Charlotte, N.C. — Clean Juice®, a USDA-certified organic juice bar franchise, has relocated its flagship store to Birkdale Landing in Huntersville, N.C. The move coincides with the sixth anniversary of the opening of the first Clean Juice store at Birkdale
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Wichita, Kan. — Leading fast-casual restaurant concept Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers has broken ground on a new site set to host the brand’s newest restaurant prototype. Located in Salina, Kan., this prototype marks a new chapter for the brand’s
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Broomfield, Colo. — TCBY, the world’s original frozen yogurt brand, is celebrating its 40th anniversary with the brand continuing to expand rapidly and thrive as communities reopen amid the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine. TCBY opened 12 new U.S. locations
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Atlanta — Buff City Soap, a Southern-based lifestyle brand changing the way people buy their everyday soap by providing plant-based alternatives, has opened its third soap ‘makery’ in Atlanta. Located on Roswell Road in the prominent Buckhead shopping district, Buff
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Secaucus, N.J. — The Vitamin Shoppe, an omni-channel specialty retailer of nutritional products, has launched an innovative franchising model for independent operators to open The Vitamin Shoppe stores in their own communities around the United States. This is the first
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Louisville, Ky. — Biscuit Belly, a chef-driven fast-casual breakfast and brunch concept specializing in gourmet biscuit sandwiches, has signed its first and second multi-unit development agreements to franchise 10 locations throughout Lexington, Ky.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Huntsville, Ala.; and Birmingham, Ala.
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Wichita, Kan. — Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers has recently signed four multi-unit agreements that will result in a total of 29 new restaurants. The expansion follows a strong 2020 in which the concept celebrated its 400th restaurant opening. The 29
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San Diego — QDOBA Mexican Eats, the largest franchise opportunity in the fast-casual Mexican segment, has hired franchising veteran Shawn Caric as vice president of franchise development. In his new role, Caric will be directing the 740-unit brand’s strategic franchise
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Los Angeles — The Hummus & Pita Co., one of the fastest-growing Mediterranean concepts in the U.S., plans a flagship location for all of California with a grand opening slated for late June in Los Angeles. Located in North Hollywood’s
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Cincinnati — Pet Wants, the Cincinnati-based high-quality pet food and supplies franchise, has enjoyed record-setting sales for the 10th consecutive month. January and February sales increased year-over-year by 35% and 26%, respectively. March is now the second highest sales month
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— Interview by Katie Lee — Demand for pets — and pet supplies — soared during the pandemic. Here’s how Pet Supplies Plus is meeting the moment. Raise your hand if you adopted a new pet during
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Boca Raton, Fla. — I Heart Mac & Cheese, a fast-casual concept specializing in customizable, made-to-order macaroni and cheese bowls and grilled cheese sandwiches, has signed 12 franchise agreements with seven new franchisees throughout the first quarter of 2021. In
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Albuquerque — Slim Chickens, a leading fast-casual franchise which features dine-in and drive-thru in the “better chicken” segment, has signed a multi-unit agreement with Dennis Ekstrom to develop 10 restaurants across New Mexico and in El Paso, Texas. The first
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Newport Beach, Calif. — Mountain Mike’s Pizza, LLC, a leading family-style pizza chain for over 40 years, has started 2021 strong with first quarter same-store-sales (SSS) up 23.4% over 2020. This news closely follows Mountain Mike’s reporting that 2020 was
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Houston — Aloha Poke Co., a premier fast-casual poke restaurant concept, plans 11 new locations in the Houston metro market by 2025. The Houston expansion nearly doubles Aloha Poke’s total franchise location holdings and is the first move into the
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Dallas — Throughout the first quarter, Dickey’s Barbecue Pit signed 67 franchise agreements to its pipeline throughout Colorado, Florida, Texas, Washington, California, Tennessee, Arizona, Michigan, Montana and Oklahoma. Among the deals, existing franchisees in Cincinnati and Southern California signed on
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Broomfield, Colo. — Noodles & Company has targeted at least 7% systemwide unit growth beginning in 2022 and is leveraging franchise development to help meet that goal. Despite the many challenges the pandemic posed on the restaurant industry, Noodles was
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Atlanta — Cinnaholic, the brand that sparked a nationwide love affair with gourmet cinnamon rolls on ABC’s hit show, “Shark Tank,” is accelerating its expansion plans and is set to open 20 new locations across the country this year and
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New York City — Shake Shack Inc. has announced that Tara Comonte, president and chief financial officer for the last 4 years, will depart the company in May to become CEO of a private company outside of the restaurant industry.
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Irvine, Calif. — On April 14, 2021, Taco Bell® opened a new Cantina in the heart of Times Square. Built with the energy and on-the-go vibrance of the city in mind, the newest restaurant embraces technology in a whole new
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Jericho, N.Y. — Family owned and operated since 1975, the entrepreneurs behind the Bagel Boss brand plan to bring more than 50 new franchise locations to markets across the country over the next 2 years. Known for its fresh, authentic
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New York City — LION Eye Group intends to move forward with ‘LION Express,’ a state-of-the art, eyewear focused, retail optometry store. The group is currently scouting New York locations in Garden City, Huntington, Merrick-Bellmore, Smithtown and a few locations
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Orlando, Fla. — Another Broken Egg Cafe, an innovative full-service breakfast, brunch and lunch franchise that specializes in Southern-inspired menu options and creative cocktails, has signed development agreements in the first quarter of 2021 to open 14 new locations. Additionally,
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Minnetonka, Minn. — Famous Dave’s, the fast-growing barbeque franchise with 134 restaurants across the country, is bringing its counter and line-serve “Quick ‘Que” prototypes to Las Vegas and Salt Lake City. The Las Vegas location — a line-serve model —
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Longmont, Colo. — Ziggi’s Coffee has inked its 100th deal with the company’s first franchisees. Steve and Jill Anderson signed the first Ziggi’s Coffee franchise agreement just 4.5 years ago. Now, with four stores up and running, the Andersons have
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Wheaton, MD. — Filipino fast-food chain Jollibee has opened its first location in Maryland this month at the Westfield Wheaton Mall in Wheaton. Located at 2800 University Blvd. W., Suite C., Jollibee’s store hours are 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.,
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Alpharetta, Ga. — Taffer’s Tavern, the new tavern concept founded by star of Paramount Network’s Bar Rescue, Jon Taffer, has signed a multi-unit franchise agreement to bring 10 locations to Northern and Central Florida, with an initial focus on the
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