GSR deploys Opus, a comprehensive, on-the-go  training operations platform, across 60+ locations to drive operational excellence

CINCINNATI, OH – GSR Brands, parent company of Gold Star Chili and Tom & Chee, announced a new partnership with Opus Training, giving its employees access to Opus’ mobile-first training and communications platform. With Opus, GSR employees are able to engage in fast-training on-the-go, in multiple languages helping the company drive better consistency and efficiency.

GSR has been a stalwart of the Cincinnati business community since 1965. It operates two Cincinnati institutions: Gold Star Chili, the 50-year-old regional favorite known for Cincinnati-style chili, and Tom & Chee, the grilled cheese and soup concept that gained national attention on ABC's Shark Tank and is poised for growth.

Meeting the Challenge of Multi-Brand Franchise Operations

For GSR, frequent limited-time offers drive same-store sales growth. That requires regular training and retraining across all of its 60+ franchises. Opus platform allows GSR to use technology to move quickly as a business and rapidly train their staff in different facets of the business.

"What excites me most is having the infrastructure to grow confidently," said Brian Harper, Vice President of Operations at GSR Brands. "We can launch promotions faster, onboard franchisees efficiently, and maintain our standards."

Immediate Impact

Working with Opus, GSR has strengthened its training and promotional execution. It's allowed the organization to address customer issues and attain core business goals.

GSR launched with 18 training modules that directly address top guest complaints and sales and marketing initiatives. Within months, they achieved:

  • 84% adoption rate across employees
  • 80% training completion rate ensuring consistent standards

GSR has also been able to use Opus to increase collaboration between different corporate departments, improving overall franchise support. For example, GSR Bra marketing team quickly adopted the messaging feature for promotional updates. QA teams communicate food safety updates directly to stores.

“GSR Brands represents exactly the forward-thinking operator we built Opus to serve," said Rachael Nemeth, CEO of Opus Training. "They understand training isn't overhead – it's the engine driving franchise profitability. When franchisors can guarantee readiness across every location, that's when training delivers real business value.”

About GSR Brands

At Gold Star, we’ve been serving our guests delicious Cincinnati-style Chili since 1965 when the Daoud brothers bought a restaurant in the Cincinnati neighborhood of Mt. Washington. They wanted to make chili the right way: always fresh, never frozen and made in small batches to ensure quality. Crafted from our founders’ secret family recipe of 13 perfectly blended spices to make Cincinnati’s classic chili favorites the Cheese Coney, and 3-, 4- and 5-Way Chili Spaghetti. Our menu offers something to make everyone happy from fresh grilled-to-order burgers, southern-style chicken sandwiches, vegetarian chili, double-decker deli sandwiches to loaded French fries, hand-tossed salads and 100% real ice cream shakes. It may not be what you would expect from a neighborhood chili parlor, but we’re not big on labels anyway. We invite all of our guests to come as you are, like what you like, and follow your own recipe. Today, Gold Star has more than 55 corporate- and franchise-owned locations throughout Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana and is actively developing new franchise opportunities in the region. For more information, visit www.goldstarchili.com. Gold Star is hiring for all positions with competitive pay and benefits; apply to join our team at: https://www.goldstarchili.com/careers.

About Opus Training

Opus Training provides the training operations platform for franchise businesses in the service industry, combining training, tasks, and communications in one mobile-first platform. Opus serves hundreds of multi-unit brands including Craveworthy Brands, Blaze Pizza, Smashburger, Bahama Bucks, and now GSR Brands. Learn more at opus.so.