How Did Undercover Boss Help Local Amarillo Winner Over the Years?

When we last saw TJ Westbrook he was just informed that he was going to have his whole full franchise from Weinerschnitzel after being on Undercover Boss. He and his girlfriend, Ronde, were running the location at 600 E Amarillo Blvd.

That was six years ago. A lot could have happened since then. Oh, and it has. So I decided to reach out to TJ and find out where he is and what he is doing now. The first thing I did was scope out his Facebook page. I wanted to see if he and Ronde were still together.

I saw a photo of them together so that was great to see.

So I messaged TJ. I heard back from him right away and not only did he and Ronde get married there was more good news. They are expecting their first child, a daughter, in July.

Here is the lowdown from TJ himself:

The show was a blessing for us for sure. It opened up more opportunities for us. An investor out of California who owns about 13-15 Wienerschnitzels and other businesses reached out and wanted us to partner with him at the Gem Lake location in 2019. (He also owns the Tommy’s Car Wash next door) We helped them out for a year and he then wanted us to partner with him in 2020 with 2 existing Wienerschnitzel locations in Midland Odessa as well. So 4 Locations total.

Their plan was to work hard and save as much as they could so they could buy and build their own location in their own market.  They were looking at Waco, Texas, where TJ is originally from.

When I asked TJ about the location he was originally at on the Boulevard he said that the contract they signed after the show gave them more money percentage-wise but they didn’t own the property or the equipment.

They have leased the equipment and property but it was their responsibility to keep up with repairs. Unfortunately, that store was in such a bad state that they were drowning in repairs. They ultimately had decided to give it back to the corporate office. The corporate office decided to not spend the money for a full remodel. That store was there for so long that the remodel cost was too expensive. Also, they didn't own the property either. There was a third party who had ownership of the property. Which made it all a mess.

October 26, 2021, was the last day of operation for the Weinerschnitzel on the Boulevard. According to TJ:

It was a sad day for us as that was our “OG” location. We were able to absorb our employees to the Gem Lake location so no one lost their job.

 

Since then things have gotten busier for TJ and Ronde as they were approached by a company that wanted to expand their portfolio in commercial real estate. Undercover Boss had a play in that as this company saw TJ and Ronde on the show. Even better is the developer from the company lived here in Amarillo.

Their plan included wanting to expand Wienerschnitzel into the state of Arkansas. So they signed a 20-store deal with Wienerschnitzel. TJ  and Ronde were both hired to be Chief Operating Officers.

They had to make the decision to sell out of their partnership in the other 3 locations as of December 2021. They have since picked up and moved to Arkansas early this year.

Now they are in the process of getting Weinerschnitzel ope in Arkansas.

Our first store will be in Bentonville where Walmart and Tyson corporate offices are (among others that are relocating here as well.) Also, this is where Fixer to Fabulous on HGTV does all of their remodels! Our other location will be Springdale Arkansas. We are looking at an October or November open for these locations!

Good things are happening for TJ and his family. It all started by a surprise visit to Amarillo from Undercover Boss.