Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with Take 5’s Salomon Sierra
Salomon Sierra draws on his Dominican heritage, his family-centered upbringing, and years of automotive experience to help Take 5 franchisees grow their business.
When Salomon “Sal” Sierra hears Take 5 Oil Change franchisees talk about how the brand has changed their lives, the stories often remind him of his childhood.
Both of Sal’s parents immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic, and his mother raised four children largely on her own. He remembers the work it took to keep food on the table, clothes on their backs, and a roof over their heads—first in New Jersey and then in North Carolina. Through it all, the family-centered, often matriarchal culture kept him going.
“I always have a soft spot for those stories on our team,” Sal said. “I love having these big meetings and rallies, hearing stories that remind me of my mom and bring me back to my childhood.”
Today, as Senior Director of Franchise Operations for Take 5, Sal brings that attitude of appreciation and perseverance to his work building relationships and helping franchisees grow.
Finding his path
Sal’s route to franchise operations wasn’t straightforward. He went to college hoping to become a sports reporter, but an internship at WSOC-TV in Charlotte helped him realize television wasn’t where he wanted to build a career.
He took a job at Target to figure things out, eventually rising to an assistant manager role in customer service. One day, a chance interaction with a CarMax employee led him back to something familiar: cars.
“He asked me to go interview for CarMax, and I was very intrigued because I grew up working on cars with my dad and brother,” Sal said. “I’m like, ‘Hey, I’d love to get back in the car game.’”
Sal spent roughly five years as a buyer with CarMax before making the move to Driven Brands as an operations consultant for Meineke. A few years later, he transitioned to Take 5, where he used his strengths in profitability and P&L management to start coaching franchisees.
Balancing numbers and relationships
Sal jokes that his mornings begin with “data for breakfast.” He reviews performance reports, spots emerging trends, and digs into potential root causes before turning to meetings and other projects.
For all the numbers involved, though, Sal says a lot of his job comes down to people, both his operations team and the franchise owners he works with. He makes a point of speaking with four or five franchisees a day, asking about operations and learning what matters to them beyond business.
“Franchisees are some of the biggest risk takers you’ll ever meet,” Sal said. “They’re essentially going all in on themselves.”
Understanding their lives and what motivates them, he explained, makes him a better partner. If someone’s child is starting college or a family member is sick, Sal puts a note in his calendar so he remembers to follow up. It helps establish the kind of trust that’s central to his leadership style.
Growing alongside franchisees
Good relationships become especially important as franchisees work to expand their businesses. Sal is excited by franchise groups in growth mode—he sees a lot of people making their way toward 100 total locations, but he’s just as motivated to help owners make the jump from five shops to 10.
“I’m kind of a nerd about that,” he said. “I get excited because I know the internal struggles franchisees will face by growing.”
Each stage brings new questions about leadership, structure, and how to develop people. Having seen other franchisees encounter those hurdles, Sal and his team use that knowledge to help owners anticipate challenges and put guardrails in place.
His focus on people also extends to the customers of Take 5. Sal regularly reviews customer complaints and—when necessary—coaches franchisees to consider the situation from the customer’s perspective, often drawing on a family lens to reframe issues.
“If it were your grandma driving that car, how would you like her to be taken care of?” Sal said.
Drawing on his heritage
Sal’s background gives him another perspective on the business. He says there are times he’s the only brown face in the room, and his upbringing can shape the questions he raises about how a shop serves its local community.
“Have you thought about how your customer sees the business?” is one question Sal likes to ask. That focus can be useful when teams are considering local marketing efforts or how to best serve a particular customer base.
At the same time, one of the things he most appreciates about Driven Brands is its commitment to advancement based on performance. He recalls his mother reminding him as a child that the world might sometimes see him first as a brown man, urging him to be aware of what that could mean. At Driven, people of all backgrounds can earn recognition, he said.
“What I love about Driven Brands is we don’t care what you look like. It’s a meritocracy,” Sal said. “If you can perform, if you can do the job, you’re recognized.”
For Sal, Hispanic Heritage Month is therefore connected both to where he came from and where he hopes to go—helping others build strong families and the chance for hard work to unlock the next opportunity.