Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in Franchise Times, a sibling publication to Food On Demand.
With a social media audience of 32 million, multiple business ventures and a much-anticipated fight with Mike Tyson coming up, Jake Paul has a lot going on these days.
His schedule got even busier after signing a multi-faceted agreement with Dog Haus and pledging to take the restaurant and bar brand to the next level.
Paul’s partnership with Dog Haus includes a 25-unit development deal for Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, where Paul resides. Along with franchise ownership, Dog Haus said Paul’s agreement also includes marketing leadership, in-store appearances, involvement in culinary innovation and a say in the overall strategic vision of the brand.
“I love food. I grew up a foodie when I was tubby kid before I got into pretty good shape with boxing. But I know a good cheeseburger, a good wing, a good French fry, a good hot dog when I eat one, and when I ate at Dog Haus I was like I need to be involved here somehow,” Paul said.
Paul, who’s scheduled to fight former heavyweight boxing champion Tyson at Arlington’s AT&T Stadium on November 15, said he was the one who initiated the partnership with Dog Haus and not the other way around. He said it began when he put out a post to his 27 million Instagram followers asking if any of them knew the Dog Haus owners and requested help getting an introduction.
“I went to Dog Haus, sat down with them, had a real good visit there and here we are today with an exciting future ahead of us to grow the business. I’m all in,” said Paul, who is joining the Dog Haus board of directors along with his business partner and adviser, Nakisa Bidarian.
Paul, who partnered with Walmart in June to launch a men’s personal care brand called W, has been busy diversifying his business. He co-founded TeamDom, which promotes and incubates internet talent and creators. He also the co-founder of Betr, a sports-betting startup. He and Bidarian co-own fight promotion agency Most Valuable Promotions.
Jake Paul’s multi-faceted agreement with Dog Haus includes a 25-unit development deal in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico where he resides. He participated in the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the brand’s Arlington, Texas location.
Along with maintaining his position as one of social media’s top personalities, Paul’s professional boxing career includes winning 10 of 11 fights with seven knockouts. He and 58-year-old Tyson are reportedly going to share a $80 million pot for their sanctioned bout next month in Texas. Some reports suggest the Netflix fight, which was postponed earlier this year when Tyson suffered an ulcer flare up, could generate as much as $300 million in total revenue.
Vivid Seats is selling first-row ringside tickets for more than $47,000 each, with floor seats starting at $643.
Paul’s partnership with Pasadena, California-based Dog Haus, which is closing in on 60 units in a dozen states, is his first restaurant franchise venture. His agreement allows him to be the first operator to debut in Florida and then outside the continental United States in Puerto Rico.
“We’re a 14-year-old brand and we’ve been growing at what I call a responsible pace by building from the bottom up. Having Jake onboard now is a real big deal for us simply because of his name recognition and the size of his social media audience and exposure,” said Michael Montagano, CEO of Dog Haus. “Yes, we’re very excited to have him onboard.”
Montagano said the plans are for Paul and his newly formed restaurant group to begin by opening four Dog Haus locations in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio and then expanding his operation by opening units in Florida with one in Puerto Rico. The former CEO of Kitchen United, Montagano joined Dog Haus last year.
Paul, meanwhile, said he plans to use his enormous social media audience, which includes 20.8 million YouTube subscribers, to promote his new restaurants and build awareness around Dog Haus.
“I have a nationwide audience, so they’re going to be able to go into those” new markets “right off the bat with me,” said Paul, who launched his YouTube channel in 2014. “Content is king nowadays and you see these food TikTokers making one little video about a place and it changes the course of that little, small family business’s restaurant forever and all of a sudden there’s a line down the street.
“We also live in a world where, you know, obviously everyone loves food. But where do you go? When do you go? And that all needs to be marketed, and that’s just what I happen to do best, making viral videos and getting the awareness out there,” Paul said.
At the end of the day I’m a marketer and entrepreneur. I’ve prepared myself well for this and I’m ready to shine a spotlight on this amazing organization and its amazing restaurants,” he said.
