Mina Haque isn’t the likeliest person to turn around a once-popular food franchise. She’s a lawyer by trade and, until a few years ago, didn’t have any restaurant experience. But that didn’t stop her from accepting the challenge and taking over as interim CEO of Tony Roma’s in 2023.
“I’m a very happy attorney,” she says, “I still practice law, but I couldn’t turn them down — their investors wanted to protect their investment, and they liked how I think and my approach and leadership skills, and they wanted someone tested. So, here I am.”
Now, Haque is embarking on a comeback plan to return the once-thriving franchise to prominence — and then to even greater heights.
Founded in 1972 in Miami, Florida, Tony Roma’s, known for its baby back ribs and family-friendly atmosphere, was once a popular destination for casual dining across the country. At its peak in the early 1990s, the franchise had 260 locations across the U.S., concentrated in Florida and California.
But, as consumer tastes shifted and competition in the casual dining space intensified, Tony Roma’s struggled to maintain its foothold. Over the past few decades, most U.S. locations closed, leaving the brand with a much stronger presence internationally than at home. But despite its global presence stretching from Guam to Germany to Guatemala, the brand recently teetered on the edge of extinction in the U.S. — home to only six of its 60 remaining locations. Then Haque got involved with the company in 2021.
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No restaurant experience? No problem.
Tony Roma’s initially hired Haque to work on legal issues. She assumed it would be a typical case: Come in, do the work and then move on to the next one. Soon, the uneasy investors, seeing the brand’s relevance vanishing, saw something in her as well. They quickly offered her the job of outside general counsel, leading their legal department. Haque took to the role enthusiastically.
“Right away, I was reviewing their contracts, recovering money owed and advising the board members and shareholders, to the point where I developed relationships based on trust,” she says. Then, they made a move she says she never saw coming: “They offered me the role of CEO in the summer of 2023.”
Tony Roma’s 2.0
Despite the brand’s domestic decline, Haque stepped in with an optimistic and unique view of the company. “I take the brand’s past as a lesson that can inform my decisions,” she says. “That’s where my legal experience comes in, because analytical skills are what attorneys do best — we don’t ignore precedent, we learn from it.”
After taking over as CEO, Haque immediately began working on a plan to revitalize Tony Roma’s, called Tony Roma’s 2.0, which has an expected full launch in late 2026. At the heart of this initiative is a new, streamlined store concept — significantly smaller than the traditional full-sized restaurants — aimed at optimizing efficiency and profitability, including a compact 3,000-square-foot dining format.
“We want a smaller location,” Haque says. “Our older restaurants have bigger square footage — 6,000 to 10,000 square feet — and that’s no longer an optimized size, because you add to the franchisee’s overhead costs.” Location selection and other decisions will also be influenced by AI, enabling the company to make smarter long-term choices.
In addition to updating its physical spaces, Tony Roma’s 2.0 emphasizes technological innovation, including integrating AI in ordering and store management. Additionally, Haque says the brand will use robotics in areas like inventory management and meal preparation. She sees these advancements not as replacements for the human touch, but as tools to increase efficiency, maintain consistent quality and free up staff.
The current U.S. franchisees are already feeling the effects. “There have been noticeable changes in terms of franchise support on the store level since Mina became CEO,” says Suraj Shah, who owns a Tony Roma’s in North Carolina. “Before, it might have been, ‘Hey, here’s a new menu item, use it or don’t.’ Now, there’s a lot more training and support.”
The strategy to restore Tony Roma’s U.S. presence already appears to be gaining traction. The brand is set to open its seventh domestic location in Tennessee later this year.
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Looking ahead
As Tony Roma’s 2.0 ramps up, Haque says we’ll see more U.S. locations, both standalone and in certain venues. “Tony Roma’s has done exceptionally well inside casinos,” she says. “We have a successful unit in Las Vegas where people still line up for two hours. So, I would like to see more Tony Roma’s inside casinos.”
Franchisees are already buying into this strategic vision, seeing Haque’s leadership as the key to blending the brand’s storied past with a sustainable future. “I think she and her team do an amazing job of bringing forward that 2.0 vision while keeping the core identity of Tony Roma’s,” Shah says. “They’re still maintaining that legendary ribs experience Tony Roma’s has been known for for over 50 years — the reason I originally wanted to become a franchisee.”
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This story originally appeared on Entrepreneur
