Alice Knudson is one such woman. Back in 1963, few would have expected her to be mentioned in the media - at least not for making anything of her life. And yet that is exactly what she has done. After giving birth to her sixth child, she started working as a waitress at an International House of Pancakes (www.ihop.com) restaurant in El Cerrito, Calif. Five years and another child later, she helped open a new IHOP franchise in San Francisco. Her boss, Stanley Wong, recognized that she had potential - and he gave her the chance to develop it. Four years later, she was the manager of four IHOP restaurants that Wong owned in the area. As if that wasn't enough, she purchased her own restaurant in Hayward, Calif., in 1978. She has since purchased three additional IHOP restaurants in San Jose, Newark and Dublin, Calif.
Her accomplishments caught the eye of IHOP management. They recently named her IHOP Franchisee of the Year for 1998 at the company's National Franchise Conference. "Alice's impressive credentials, coupled with her 'can do' attitude make her a powerful voice in the franchise community," said Dennis Leifheit, IHOP's chief operating officer. "She is a true leader among her peers."
Knudson has had a lot of help over the years, and today eight members of her family work in her restaurants. One daughter is a partner in two of the restaurants, two sons started out as cooks and later became kitchen managers, and a third son is a waiter. One granddaughter is a hostess/cashier, while another granddaughter and a daughter-in-law works as a crew chief. Knudson even hired her sister to handle payroll, accounting and human resources. It's no wonder that her business and her family have become almost synonymous.
"IHOP is like family to me," she says. "I have been with the company for more than 35 years and couldn't imagine doing anything else. Maple syrup is in my veins." There's a true franchisee.
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