franchise development

Richmond, Va. — On March 18, Sweetgreen opened its first Richmond, Va., location in Carytown. The 2,162-square-foot location marks another milestone as Sweetgreen’s 250th restaurant. “Sweetgreen was founded just a couple of hours from Richmond with the goal of bringing communities together through fresh, high-quality food,” says Jonathan Neman, co-founder and CEO of Sweetgreen. “We’re honored to carry that mission forward in Carytown, partnering with local businesses and serving delicious meals made with real ingredients. Opening our 250th location here makes this moment even more special, and we couldn’t be …

Pasadena, Calif. — Dine Brands International is set to expand its dual-branded Applebee’s and IHOP concept in 2025. This expansion includes entering the Costa Rican market with franchisee BLT UK Holdings Limited, and opening the first non-traditional restaurants in Mexico with franchisees Grupo Shogua and ATH Group. The dual-branded format, combining Applebee’s and IHOP under one roof, has been a key part of Dine Brands’ international growth strategy. Currently, there are 18 dual-branded locations across seven markets: Mexico, Canada, UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Honduras and Peru. In 2025, the company …

West Covina, Calif. — Jollibee, a global fast-food fried chicken concept based in the Philippines, is launching its first franchising program in the U.S. The quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain is the flagship brand of Jollibee Foods Corporation (JFC), also known as the Jollibee Group, one of the world’s fastest-growing restaurant companies. Jollibee opened its first North American location in 1998 in Daly City, Calif., and currently operates 76 stores spanning 14 states in the U.S. and 28 stores in Canada. Jollibee’s projected expansion goal is to have 350 stores across …

Houston — Shipley Do-Nuts, one of the nation’s largest donut and kolache brands, plans to expand its national footprint with a 30-unit development deal that will bring the brand to New Mexico and the Miami-Dade area of Florida, both new markets for Shipley. This follows the recent new opening in Concord, N.C. — marking the first Shipley in the state of North Carolina. Existing Shipley franchisee Vik Agrawal will bring 10 shops to Sandoval, Santa Fe, Bernalillo, Valencia, Torrance, Socorro, Lincoln, De Baca, Guadalupe and San Miguel counties in New …

Alpharetta, Ga. — Surcheros® is poised for a record-breaking year. Most recently, the emerging fast-casual brand experienced significant growth in 2024, opening nine new locations and debuting in South Carolina and Tennessee for the first time. With a healthy pipeline in place, Surcheros plans to open at least 10 new units by the end of 2025, further solidifying its growing presence across Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Florida.  “Over the past year, we’ve expanded into South Carolina and Tennessee, strengthened our operations team and improved our buildout process to be …