Good morning! The calendar says October, and it’s the season of pumpkin spice and everything nice. 🍁 

Facilities management is so much more than R&M. It can be a growth driver and business saver (if done right). We repeat: If done right. 

What’s on tap in this issue:

• How to slash indirect spend that’s eating your bottom line
• Chains flexing their facility upgrades
• Springbone Kitchen turned maintenance into momentum

🎶 Music City, here we come! If you’ll also be at CREATE 2025, let's connect. Reply to this email and let us know you’re coming. 

Industry news

What’s cookin’ in the industry? 

Who knew fresh paint, new fryers, and a vendor audit could be serious growth hacks? Facility leaders are proving that upgrading facilities and operations can impact the bottom line as much as the menu. 🛠️

Facilities leaders parlay indirect spend into strategic wins

Indirect spend = expenses that aren’t directly tied to what you sell (like cleaning services, paper towels, software subscriptions, etc.)

At IFMA’s 2025 World Workplace, Toll Brothers’ Senior Facilities & National Accounts Manager, Kurt Kuntzmann, spotlighted ways facilities managers can elevate their role by owning indirect spend:

📋 Audit & consolidate. Regularly review invoices, contracts, and recurring POs to uncover hidden costs, then use a vendor matrix (a simple grid comparing vendors by cost, service quality, and contract terms) to consolidate contracts when volume discounts are available.

• At Toll Brothers, an audit revealed dozens of unused wireless plans tied to company iPads that mostly weren’t used anymore. By canceling them, the team cut wasteful spend, streamlined their telecom footprint, and gained visibility.

🤝 Hold vendors accountable. Strong, clearly worded contracts and semi-annual vendor performance reviews ensure trade technicians deliver promised value and stay aligned with your evolving business needs. 

💰 Spot hidden costs with tech. Use a facilities management platform to centralize spend data from trades, vendors, and equipment. With everything in one place, it’s easier to flag redundant expenses, track patterns, and cut costs that could’ve slipped through the cracks.

Restaurant chains see facilities upgrades as a growth driver

Restaurant operators are increasingly treating facility investments as levers for efficiency, consistency, and brand strength, mirroring the IFMA call for proactive vendor and spend management.

🐔 Popeyes’ “Easy to Run” upgrade is rolling out new kitchen tech, from a cloud-based POS system to auto batter-makers, across all U.S. stores by 2026 to improve and standardize operations. 

• Roughly 85% of franchisees have agreed to remodel and boost ad spend, with average unit profits already climbing from $210K in 2022 to $255K in 2024, on track to hit their goal of $300K in the near future.

🍔 Burger King’s “Sizzle” revamp calls for 400 U.S. remodels this year and 2,000 by 2028, bringing 85% of restaurants up to date. 

• Backed by a $700M “Reclaim the Flame” plan, updated stores are seeing mid-teens sales bumps with digital ordering and drive-thru upgrades leading the charge.

🏗 Subway invests in a modern guest experience. The chain is rolling out restaurant remodels to create a more modern and inviting atmosphere for guests, helping to rebound from its sales decline. 

• To ease the expense for operators, Subway extended the remodel timeline from 7 to 10 years, giving franchisees more flexibility while aligning with industry standards for keeping restaurants fresh.

Timely tips

Facilities fixes you can actually use 👇

💲 Audit before you spend. Old, forgotten contracts and recurring charges can be a silent death by a thousand cuts to your budget. A quarterly audit of invoices and POs can identify unnecessary spending so your budget stays in the black.

👷 Keep it local. National vendors often sub out jobs and tack on a markup. Local trade techs know the market and location, and don’t pad the bill. Building a reliable local network keeps costs in check and service on point. Find a vetted pro in your area with ResQ’s vendor network. 

📊 Use stories to show the C-suite your wins. Executives don’t need spreadsheets with 47 tabs, they just want proof you saved $15K by preventing downtime. Share results as simple, real-world stories that highlight impact backed by data.

Need numbers? ResQ’s Insights & Analytics provides a comprehensive view of performance across all facilities and assets. You can identify trends, address problems, and stay aligned with your goals.

From the community

Springbone Kitchen builds smarter with ResQ

For Springbone Kitchen, growth means new locations and with them, new facilities challenges. The fast-casual brand discovered ResQ as more than a repair platform, but as a partner for large-scale CapEx projects and buildouts.

ResQ now supports Springbone from the design phase and throughout operations, sourcing specialized trades across electrical, plumbing, and HVAC. That end-to-end oversight has been critical as the company plans a wave of new stores, ensuring projects stay on track and aligned with Springbone’s high standards.

The value of this partnership showed up in real time when Springbone faced major plumbing issues during a move into a new commissary in Brooklyn. ResQ quickly sourced a specialist who resolved the problem, allowing the project to move forward without delays.

With ResQ providing complete project support and a trusted vendor network, Springbone has the facilities foundation it needs to scale confidently from blueprints to opening day.

Break time

“Was That the Boogeyman?”

Keep an eye out for lurking “Boogeymen” in your own budget this month.

- Kareem at ResQ 

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Shameless plug

What does ResQ do?

ResQ is the most trades-friendly facilities management platform that streamlines restaurant R&M operations, while providing value to the trades industry.

Operators can efficiently track assets, create work orders quickly, and choose from a network of quality vendors to work with.

Love free samples? Same here. Schedule a FREE demo to learn more about ResQ.

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