Chuck Vieau's journey into franchising began after a successful career in the financial services industry. Looking to diversify his portfolio, Chuck and his wife explored franchising. Their search led them to Crust Pizza Co., a pizza franchise that stood out for its quality ingredients and community atmosphere.
Chuck was drawn to Crust's commitment to freshness — dough made every two hours, vegetables cut daily and cheese grated from blocks each day. The Vieaus, who have a gluten-intolerant child, also appreciated Crust's health-conscious options like cauliflower crust. After meeting with the founders and experiencing the brand's culture firsthand, they knew it was the right fit for them.
Now, with one store in operation, another under construction and plans for more, Vieau is dedicated to growing Crust Pizza Co while being a good steward in the community and taking care of his employees. Vieau and his wife are excited about the future and committed to building their brand's reputation through hard work and quality service.
1851 Franchise spoke to Vieau about his franchise journey with Crust Pizza Co. and his plans for the future.
1851 Franchise: Frame your personal story for us. What did you do before franchising, and how did you decide franchising made sense for you?
Chuck Vieau: Professionally, I was in the financial services industry for a number of years, both in banking and insurance — I still happen to be in the insurance industry, as well. From a restaurant or franchising standpoint, we had been looking at expanding our portfolio of interests, and franchising was a natural way to do that. Through friends in other concepts, we received great advice and consultation on the restaurant space. The more we looked into it, the more intrigued we became.
Franchising allowed us to allocate limited capital into a space without overexposing ourselves. We attended trade shows in Las Vegas, such as the Restaurant Finance Development Conference and the Multi-Unit Franchise Conference, and had numerous meetings with bankers and business brokers. Through these meetings, we encountered a multitude of concepts across various food sector categories. It wasn't until we reached the burger versus pizza decision that we really got interested in the pizza side of the business.
We looked at big chains like Pizza Hut, Domino's and Papa Johns. Meanwhile, we had been frequenting a great little neighborhood pizza place near our home — it was our Friday night spot, and we loved the ambiance, music, quality of the food, freshness and friendly service. One night, my wife brought home a franchise circular from this place and said, "We've been looking all around for different concepts, and this is the one we actually enjoy. We believe in the ambiance, environment, food and community atmosphere. This is the one we should probably look at."
We started with some outreach and spoke to their CEO, Carl Comeaux. We then met with some of the founders and went through the process. Today, we really enjoy being part of this franchise.
1851: What was your perception of franchising prior to becoming a franchisee, and what do you want people to know about franchising now that you are in it?
Vieau: It's a lot of hard work. There are different types of concepts, and some people guided us toward really large brand names like Taco Bell. However, for a first-time franchisee, getting into Taco Bell is really difficult; it's not something you can do with the snap of the fingers. Hard work is nothing new to my wife and me, so we focused on ensuring we had the right economic model.
What really interested us was finding the right concept in the right marketplace, where we could get behind the food quality and figure out the right economic model. That would be the one we wanted to pursue. In the long run, do we want to partner with larger, nationally known brands? Probably. But right now, we really like what we have with our current brand. It's working really well. It's a community-based brand, and we need to be out in front of the community to build our brand image and reputation. We're having a lot of fun doing it.
1851: What made you pick this brand? What excites you most about this company?
Vieau: It was right outside of our neighborhood, and we kept eating there. A well-known franchisee I know in Texas once said to me that you have to believe in the product you're representing. I never really took that to heart until we came across Crust and started considering franchising with them. We love the food, so it's a very natural conversation when people ask us, “Why did you get into Crust?”
The dough is made fresh every two hours, the vegetables are cut fresh daily and the cheese comes in big blocks and is grated daily. Everything uses the freshest ingredients. This matters because we're in a more health-conscious environment. There are also options like cauliflower crust. We have a kid who is gluten intolerant, so that's a big deal for us.
Everyone I've had a sincere conversation with has been really pleased with the quality of the food and the ambiance inside Crust. Once we met the team, it felt like an even more natural fit for us.
1851: What do you hope to achieve with your business? What are your plans for growth?
Vieau: Certainly, profitability is key. They've got an economic model that works. We want to be good stewards in the community, take care of our employees and have a comfortable living. Our growth plans include opening our first store in the northeast quadrant of Houston. We have another store planned for a college town, specifically College Station. After that, we'll likely return to Houston — in the same northeast quadrant — and build a couple more stores. We'll keep growing from there and see where it takes us.
1851: What is the one thing about your story you want us to know?
Vieau: My wife and I are transplants to the greater Houston Metro area. Twenty years ago, we fell in love with Houston. It's a great city where everybody works hard. What's unique about franchising is that if you work hard, learn from your mistakes and apply those lessons to future activities, you can be really successful. Success should be measured according to your own standards, whether it's personal fulfillment, financial success or other characteristics. For us, hard work and doing the right thing by our employees and the community are really valuable.
1851: What advice do you have for other people thinking about becoming a franchise owner?
Vieau: Plan to work hard, plan to get involved with the brand. Plan to be a brand ambassador — someone that believes in the quality of the product that you're selling, and then get to know your customers and get involved in the community. That's the best advice I can give them. Don't get into it and think it's a turnkey approach where you don't have to be involved.
