Daryl Dollinger Archives - Business RadioX ®

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Start-Opia

Daryl Dollinger of Big Game Brands and Steven Carse of King of Pops

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Daryl Dollinger/Big Game Brands

Since 2007, Dollinger has been the president and co-founder of Big Game Brands (formerly Raving Brands). As the head of the company, he oversees functions including franchisee marketing, sourcing and qualification, sales and recruiting, franchisee relations, franchise training and operations, real estate, legal, finance and general administration. Dollinger is the key player on the management team since the company’s inception five years ago. He works with a diverse team of eight individuals who assist in the management of the enterprise. Prior to his time at Raving Brands, Dollinger was involved in all facets of restaurant management with companies such as ARAMARK and Einstein’s Bagels. He is a member of the International Franchise Association (IFA) and the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).

Steven Carse/King of Pops

Steven Carse founded King of Popsin April of 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia. Steven, born in Minnesota, but raised in Georgia, was living in Idaho before moving to Atlanta in 2007 to work for AIG.

This move would indefinitely change the course of his life as he would find that the corporate world had its ups and down after he was laid off and left with the opportunity to start something big. Inspired by his numerous trips to Central and South America, Steven began experimenting with fresh paleta (Spanish for popsicles) flavors and sought to bring those delicious fruit based creations to Atlanta. In 2010, with the help of friends and family, the first King of Pops cart popped up in the corner of North Avenue and Highland Ave and has been there ever since. Steven is optimistic for the future of King of Pops as it grows in a smart-environmentally conscious way.

Growth Matters

Kamal Grant of Sublime Doughnuts and Daryl Dollinger of Atlanta Franchise Group

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Kamal Grant/Sublime Doughnuts

Grant’s love for baking started at a very young age when he realized that sweets make people happy and he wanted to do things to make people happy. When an executive from Dunkin Donuts visited Grant’s high school food service class and discussed his trips to the doughnut research and development lab to taste the experimental treats it sounded pretty sweet. Grant graduated from Marietta High School in 1998. After High School, Grant joined the Navy and was stationed in San Diego on the USS John Young DD-973, a Spruance Class Destroyer. Grant used his enlistment in the Navy as an opportunity to pursue his dream as a world class baker. Grant served as a Baker – E4 – 3rd Class Petty Officers on the USS John Young where he quickly gained the praise of his shipmates because of the delicious cinnamon rolls he baked. The Navy not only gave Grant an opportunity to bake, his travels around the world exposed him to international culinary treats that combined flavors and textures that he had not been accustomed to in the U.S.A. While in Singapore, an ice cream sandwich made of multicolored bread and sweet red bean soup, in Australia, vegemite on toast and Milo, a malt chocolate flavored beverage, and in Dubai, shawarmas made with roti, an unleavened flat bread, and candy made of rosewater are a few of the experiences that would forever change Grant’s approach to baking. Pastries were not just about baking, they also represented culinary art.

Grant’s love for baking led him to the Culinary Institute of America after his enlistment with the Navy. He studied at the Institute from 2002 until 2004 where he focused on high end desserts, plate presentations, classical techniques and the flavors and textures of award winning chefs. During his time at the Institute, Grant interned with the renowned Chef Keegan Gerhard, at the Windsor Court Hotel, who was named one of the nation’s top 10 pastry chefs of 2002 and 2004 by both Chocolatier and Pastry Art & Design magazines. After the Culinary Institute of America, Grant refined his skills of the how and why at the American Institute of Baking where he focused on the Science of Baking. Grant put those skills to use at his first job as a Supervisor at the Flowers Baking Company. During his time at Flowers, Grant learned the value of “High Volume, High Quality” production.

A quick stop to buy doughnuts ended with Grant reading a for lease sign to an empty doughnut shop. The drive home Grant started to think that it was time for his culinary vision to be realized. That vision was named “Sublime Doughnuts”, Grant’s desire to create led him to launch what would represent his vision of baking. Through Sublime Doughnuts, Grant hopes to present the flavors and textures from around the world on a doughnut canvass. Stop by and share in Chef Grant’s sublime creations.

Sublime Doughnuts

Daryl Dollinger/Atlanta Franchise Group

Atlanta Franchise Group