Florida — Hawaiian Bros Island Grill, a fast-growing, island-inspired restaurant concept, has signed a 52-unit development agreement with Southern Rock Restaurants, LLC/Southern Rock Hawaii, LLC. The deal marks the brand’s entry into Florida, with Southern Rock planning to develop the 52 restaurants across Jacksonville, Gainesville, Tampa and Orlando during the next 6 years, including 24 restaurants planned in the next 3 years.
Leading the development is Southern Rock CEO Max Piet, a restaurant industry veteran with more than 35 years of experience and extensive knowledge of building and running multi-unit fast casual businesses in the Florida market. Currently, Piet and his Southern Rock team own and operate nearly 200 restaurants as McAlister’s Deli and Dave’s Hot Chicken franchisees in 13 states.
“Hawaiian Bros is a rapidly growing brand built around a simple, proven model, strong culture and commitment to exceptional hospitality. We see tremendous opportunity for it in these outstanding Florida markets,” says Piet. “I’m especially excited to introduce Hawaiian Bros to areas I know and love. This is an important new chapter for Southern Rock, and we look forward to growing the Hawaiian Bros brand with a sharp focus on great teams and strong leadership.”
The agreement is one of Hawaiian Bros’ largest development commitments and establishes a significant growth pipeline in a new state.
“Entering Florida is a highly anticipated milestone for Hawaiian Bros, and we couldn’t ask for a more experienced group to help establish our presence in the state,” says Grant Kreutzer, senior vice president of franchise development at Hawaiian Bros. “Max knows these Florida markets extremely well, and Southern Rock has an impressive track record of building and operating successful multi-unit restaurant businesses at scale. Their strong infrastructure makes them exactly the kind of operator we want growing alongside Hawaiian Bros.”
Hawaiian Bros’ menu is intentionally simple and prepared with zero freezers, fryers or microwaves, which also encourages consistent execution, operational efficiency and a focus on fresh, high-quality ingredients. Since launching in 2018, Hawaiian Bros has grown to 80+ restaurants across 14 states, with the majority of locations franchisee-owned and operated. There are more than 350 additional restaurants under development agreements spanning 20 states and over 75 markets with 13 multi-unit franchisees. For more information, visit www.hawaiianbros.com/franchising and www.hawaiianbros.com.
SOURCE: Hawaiian Bros Island Grill