St. Petersburg, Fla. — The WOWorks family of restaurant brands — Saladworks, Frutta Bowls, Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh and The Simple Greek — experienced growth of its co-branded restaurant concepts in 2021 with six locations opening and six additional franchise agreements signed across 10 states by the end of the year.
“We are seeing an accelerated growth in co-branded WOWorks restaurants because our healthy-halo brands meet growing menu and flavor demands, and have the flexibility in size and operation to open alongside current restaurants and inside many non-traditional spaces,” says Eric Lavinder, chief development officer for WOWorks. “By sharing a front and back-end, co-branded restaurants can build-out more efficiently to open quicker, have lower operating costs, and cover more dayparts to attract more guests and generate sales.”
In December, a Saladworks and Frutta Bowls co-branded restaurant will open in West Bloomfield, Mich., a first for both brands in the state. Another co-branded location will open in Middletown, Del., where an existing Saladworks restaurant will add Frutta Bowls. And, for the first time, a Frutta Bowls restaurant coming to Hermitage, Pa., will add on Saladworks to become a co-branded restaurant.
Several store-within-a-store co-branded restaurants are also part of this growth, such as Saladworks and Frutta Bowls co-branded restaurants opening in grocery stores in and around the Philadelphia area. In addition, an existing store-within-a-store Saladworks restaurant in a ShopRite store in Staten Island, N.Y., is also adding Frutta Bowls to create a co-branded restaurant. A current Philadelphia-based Fresh Grocer already has a co-branded Saladworks and Frutta Bowls restaurant as well.
On top of the co-branded openings in 2021, WOWorks signed additional co-branded restaurant agreements this year, including locations in Reno, Nev., and San Juan Capistrano, Calif.; both are slated to open in the spring. An existing Saladworks restaurant in Morgantown, W.Va., also signed an agreement to add on Frutta Bowls in 2022. Other Saladworks and Frutta Bowls co-branded restaurant agreements include a location in Norfolk, Va., and a three-location signing in Draper, Utah, which will open one co-branded restaurant in 2022 and the other two at a later date.
WOWorks was formed in 2020 and is fully owned by Centre Lane Partners, LLC. WOWorks seeks to drive explosive growth across all of its brands through a variety of channels, both traditional and non-traditional, including ghost kitchens, food trucks, grocery retail and more.
SOURCE: WOWorks