Ribs franchise owners redirect focus to backs

Owners of the Reno Famous Dave’s barbeque franchise are planning to open two chiropractic clinics in town.

Chris, Rory and Sean O’Neal are launching a few dozen The Joint franchises throughout northern California, including one that opened in Elk Grove last month, and they are set to take the wraps off the first of four planned clinics in Henderson next week. This summer they hope to open the first of two clinics in Reno at the corner of Kietzke Lane and South McCarran Boulevard in the former Brew House Bar and Grill alongside Pacific Dental and two other tenants. The family-run business is currently interviewing chiropractors in the Reno area.

The Joint franchises are positioned as wellness centers and offer an introductory adjustment for $19 and $29 for follow-on adjustments or a package of four monthly adjustments for $49.

“The chiropractic industry has taken a big hit because insurance basically doesn’t pay for it anymore,” says Chris O’Neal. “But everyone can benefit from a weekly adjustment.”

The advantage for chiropractors is being associated with an established brand and turning the business over to someone else. The Joint, founded by John Leonesio, who also established the Massage Envy franchise business, has 100 clinics nationwide.

The O’Neal family is not new to large-scale, medical endeavors. Sean O’Neal, a former hospital CEO, co-founded SurgCenter Development in 2002, which developed 100 outpatient ambulatory surgical centers.

Chris O’Neal, who is his son, and Rory O’Neal, the brother of Sean O’Neal, will handle day-to-day management responsibilities of the franchised business.