Houston — Houston-based Shipley Do-Nuts, a large and fast-growing donut brand first founded in 1936, will expand its presence in Florida and Tennessee under a 22-unit franchise agreement with the hospitality arm of private investment platform Virentes Partners Group.
Virentes operates multiple franchise brands through its subsidiary, Virentes Hospitality. Its development agreement with Shipley is the brand’s largest commitment inked in 2024.
“We exhaustively researched dozens of franchise concepts to expand our hospitality portfolio, and Shipley came out on top with craveable and highly differentiated products and an outstanding leadership team,” says Jim D’Aquila, managing member and chief investment officer of Virentes. “The Shipley team is committed to the brand and to franchisee success, with exceptional unit economics, a strong business model and opportunities for growth.”
Virentes plans to open three Shipley Do-Nuts locations in 2025 in Nashville, Tenn., and Jacksonville and Tampa, Fla. Virentes recently hired a new vice president of operations, Andrew Povec, to oversee operational excellence and enterprise development and has also begun hiring general managers for the first locations.
“One of our key expansion strategies has been to partner with experienced multi-unit, multi-brand operators such as Virentes, who are ready to hit the ground running to grow the Shipley brand and open units,” says Keith Sizemore, senior vice president of franchise development for Shipley. “Their commitment to operational excellence will ensure that their locations will execute on our brand values and deliver a great product and experience to new customers.”
Shipley topped 360 units this year and is on track to achieve back-to-back years of record openings. It has added more than 110 units to its development pipeline so far in 2024 and will enter two new states, North Carolina and Virginia, in first quarter 2025.
Looking forward, Shipley is expanding nationally and has available markets in 46 states, with a focus on the Southeast. For more information, visit www.ownashipleydonuts.com.
Virentes Partners Group is a private investment, operations and management platform that seeks to partner with the world’s leading consumer and business brands. Founded in 2022, the group deploys flexible capital in sectors where it has deep institutional knowledge and operating capability to support the operational and growth needs of founder-led and high-growth partner companies. For more information, visit www.Virentes.com.
Virentes Hospitality is an owner and operator of differentiated restaurant concepts that span multiple geographies across the Southeast. Virentes Hospitality is a portfolio asset of Virentes Partners Group.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: To read our current cover story on Shipley Do-Nuts, click here.]
SOURCE: Shipley Do-Nuts