Robin and Jamie Durdel have lived in Central Illinois their whole lives. They currently live in East Peoria, where Jamie is a nonprofit CEO for an agency that supports individuals with developmental disabilities, and Robin operates a Kona Ice and Travelin’ Tom’s. Robin started with Kona Ice in 2016, after 20 years in the corporate Information Technology world, and they bought their Travelin’ Tom’s trucks in 2024 and 2025. Currently, they employ 8 people. They are blessed to have most of their family in central Illinois, including their new, 2-month-old grandson, Ace! Their two children, Mason (Jordan) and Jacy (Reid) were well-versed in the Kona business growing up. Robin and Jamie enjoy traveling to tropical locations to escape the cold and still enjoy each other’s company wherever they are! They also spend their free time dabbling in real estate with several rental properties. In November, they’ll celebrate 30 years of marriage.
What made you decide to look into purchasing a franchise?
When we originally purchased the Kona Ice franchise in 2016, we did so after a lot of research on what the right franchise would be. Robin was tired of the corporate life and wanted a career change. We have always been very hard-working and fully expected to succeed in whatever we chose. In all of our years of Kona, we were always “grinding” to generate enough revenue to shut down for the cold months. In Central Illinois, you only get solid Kona months from April through October. When Travelin’ Tom’s was created, we believed this would be our opportunity to generate revenue year-round. Ultimately, our goal was to be able to hire a full-time manager so we could really focus on running the business. We purchased our first Tom’s truck in 2024, hired Rachel, our manager, the same year, and bought our second truck in 2025.
When researching franchises, what criteria mattered to you most? How did your franchise meet that criteria?
Having always been highly involved in the community, we wanted to make sure that the franchise we chose had a positive impact to our community. We have always been members of our community from serving on local boards, to PTA President, to youth coaching, etc. With Jamie working in the non-profit field, we also understood the need for donations to those types of organizations. We were so proud of the Kona “Giveback” program and we knew that Travelin’ Tom’s could accomplish that as well when working for those customers. We have also been very impressed with the level of support that we have received from Kona in regard to things like marketing and truck support so we knew Tom’s would be similar to that.
Financing can be an obstacle and/or intimidating factor for aspiring entrepreneurs. How did you find financing options to purchase your franchise?
We have built a great relationship with several local lenders in the area with the success of our business. We chose to finance through one of our local lenders and are very happy with the results. If you are just starting out and don’t have the success yet, Travelin’ Tom’s Corporate provides great financing options if you want to choose that route as well.
Which of your prior skills and experiences do you use in operating your business today?
Work ethic was instilled in both of us at a very young age. Robin’s father was a dedicated millwright for Caterpillar for over 40 years and Jamie’s father owned a second generation tree service business his entire career. Hard work is what has built our business from the ground up. We are both Master’s level educated with Robin earning her MBA from University of Illinois and Jamie earning his Masters in Human Service Administration from University of Illinois. Our education and work ethic has taught us how to be ethical, dedicated, and make difficult decisions to succeed. We have also used our community relationships to grow our business. Having always volunteered and been involved in our community has allowed us to build a lot of relationships to help us meet our goals. It also helps that we are pretty handy and are able to repair a lot of issues that come our way.
During your research, did you use FBR’s website to compare franchise opportunities? What other resources did you use?
Originally, we did a lot of research when we bought the Kona franchise. We compared the successes of other franchises like Papa Murphy’s and kept coming back to Kona. We learned a lot about FBR when we went to our first Konvention (as a prospect, before we purchased) and then did research from that point forward. Having succeeded with Kona, we knew the support would be similar to Travelin’ Tom’s. As expected, we are happy to see the success of Travelin’ Tom’s as shown by FBR’s current ratings.
When doing your research, which questions did you ask the franchisees?
We mostly asked franchisees if the support that is given is similar to what was given through Kona. Franchisees told us that support was similar to marketing strategies, truck support, educational opportunities, and general ideas to succeed. We also asked how to “start” when you actually obtain your first truck. What events are best to target, how to tie into your already established relationships, etc? We also asked some franchisees about the cost of goods sold and the general overhead costs of the franchise.
Which questions did you ask the franchisor?
We asked the franchisor a lot of questions about other franchisee success and time it is typically taking to pay off a truck. Additionally, we asked about the cost of goods sold, how many current franchisees there are and where they are located to get an idea if our climate in central Illinois was feasible. We also asked about average sales per month with other franchisees to ensure the purchase would be financially feasible.
What were your first 90 days like as a franchisee?
Our first 90 days were exciting but scary. We had a new opportunity to showcase a new business, and we leaned a lot on the relationships that we already had. We contacted local schools and businesses that we had worked with in the past and told them about the new coffee truck. Most of them were just as excited as we were, as they allowed us to bring the truck along to many already scheduled Kona events. As the word spread, the business grew as we had hoped. Corporate business expanded, schools expanded, festivals and farmers’ markets opened their doors to us, etc. We really felt like we had been very successful in the first 90 days and began looking at how quickly we wanted to expand. It didn’t take long, as we purchased our second Tom’s truck after only 13 months.
At what point did you feel like you “got the hang of it” and settled in as a business owner?
For Tom’s, the transition to growth seemed to be a bit easier than Kona’s. Food trucks were newer to the scene in 2016, so it took a lot of building to get Kona where it is today. We didn’t have the relationships in the beginning with Kona that made us so successful when buying the first Tom’s truck. By building off of those relationships, following the brand strategies, and listening to other franchisees’ successes, we feel like we settled in successfully with Tom’s after 90 days.
How does the franchisor support and encourage your success?
Travelin Tom’s does an outstanding job with support. They put franchisees through an educational program before you start, they provide you with several tools from software to marketing, and they have an outstanding truck support program to assist you with equipment issues. The support you receive from building relationships with other franchisees is very helpful as well. We can contact many franchisees around the country, and they are always willing to help.
What are you most proud of and why?
We are proud of a lot of things in regard to our business! From Kona Ice of Peoria, beginning in 2016, to Travelin Tom’s today, we have 6 trucks, 4 ancillaries, and 2 storage buildings that make it all work. With a staff of over 20, we continue to grow and give back tens of thousands of dollars to the central Illinois community. We are proud to be the “go-to” in our area for food truck services, and we are proud of our social media presence that helps us in our growth and expansion. Along the way, we have also employed and helped many young people learn about business, customer service, ethics, and values. We are truly blessed by this business that we have built and look forward to future growth and success!
What advice would you give to potential franchise owners?
TRUST THE BRAND! Travelin’ Tom’s Corporate has put a lot of work and effort into the design and operation of food trucks. There isn’t a better franchise in this business that has put more effort into helping franchisees succeed. From financing to support to marketing to education, if you follow the tools that you are given, you will be successful.
More About Travelin’ Tom’s Franchise Ownership
Travelin’ Tom’s is more than just a business; it’s a community partner. As a result, Travelin’ Tom’s consistently ranks high in franchisee satisfaction. Franchisees love owning their trucks, and we at FBR have their full satisfaction report available for you to view.
Franchisee Satisfaction Highlights:
In the latest Franchise Business Review survey, the brand received the following ratings:
- 96% of franchisees agree that their fellow franchisees are supportive of the brand
- 96% of franchisees believe that senior management acts with a high level of honesty and integrity
- 96% of franchisees agree that they trust their franchisor
