In 2002, as chairman and CEO of San Diego-based Mailboxes, Etc. (MBE), franchising guru Jim Amos designed the sale of that 5,000-unit retail postal business to shipping giant UPS. Amos says friend and fellow Semper Fi Fred Smith, founder of FedEx, weighed MBE’s purchase before rival UPS pulled the trigger on the deal.

The former International Franchise Association chairman then formed investment company Eagle Alliance Partners with daughter Heather Rose and Memphis-based businessman Gary Prosterman (whose hotel development partners include Smith and Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning). On a tip from Memphis investment firm Morgan Keegan that religious publisher Thomas Nelson might be coming on the market, Amos began frequenting the Nashville area.

“I thought perhaps some new thinking from the business side might really energize that industry,” recalls Amos, an executive who openly expresses his Christian faith. “We offered [owner &CEO] Sam Moore an attractive price, $14 or $14.25 a share. The stock was $8.25 at the time. I would have loved to have completed that transaction.” (Several years later in 2006, Moore sold his company to private equity for nearly $30 a share in a $473 million deal.)

By then, enamored of Middle Tennessee, Amos chose to relocate to the area anyway. He began investing in smaller companies, including Sona MedSpa, now a chain of almost 50 medical spas. Most recently, he’s co-acquired Manhattan dessert maker Tasti D-Lite and is moving its home offices to Franklin.

A soft-serve, low-calorie, “guiltless sin” with a cult-like following among the New York City glitterati, Tasti D-Lite is perhaps best known for its frequent cameos on television shows, including The Apprentice. Now sold in 44 stores around New York, Amos plans 500 locations nationwide. He says he recently bumped into Subway founder Fred DeLuca who conceded he too had pursued Tasti D-Lite’s purchase. “I told him we’ll have to sit down and talk about that,” Amos says.

It’s not Amos’ first dessert sector foray. Before MBE, Amos helmed the “I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt” franchise, growing it to 2,500 locations. His same team will run Tasti D-Lite.

And, in concert with his numerous private equity contacts, Amos wants to acquire more brands. He pursued Chattanooga-based Krystal. And he mentions Nashville-based O’Charley’s concept Stoney River Legendary Steaks as a consideration. “We’re interested in niche businesses primarily in the franchising space that we think can be energized, leveraged and scaled,” Amos says.

Growing Tasti D-Lite means Amos will likely quit some of the corporate boards he currently sits on, which include Meineke, Oreck and “Left Behind Games,” makers of religious-inspired computer games. He’s less likely to drop volunteer service to veterans initiatives. Last year, the two-term Vietnam Vet joined Texas billionaire Ross Perot in hosting a first-ever “Welcome Home” Vietnam Veterans event, which was attended by 50,000 people in Branson, Mo.

A longtime advocate of helping war veterans investigate franchising as a professional alternative when transitioning back to civilian life, Amos’ Tasti D-Lite plunge will perhaps whip up new opportunities in that effort, as well.

Tasti D-Lite