There are 155,500 restaurant employees in Iowa, and one of them is West High’s own Wylan Gao ’20, who works at his family-owned Charley’s Philly Steaks. Finding a job wasn’t a problem for Gao, but is that really all that comes with a franchise life?

¨It’s kinda a funny story,¨ Gao said. While in college, Gao’s parents both worked at his great aunt’s Chinese Cuisine in Mankato, Minnesota where they attended college with an interest in business and possibly owning one someday.

¨Usually owning a Chinese restaurant is a lot of work,¨ Gao said. Knowing they didn’t want to go into Chinese restaurants, his dad brought home a pamphlet: Charley’s Grilled Subs. ¨They kind of got bored of running a Chinese restaurants and wanted to do something different food wise,¨ Gao said. Gao was five and just about to start kindergarten at Wickham Elementary School, when Charley’s Grilled Subs opened in the Coral Ridge Mall.

¨The biggest perk through elementary school was definitely all the girls realizing my parents owned Charleys, and would be like, ‘hey, can I get some free sandwich coupons?’¨ Gao said, laughing.

In its early years, Charley’s struggled, but Gao’s parents, “pushed through, and now it is one of the striving restaurants in the mall,¨ Gao said. When Gao was a freshman in high school and only fourteen years old, he started working at Charley’s along with his brother, Dylan Gao ’17, a senior at the time.

“Working with your freshman brother wasn’t the greatest thing ever,” Dylan said, “but we get along so it worked out.” Dylan attends the University of Iowa and is one of Wylans best friends.

¨Working for the business my parents own definitely is an experience, in the beginning it was kind of an awkward but once everyone got used to it it was fun,¨ Wylan said after he worked there and still does today.

“It is fun though like when I was young, my parents and I would go check on things and I would go get a sandwich and taste stuff,¨ Wylan said.

Wylan appreciates business and what his parents do, but says he probably won’t go into that career field. ¨I’d rather go into something where I get to help or benefit people,¨ Wylan said. Wylan’s brother Dylan experiences more of his parents life in the franchise business while being alive.

“Kinda like Wylan job finding was the biggest perk,” Dylan said. Wylan is still living the franchise life and enjoys having his parents in the restaurant business. He likes to only take the positives out of it and reflects on what he has.  Do you think Gao will find a pamphlet and follow his dad’s footsteps?