Cornell Irons has spent 29 years in the U.S. Army but now he is taking on a new challenge: entrepreneurship. Officially retiring in December, he has created a new life for himself as a Charley’s Grilled Subs entrepreneur reports RGJ.com.
“Even before I went into the military, I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur,” said Irons, 48. “The opportunity just didn’t present itself.”
But now, he said, opening a franchise has come as a natural next step following his military service.
Irons, a Syracuse, N.Y., native, first became acquainted with Charley’s Grilled Subs, which has more than 400 locations worldwide, through his travels with the Army.
“Charley’s deals a lot with military,” he said. “They have many locations at airports and army bases, so through my travels I was able to get Charley’s during some of my assignments.”
As a customer, Irons liked the food – one of his top reasons, he said, for selecting the restaurant for his franchising venture.
“I’m a firm believer that if you’re going to get into business, you have to believe in the product,” he said.
Screenshot from Charley’s Grilled Subs