Jim and Rose implemented procedures as the brand grew and now we have all the tools we need at our fingertips.

“Jim helped me a lot setting up and he’s helped out in every way. If business wasn’t progressing, we would sit down together and work on a strategy.

“I’ve spent most of my life in franchising. The systems are there to help, but why I’ve stayed so long here is because Jim and Rose are so hands-on. You can pick up the phone and call them, and they will always have time for you.

Walker’s Doughnuts is a business with potential

“This is a family-owned franchise and Jim and Rose want the franchisees to be family-oriented.

‘Of course I’ve had plenty of experience, we’ve got a pretty good store, and I have 15 really good staff members who work hard.”

Joe is thinking about his next move, and it could be adding a second store. Although he is tempted by the offer to get more involved with head office, coaching new franchisees.

“At the moment prospective franchisees come and see me as part of their due diligence. We talk about the business and I tell them if they don’t want to follow all the rules, a franchise isn’t for them!

“If they do, and the business opportunity is right, this is a great brand. We’re in the early stages of franchising which is exciting. 

“For me, this business has exceeded my expectations. I’ve got more out of my Walker’s store than all the other businesses I had.”