Keyshawn's Bread-and-butter: Restaurant Entrepreneur

Keyshawn Johnson is excited, his words spilling out passionately and his hands whirling to better illustrate his points.

The topic is winning, and the former USC and NFL great is breaking down game plans, tactics, formations and teamwork.

Only he isn't on a football field and he isn't on the set of ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown show.

And he certainly isn't talking about offenses and defenses or the merits of the Green Bay Packers over the New England Patriots.

In fact, he isn't talking football at all.

As he sits in the back dining room of the Panera Bread Bakery and Cafe he'll open today in Ventura, he is very much in his element.

The only difference is he traded in his football uniform for a business suit and replaced his playbook with spread sheets.

But as the CEO of First Pick Bread Co., a Panera area developer and franchisee that operates six cafes and bakeries from Thousand Oaks to San Luis Obispo, Johnson maintains the same competitive fire and self-confidence that helped him become one of the NFL's greatest wide receivers.

"He's a winner, bottom line," said Dennis Northcutt, a former Arizona and NFL standout and now a partner in First Pick Bread, along with Reggie Bush and a handful of other former athletes.

"With Keyshawn, that's never going to change. Whether it's the football field or the business world, he's going to figure out a way to finish on top." Johnson got involved with Advertisement Panera a few years ago after retiring from the NFL and bowing out of two restaurants he independently owned in Beverly Hills and Tampa, Fla.

He still had an appetite for the food business, only without the pressure and overhead associated with independent ownership.

He eventually recruited Harvard Business School MBAs Glenn Mah and Clarence Mah to his company and brought in NFL and NBA players Northcutt, Bush, Warrick Dunn, Terence Newman and Joe Smith as investors.

After studying franchise operations ranging from Baja Fresh to Fatburger, he and his partners settled on Panera, which was established in 1981 and has more than 1,500 company-owned and franchise-operated locations nationwide.

"Once we crunched all the numbers and did all the research we felt it offered the best bet for our money," Johnson said. "It makes the most sense. It has longevity and staying power." Johnson was in Ventura on Wednesday for a gala VIP opening in which a number of area civic leaders gathered to sample Panera products, sip chardonnay and merlot from a local winery and raise money for the Make-a-Wish foundation.

After making the rounds and posing for pictures and accepting countless handshakes of congratulations, Johnson settled down to talk about the latest chapter of his life, the one in which he continues to make the successful transition from professional football player to thriving businessman.

"Can we get someone to take care of that cold air blowing out of there?" Johnson asks Glen Mah, pointing to an overhead ceiling vent.

"It's freezing in here." "We'll take care of it," Mah said.

"Where was I?" Johnson asks, returning to the conversation.

"The next step," a friend reminded him.

"Right, right," Johnson said. "The plan is to keep building. We have a territory in Los Angeles proper; we're going to build out downtown L.A., Santa Monica. Hollywood, West Hollywood, USC.

"We're going to continue to grow out Los Angeles and the central coast. From there, we'll look to other territories to expand on. Other areas that Panera wants to grow into." Just then the friend interrupted him and explained how the Johnson sitting before him had come a long way from the brash wide receiver that showed up at USC by way of West Los Angeles Junior College and Dorsey High nearly 20 years ago.

"I'm not sure anyone could have imagined you becoming a successful businessman back then," the friend said.

Johnson flashed a smile and nodded. Fact is, as a kid growing up in South Central L.A. he would have been hard-pressed to picture it himself.

"The only thing we knew was drugs, gangs, prostitution and a little bit of sports and music," Johnson said. "So you're never going to think, 'Oh, I'm going to be a successful businessman or an entrepreneur."' But that's exactly what he became, a goal he set for himself after arriving at USC and watching the narrow world he once knew begin to stretch wider and farther than he ever could've imagined.

Johnson soon envisioned himself in the NFL - practically a given once he began dominating college football - the key being he understood professional sports would be one step in a marathon.

"I wanted to be much more than just an athlete that, at the end of the day made a bunch of money but didn't have longevity or wasn't successful once he was done playing," he explained.

He also latched onto pro athletes who made the transition from sports to the business world - Magic Johnson and the empire he has built, former NBA star Junior Bridgeman, who owns a string of Wendy's franchises.

"And Ronnie Lott, Vinnie Johnson, Roger Staubach," Johnson continued. "These are guys who found success after sports.

"In essence, they became my role models; people I learned from and made me believe I can do it just as well or better than they have." The road hasn't always been smooth - his Reign soul food restaurant that opened in Beverly Hills to great success in 1999 eventually closed in 2003 - but by learning equally from his successes and failures, he grows and matures.

"There have been bumps and bruises along the way, but at the same time you learn from those bumps and bruises and you get through it," Johnson said. "The ventures that don't work, it just becomes, 'OK, what are we going to do about this particular business? Well, here's the exit strategy. It didn't work out; we'll sell it, take our losses and move forward."' Nearly 10 years later he's opening his sixth Panera Cafe today, with two more set to open in Santa Barbara. SmartMoney.com said his current cafes grossed an estimated $10 million in sales in 2010, with sales volume 10percent higher than what's typical for the company.

There also are plans to get involved with franchise hotels and other franchise restaurants.

Meanwhile, he can be seen Sundays and Mondays on ESPN breaking down the NFL - "A little side thing," he said with a laugh - along with former NFL greats Mike Ditka, Chris Carter and Steve Young.

In other words, life is pretty good for the soon-to-be father for the fourth time and Calabasas resident.

"I'm happy," he said. "I'm not one to keep up with the Joneses. I don't have to have the biggest house; I don't have to drive the fanciest cars. People perceive me that way, the perception being I'm flashy or I'm this or that, but I don't have to have all that.

"I'm happy that I'm doing what I want to be doing, that I am helping to put people to work, which is a great feeling, and that I am continually looking for ways to expand and grow."

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