Young Plano Business Owner Opens New Franchise Restaurant

Finding a full time job and making money is something many young adults would be proud of, but a 22-year-old from Plano is defying the odds and taking that goal to a whole new level.

Aubrey Janik just opened her own fast food restaurant in Plano — not something most 22 years old's can put on their resume. For Janik, she knows the road ahead is not going to be easy.

Business, however, is what she does best.

“Here you go. Thank you,” Janik says to a customer inside Erbert and Gerbert’s Sandwich Shop she opened in August. “Your sandwich will be out in a couple of minutes.”

Making sandwiches is no part time job for the Plano native, it means business.

“There are people who for sure are like, ‘You’re the owner?’ Especially like on a day like today when I’m in a blue shirt like every other staff member and my hair is in a messy bun,” said Janik. “It definitely doesn't give the impression of an owner, so people are surprised.”

Janik is the owner of the franchise store on West 15th Street. Owning her own business is in her blood.

“There were just so many small businesses that I made between when I was eight years old to now at 22,” said Janik.

She did everything from mowing lawns to selling electronics on Craigslist. She credits the inspiration from her dad, who's also in business.

“He never gave us handouts,” said Janik. “He didn't invest in this business and give me the money to invest in it. But he’s been so incredibly helpful in getting me to the point where I’m at now.”

Janik's new business venture is now six weeks off the ground and she has not had a day off since. It’s the type of work ethic she says she gets from her dad.

“He’s also the person in the back of my mind saying, ‘You need to make sure you’re making all the right decisions, not to get cocky and you’re running the business to its full potential and you’re working really hard at it,” said Janik.

Janik says she plans to open 30 stores in the next 15 years and also plans to venture into residential real estate in the next few months.