John Wade started his career in the restaurant business at the age of 16 when he went to work at “Grandy’s” restaurant in Jefferson City, Missouri. By the age of 18, he was promoted to Assistant Manager and began to realize that fast food was more than just a job, it could a profitable career. John grew with RTM from 1993 - 2004. (Read John's Bio)

In September of 2004, John left RTM to become an Arby’s franchisee with the purchase of six Arby’s units in Lafayette, Lebanon and Frankfort, Indiana. It is with the acquisition of those 6 Arby’s units that AES Restaurant Group, LLC was formed.
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And the success continued…

In 2005:

• AES Purchased the Rensselaer, IN Restaurant (#7)
• AES Purchased the Purchased the Winamac, IN Restaurant (#8)
• AES Purchased the Purchased the Rochester, IN Restaurant (#9)
• ZANN Real Estate Group LLC Formed 

In 2006:

• AES Purchased the Purchased Wabash, IN Restaurant (#10)
• AES Purchased the Brookville, IN Restaurant (#11)

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In 2007:

• AES Purchased in Partnership with the Early Group, two units (#12 & #13) in Georgia and Formed “Maverick Restaurant Group”
• Opened Delphi, IN Arby’s

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In 2008:

• Formed Ashworth Accounting along with 3 other partners

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In 2009:

• AES Purchased Kokomo, IN (#15) and Bluffton, IN (#16)

In 2012:

• FOCUS Reality Group LLC formed for the purchase of 4 Arby’s Land and Buildings in Rensselaer, Winamac, Rochester & Bluffton

In 2013:

• AES Purchased Rensselaer-2, IN (#17) and Crown Point, IN (#18) 

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In 2014:

• AES Purchased Commerce, Cornelia, Toccoa, Winder, Jefferson and the other 50% of Milledgeville and Thomson in Georgia

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In 2015 – 2016:

• AES Remodeled 10 units in 10 months
• AES Sold 4 outlying units to ARG –
• AES Remodeled 3 more units​

In 2017:

• AES Remodeled 1 unit 
• AES Purchased property for strip center w/ Arby’s end cap 

In 2018:

• AES Purchased 29 units in the Dayton, OH DMA
• AES Purchased 27 units in Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky
• AES Built new unit on Veteran’s Memorial Hwy in Lafayette, IN​

In 2019:

• AES Remodeled 6 restaurants
• John Wade was elected to be Chairman of the Arby’s Franchisee Association (AFA)
• AES Restaurant Group named FRANCHISEE OF THE YEAR at the Arby's International Franchisee Convention

In 2020:

• Opened a Rusty Taco in Lafayette, IN. AES Restaurant Group's first non-Arby’s brand.
• Remodeled 4 restaurants.
• AES recognized by Arby's with the highest comparable sales for large franchisees in the Arby’s Brand.
• Founded the AES Foundation to serve our communities through charitable donations.

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In 2021:

• AES Purchased 6 restaurants in Myrtle Beach, SC
• AES Remodeled 4 restaurants
• AES Purchased 14 restaurants in Tennessee and Virginia
• AES Purchased 60 restaurants in Florida, Iowa, Montana, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Nebraska and Minnesota. 

In 2022:

• AES Purchased 2 restaurants in Athens, GA, 2 restaurants in Kokomo, IN and 1 in Crawfordsville, IN
• AES Opened 2 restaurants in Mount Pleasant, WI and Glade Spring, VA
• AES Remodeled 1 restaurant in Myrtle Beach, SC 

In 2023:

• AES Purchased 15 restaurants in Indiana and Michigan
• AES Remodeled 6 restaurants
• AES Opened 4 NEW restaurants in Mequon, WI, Clayton and Covington, GA and Conway, SC

So far, in 2024

• AES Remodeled 3 restaurants with 2 more in the works
• Plans to open 2 NEW restaurants
• The possibilities are endless

AES Restaurants Chosen as Franchisee of the Year in 2019

AES Group was incredibly honored to host Inspire Chairman Paul Brown, Arby’s President Rob Lynch and Arby’s Chief Marketing Officer Jim Taylor for a tour of our Dayton, OH market in 2019.

The AES parade golf cart (RIP)