20/05/2026
The $18,000 Tennis Can: The Blueprint of a Legacy.
Before the multi-brand portfolios, the data-integration tools, and the industrial scale of F&P Group, there was a tennis can and a shared vision.
In the 1980s, our founders Robert and Laurie Lozano were high school sweethearts working opposite shifts at a Dairy Queen; Robert on the cook line and Laurie at the front counter. They knew they wanted to build a business, but they lacked the capital.
So, they engineered a way to create it. They saved every penny, nickel, and dime they earned, stashing them away in a tennis can. To buy time to finish his degree before getting married, Robert would swap the coins for bills to shove more in. By age 23, that can held $18,000, the exact seed money required to buy their first location in Pharr, Texas.
The Reality: High-performance infrastructure isn’t about the size of the office, it’s about the discipline of the design. Robert and Laurie didn’t just get lucky, they built a proprietary financial framework and a culture of Life Currency before they even owned a storefront.
It is this 40-year commitment to excellence that has led to a historic milestone to our company: We are incredibly proud to announce that Robert and Laurie Lozano are being inducted into the Texas Restaurant Association Hall of Honor this year. As the highest recognition bestowed by the TRA, this honor validates the standard our entire team strives to uphold every day across the Valley.
The official induction takes place on July 12th in San Antonio, and we can’t wait to celebrate the journey that started with a single cook line, a tennis can, and a dream.
Please join us in the comments in congratulating Robert and Laurie on this incredible, well-earned achievement! 🧡