franchise development

Salt Lake City — Beans & Brews Coffeehouse, a rapidly growing drive-thru coffee franchise, celebrated the recent opening of its newest location in San Antonio, Texas, on Jan. 20, 2024 — marking the first Beans & Brews in the state. “We’re excited to invite the San Antonio community to join us in celebrating the launch of our newest coffeehouse,” says Chad Gretzema, CEO of Beans & Brews Coffeehouse. Located at 6507 W. Loop 1604 N., the restaurant officially opened its doors on Dec. 16, 2023; grand opening events continued into …

Burnaby, B.C. (Canada) — Marking a significant 100-store milestone and entering 2024 with unprecedented momentum, Freshslice Pizza, an innovative Canadian pizza franchise, plans to expand into the United States. Known for its commitment to quality ingredients, innovation and an amazing ROI for franchise partners, Freshslice will now offer franchise opportunities to the U.S. market. “We are thrilled to bring Freshslice Pizza to the United States,” says Ray Russel, founder and CEO. “Our 3-in-1 system meets the evolving needs of our franchisee partners at a fraction of our competitors’ cost. Our …

Toronto and Syracuse, N.Y. — Toronto-based Restaurant Brands International Inc. (RBI) has agreed to acquire Syracuse, N.Y.-based Carrols Restaurant Group Inc. for $1 billion. RBI owns the Burger King, Popeyes, Firehouse Subs and Tim Hortons brands. Carrols is the largest Burger King franchisee in the United States, operating 1,022 locations in 23 states. Burger King says the transaction is part of its “Reclaim the Flame” plan to accelerate sales growth and drive franchisee profitability. The transaction follows the brand’s initial $400 million investment announced in September 2022 to drive high-quality …

Manasquan, N.J. — Jersey Mike’s Subs has signed an area director and development agreement with Redberry Restaurants, one of Canada’s largest restaurant operators. Redberry signed a development agreement to open 300 Jersey Mike’s restaurants across Canada by 2034, via a combination of Redberry-owned-and-operated stores and supported franchisee locations. This marks the first major international expansion for Jersey Mike’s in its 68-year history. “We are proud to partner with Ken Otto and his team at Redberry,” says Peter Cancro, founder and CEO, Jersey Mike’s Franchise Systems, Inc. “Their extensive history and …

Mankato, Minn. — Focus Brands®, the parent company of Auntie Anne’s®, Carvel®, Cinnabon®, Jamba®, McAlister’s Deli®, Moe’s Southwest Grill® and Schlotzsky’s®, will debut McAlister’s Deli in Minnesota with a 10-unit franchise agreement, alongside a tri-brand franchise agreement that will bring Auntie Anne’s, Cinnabon and Jamba to Mankato. Behind the signings are seasoned restaurateurs and husband-and-wife team, Steve and Dani Wegman. The duo owns multiple food concepts around the greater Mankato area. Ready to introduce McAlister’s Deli in the state of Minnesota, the Wegmans are set to open their first location …

Nashville, Tenn. — Captain D’s has signed its first-ever franchise development agreement in Canada. Ontario-based entrepreneurs Ali Saeed and Mudassir Choudri will bring five Captain D’s restaurants to the greater Toronto metropolitan area over the next several years. The brand, which has its roots in the southeastern U.S., has been expanding rapidly with multiple franchise development agreements throughout 2023 as far west as Utah and into the northern states of New York and New Jersey. Captain D’s also has aggressive plans for growth throughout Canada. “As Captain D’s continues to …

Los Angeles — FAT Brands Inc. has opened its inaugural West Coast co-branded Johnny Rockets and Hurricane Wings restaurant. Located in Alhambra, Calif., the new unit marks a milestone in the expansion of the recently launched co-branded model, which first opened in late 2022 in Washington, D.C. “Following the resounding success of our first Johnny Rockets and Hurricane Wings co-branded restaurant in Washington, D.C., we’re thrilled to introduce this unique concept to the West Coast,” says Jake Berchtold, chief operating officer of FAT Brands’ Fast Casual Division. “Similar to Fatburger …

Tampa, Fla. — FSC Franchise Co., the parent company of Beef ‘O’ Brady’s and The Brass Tap, had a record year in 2023. In addition to acquiring Newk’s Eatery, a fast-casual café concept, the franchisor opened 10 Brass Tap locations and one Beef ‘O’ Brady’s, and it awarded another 36 and four, respectively. “We’ve been looking to add something to our platform for several years, and we think that Newk’s is the perfect complementary brand. It’s fast-casual with average unit volumes of $2.2 million, and it has the same geographical …

Redding, Calif. — Black Bear Diner, one of the fastest-growing restaurant franchises in the country, has announced its plans for growth in 2024 with 14 planned new diner openings. The company will open at least nine new franchise-owned diners and five new corporate-owned diners. In addition to growth plans with current franchise partners for openings in California, Texas and Arizona, Black Bear Diner has also welcomed two new franchise partners to its system: LVP Foodservice and Gursavri Group. LVP plans four 2024 openings in Kansas, Arizona, Nevada and Colorado; Gursavri …