James Nusbaum: Lawyer, Entrepreneur, Educator
Jimmy Nusbaum is a man who wears many hats. He is a husband and father who jokingly describes himself as a recovering lawyer. He is an entrepreneur, more precisely, the CEO of Barry Bagels
franchise holdings. He has been a past president of the Sylvania School Board, and now he’s an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toledo College of Law. He recently joined Chuck Boyk on the Boyk Brief podcast to discuss his interesting legal career.
He grew up in Sylvania with an older brother and sister, both of whom still live in the community. His father, Mel, was a lawyer. A legendary hard-working attorney who was very involved in civic matters and served a stint as president of the Toledo Bar Association.“I’m the only one of the children who pursues law as a career,” says Jimmy. “He was excited when I did that, and we actually got to work together for a few years, which was fantastic and a lot of fun. He set a good example of what a lawyer is and how they should behave… he was a great role model. And I am so very, very fortunate to have had him in my life both professionally and personally, as someone I could look up to.”
Jimmy attended Indiana University for his undergraduate degree, then the University of Toledo College of Law, where he graduated in 1995 with his Juris Doctor. Jimmy worked with some of the absolute legends of the Toledo legal community in the late 90s and the early 2000s. “ I was in an
office downtown, and on the second floor, I had my dad. I had Jeff Levy, Jerry Phillips, Shelly Wittenberg, and, 30 feet away, Bobby Kaplan, Sam Kaplan, Pete Ross, Jon Richardson, Jane Roman, among others.
“I learned more at Morris’s, the restaurant at the base of the Spitzer building, than I did in any classroom. I ate breakfast or lunch there almost every day with a group of lawyers, and it was quite a learning experience. They were great lawyers and great role models.”
Jimmy Nusbaum thought he had his life pretty well mapped out. “I thought I’d be a career lawyer, and very much like my father, have a really long 50-year career going back and forth to different courts in Lucas County and beyond, and I really had no reason to think things would end
up different.”
What triggered him to make a change was his clients. “They were doing more business work, more entrepreneurial work,” says Nusbaum. “I liked what I was doing, but this other area was really exciting to me, and fortunately, I had the opportunity to pursue it.”
In 2009, after 14 years in private practice, he went to work as General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer for Corner Dental in Toledo.
“I was there for about four and a half years, and we ended up selling to a private equity group. That was a lesson in and of itself, being part of a team leading that side of the transaction. I was offered a position as Senior Counsel at the new company, but I didn’t want to move to the East Coast, so I stayed here.
Barry Bagels started in 1972 in Toledo and Sylvania, and eventually operated five family-owned restaurants (four in the Toledo area and one in Ann Arbor). Jimmy’s first job was with Barry’s as a 15-year-old, working in the back, cutting onions, and taking out the garbage.
In 2014, co-owners Barry and Mark Greenblatt wanted to grow their business. Jimmy Nusbaum had experience in process standardization, economies of scale, purchasing, and billing. He became the CEO of Barry Bagels Franchise Holdings and helped the company expand the brand
and grow through franchising.
Since then, they have 23 stores open or about to open, and another 86 stores signed to development deals, for a total of 109 locations, in seven states (Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Indiana, Texas, Iowa, and South Carolina). “I’m co-owner and CEO of that franchise system,” says Nusbaum. “I’m primarily responsible for everything related to strategy, operations, administration, and supply chain, related to our franchise system.”
“One of the things I think is underrated in life is professional development. I took a lot of professional development to learn how to do this properly and thoughtfully… I think the people who deserve the most credit are Barry and Mark for creating a concept and culture that can be replicated, our employees for delivering an excellent customer experience, and our franchisees, who are carrying our concept outside the Toledo area. My job is to make the trains run on time and set a strategic path to make sure everything’s happening as it’s supposed to. I’m really happy to be part of
the brand’s success. But it’s a team effort.”
Jimmy’s success in both his business and legal careers caught the attention of the University of Toledo’s College of Law.
“I had lunch with the Associate Dean”, says Jimmy. “I spent 16 years on
the Sylvania school board, and I’m passionate about education and what it can do for people of any age. Based on my career history and current position, he thought there might be a strong opportunity to bring a practical perspective to teaching entrepreneurship law. I said yes,
because it’s something that I always wanted to do.”
Professor Nusbaum was impressed by his students in his inaugural class. “I don’t remember being that smart in law school, but they’re very intelligent, and they ask great questions,” he says. “What I’ve tried to bring to the classroom is a very practical, pragmatic view. Here’s what happens in this situation. When you go into a closing for a transaction, here are the papers, here’s what may come up, here’s what you’re going to negotiate… I can bring real-life examples to the classroom. And I think that adds credibility. I really like doing it, and I’m glad they’ve asked me to do it.”
Check out episode 61 of the Boyk Brief podcast featuring Chuck’s conversation with Jimmy Nusbaum by visiting our website at www.charlesboyk-law.com/the-boyk-brief-podcast/ or wherever you download your podcasts.
