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RALEIGH - Like any good restaurateur, Michael Olander is always revising his recipe for success.
His company, Raleigh-based Apple Gold Group, operates 72 Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar restaurants in four states, including North Carolina, under a franchise agreement with the Overland Park, Kan., company.
Those restaurants, which employ 4,500 people, brought in the bulk of Apple Gold Group's $150 million in revenue in 2003.
But Olander's hunger for growth is far from satiated. He plans to build at least five new Applebee's this year, and he's signed on to open 40 Johnny Carino's Country Italian eateries over the next seven years.
"I've always wanted to grow the organization," says Olander, who also owns six Burger Kings. "I enjoy building the organization."
Working to succeed comes naturally for Olander, who grew up in Islip, N.Y., the oldest of three children. His father, Bob, was a general contractor in residential real estate, and Michael worked for him during high school and college.
The young Olander was an avid reader and a good athlete. He was a member of his high school football, lacrosse and wrestling teams. He went on to wrestle at Cornell University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in government and economics in 1974.
Academics came easy to Olander, says Tim Lynch, who has been a friend since college.
"The reason the rest of us hated...