Last year, Happy Joe’s Pizza & Ice Cream announced its master franchise agreement with H.J. Middle East L.L.C. to grow the brand abroad. Now, the Iowa-based pizza chain is ready to open its first two restaurants in Cairo, with others coming across Egypt and the Middle East shortly thereafter.
Led by Master Franchisee Ahmed Elbatran, the group will open Happy Joe’s first location in the Cairo suburb of Roxy, Heliopolis, in July and will open their second unit in the Giza suburb of SODIC in August, eventually opening eight additional locations across Cairo over the following five months in Mall of Arabia, 6th of October, Mall of Egypt, 26th of July, and Lotus. The family-owned franchise group was awarded 25 units and expects to open more than 50 locations across Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
H.J. Middle East L.L.C. is comprised of Ahmed Mohamed Magdy Elbatran, Mohamed Magdy Elbatran, Abeer Ahmed Abdelhalim Elkabbany and Zina Mohamed Magdy Elbatran. Mohamed Magdy Elbatran and his two brothers were previously Happy Joe’s franchisees in the 1980s and 1990s. Ahmed Mohamed Magdy Elbatran, son of Mohamed Magdy Elbatran, saw Happy Joe’s recent global growth and wanted to bring Happy Joe’s pizza and party paradise back to Egypt.
“After signing our master franchise agreement last fall, we’re thrilled to start opening our doors over the next few months,” says President Ahmed El Batran. “Nothing compares to Happy Joe’s one-of-a-kind fun and family-friendly atmosphere in the entire Middle East and North Africa region. So, we can’t wait to bring the iconic brand back to Egypt under the new leadership, vision, and energy that Chief Happiness Officer, CEO and President Tom Sacco has re-energized Happy Joe’s brand with. We are looking forward to bringing the community together creating the lifelong magical memories at Happy Joe’s.”
For the young – and young at heart – there’s nothing like a birthday celebration at Happy Joe’s – complete with sirens, horns, flashing red lights, an electric, oversized model train, hand-scooped ice cream, and a special song from the team. Pizza lovers will marvel at the abundant toppings on Happy Joe’s specialty pizzas – such as the 200+ pepperonis stacked on a Lollapalooza pepperoni pizza! Happy Joe’s will also offer a variety of breakfast pizzas, dessert pizzas, appetizers, pastas, sandwiches, a lunch buffet and daily specials. Happy Joe’s creates magical memories that last a lifetime.
