Frisco, Texas — Layne’s Chicken Fingers, a growing chicken franchise with 13 restaurants open and another 113 sold, is welcoming part-owner Eric Reed as its new chief development officer to support the system’s ongoing growth. “My ultimate, long term goal is to get Layne’s to the point that all we have to do is put an Astro Chicken on the sign in front of the restaurant and people know who we are,” says Reed. “If we can get to that level of brand awareness, we’ve made it. That’s all we …
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 …
Omaha, Neb. — Restaurant industry veteran John Owen joins Scooter’s Coffee as chief operating officer to help lead the successful, expanding drive-thru kiosk franchise model. “As we continue to set our sights on expanding our brand’s footprint and providing world-class coffee and customer service, we are delighted John has joined our Scooter’s Coffee family,” says Joe Thornton, CEO of Scooter’s Coffee. “I am confident John’s alignment with our core values and his extensive industry experience will allow us to build upon our brand promise to customers and help us drive …
Amsterdam — Vox AI plans to debut its advanced AI and machine learning technology designed for seamless restaurant drive-thru orders. An AI breakthrough that is efficient, conversational and speaks 35 languages, Vox AI is the perfect tool for drive-thru and QSR businesses to relieve overworked employees and boost revenues by up to 17% and increase ROI by 14 times. There are over 200,000 drive-thru restaurants in the U.S. — which represent about 70% of fast food sales. Increasing efficiency is one of the primary goals of drive-thru restaurants, but current …
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 …
