Franchise News from Take 5 Oil Change, Massage Envy, Pet Supplies Plus, McDonald’s, Chick-fil-A and CertaPro Painters
- A franchisee buys 115 additional Arby’s restaurants, increasing its unit count to 344.
- Take 5 Oil Change eclipses 500-unit total, more than doubling its footprint in two years.
- Massage Envy introduces a robotic, self-guided massage service.
- Pet Supplies Plus innovates with an app and enhanced gift cards.
- An AI-generated McDonald’s ad stirs controversy in The Netherlands.
- Chick-fil-A will shift many nontraditional locations to owner-operator restaurants.
- CertaPro Painters raises $130,000 for breast cancer research.
AES Restaurant Group, a multi-unit Arby’s franchisee, has bought 115 additional Arby’s restaurants across nine states, which brings its total ownership of the fast-food sandwich shops to 344 units in 20 states. Zionsville, Ohio-based AES Restaurant Group is the second-largest Arby’s franchisee in the world. AES purchased the locations from Arby’s parent company Inspire Brands, according to QSR Magazine.
“We are proud of our longstanding relationship with Inspire and the Arby’s brand,” AES owner John Wade said in a statement. Earlier this year, 21-year-old AES — an acronym for Attitude Equals Success — had acquired 40 units in Florida, North Carolina and Virginia, QSR reported.
In terms of systemwide sales, Arby’s is the third-largest U.S. sandwich brand behind Subway and Panera, QSR said. It had 3,365 U.S. locations at the end of 2024, which is a 48-site decrease compared to 2023.
Take 5 Oil Change Celebrates 500-Unit Milestone
Take 5 Oil Change has more than doubled its footprint in two years, now topping 500 locations. In a news release, Take 5 President Tim Austin said, “Our model continues to meet the needs of today’s drivers while creating scalable, profitable opportunities for franchise owners.”
Take 5 ranked 27th on Entrepreneur magazine’s 2025 Fastest-Growing Franchises list and 101st on Entrepreneur’s 2025 Franchise 500 list. In the news release, Eric Wollenhaupt, Take 5’s senior vice president of franchise operations, said the milestsone “reflects not only scale, but the strength of our people-first culture that keeps customers coming back.” Take 5 Oil Change was founded in 1984.
Massage Envy, Pet Supplies Plus Roll Out New Tech-Driven Services
Hats off to Massage Envy and Pet Supplies Plus for their new customer service initiatives:
- Massage Envy revealed in a news release that select franchised locations will begin offering Aescape, a user-controlled robotics-powered massage service. By using artificial intelligence along with advanced robotics Aescape, which is pronounced “escape,” clients use an intuitive touchscreen to customize their music and the pressure applied to targeted muscle groups.
- Pet Supplies Plus has announced the implementation of its first mobile app, as well as expanded gift card services. The app — offering a biometric login — lets customers shop, schedule grooming appointments and redeem rewards directly from their mobile devices. Customers also can buy gift cards online that can be either delivered electronically or shipped to recipients’ homes; gift cards also may now be used for online shopping.
McDonald’s Pulls Christmas Ad After Social Media Backlash
Social media criticism prompted McDonald’s to stop using its 2025 Christmas ad titled “The Most Terrible Time of the Year.” Some social media users in The Netherlands found the commercial distasteful and also criticized it for being AI-generated, NBC News reported.
The 45-second commercial shows people suffering through a variety of holiday-related mishaps. For instance, a low bridge knocks gifts off the roof of a vehicle, Santa’s sled gets stuck in traffic, and a man is suspended head-down in front of his house, with his feet caught in a strand of Christmas lights, after attempting to install them.
The commercial encourages viewers to escape the festive “madness” and “hide out in McDonald’s till January’s here.” But in the social mediaverse, it was labeled “cynical and unfun,” one person wrote; another said “nobody wants negative vibes.”
Chick-fil-A Shifts Campus Locations to Owner-Operator Model
Fast-food giant Chick-fil-A will transition to its owner/operator model and away from licensed locations at college campuses, hospitals and theme parks. The shift, which will not affect the brand’s airport restaurants, will bring a more consistent customer experience throughout the Chick-fil-A system, Nation’s Restaurant News reported.
Under Chick-fil-A’s owner/operator model, operators manage a single restaurant, share profits with the company, and have heavy involvement in daily operations, the publication noted. Chick-fil-A retains ownership of the business assets, however.
CertaPro Raises Funds for Breast Cancer Research
CertaPro Painters raised $130,000 for its seventh annual Paint it Pink campaign on behalf of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Breast Cancer Canada. Since beginning the fund drive in 2019, Paint it Pink has raised more than $830,000, enough to cover more than 330 patients’ enrollments in clinical trials through the research foundation, according to a CertaPro announcement.
With support from 139 CertaPro Painters franchisees, a percentage of every painting project completed from Oct. 1 through Nov. 30 was donated to Paint it Pink. The CertaPro corporate team participates in the campaign, too.
