Freshii, a leading “health casual” restaurant chain featuring custom-made green wraps, salads, quinoa bowls, and fresh pressed juices is continuing its expansion efforts. Between now and New Year’s Eve, Freshii will open 16 new locations in new and existing markets. With almost 100 stores in operation and 60 more in construction, Freshii now boasts units in 40 cities in eight countries. The brand’s recent press – including features on Undercover Boss, The Food Network, and Fortune Magazine – is continuing to attract quality franchise partners, worldwide.

 

The day I opened the first Freshii location at age 23, was the first day I ever worked in the restaurant industry,” says founder and CEO Matthew Corrin. “We’ve worked hard as a team to create a compelling business model for the franchise industry and an innovative brand for our customers. As each year passes we continue to attract best in class partners, who divide and conquer in our quest to bring healthy fast food to the masses”.

 

·Miami, Florida – Jorge Ivan Ramirez’s background is in telecommunications where he is characterized by leadership and successful business development at AT&T in Colombia and Verizon in the Dominican Republic. Juan Ignacio Fajardo is a prominent pediatrician who has always had a great interest in the education of children for a healthier diet. Alberto Calderon is an economist and entrepreneur, who was the creator of one of the largest distribution networks in Colombia for KIA and JAC car brands.

 

·Atlanta, Georgia – Tamara and Todd Lukens are bringing Freshii to Atlanta, Georgia after having moved there from New York City, where they both spent years in the business world – Todd as a consultant and operator for technology-focused businesses, and Tamara, a native of Ecuador, on Wall Street. Looking to leverage their backgrounds in business development and their love for food and healthy eating, they learned about Freshii from a Fortune Magazine article.

 

·Boston – Meghan and Jeff Swenson, Freshii’s Boston franchisees, are husband and wife business partners. Meghan used to practice law at a large Boston law firm and also co-founded a legal recruiting firm. Jeff is a managing director at Thomas H. Lee Partners, a private equity firm in Boston, where restaurant and retail investments is one of his areas of focus.

 

·Charlotte, North Carolina –The Hutchens Group, a restaurant development group owned by James and John Hutchens, have a 10-unit agreement with Freshii in North Carolina and are opening their first in Charlotte. James has 25 years of experience in the food service industry and has worked for Compass Group, Darden Restaurants, and Harris Teeter Grocers with responsibilities encompassing executive chef, R&D chef, marketing specialist, and regional director. John has been in the grocery business for 45 years with Harris Teeter, where he has handled VP positions ranging from operations to finance.

 

·Stockholm, Sweden – The Arena location is set to open within a large state-of-the-art stadium that is soon to be built. This will be Charlie Younan’s third location in Sweden, with two successful locations already, one on Grev Turegatan and the other in Kista Galleria.

 

·Orlando – Husband and wife partners, Nataly Hermida and Leonardo Sanchez, who both come from Venezuela and have previously started two other successful businesses together, are excited to begin their next business venture with Freshii.

 

·Edina, Minnesota – David Grossman will be opening a location at Southdale Center, a Simon Mall. David has been responsible for the successful development of Freshii’s Chicago market, as a master franchisee.

 

·Grand Rapids, Michigan – Dan and Nathan Ashcraft are Freshii’s father/son Michigan partners. Dan became president of his family’s grocery store, Ashcraft’s Market, and expanded the business across Central Michigan until it was eventually sold. As a college basketball player, his son, Nathan, found his passion in the training and fitness industry where he has been working as a personal trainer post-graduation.

 

·New Brunswick, Canada – Franchisees Philip and Aissa Ridgeway, who both have business degrees and had been spending time in the Middle East caught Matthew Corrin’s episode of Undercover Boss on TV while vacationing in Canada. They were impressed with the brand, the concept, and the gap in the market that they knew Freshii could fill, and they quickly signed a 5-unit deal which secured the rights to Eastern Canada

 

·Halifax, Nova Scotia – Chris and Scott LaFleur are brothers who will be the first to bring Freshii to Atlantic Canada. Both have spent more than eight years working in the hospitality industry while managing and operating full and select service hotels for their family business.

 

·Vancouver, Washington – Doug Gillespie partnered with his father, Rich Gillespie – a practicing dentist for the past 30 years – to acquire the territory of Clark County, Washington. Doug had lived in the Pacific Northwest for most of his life, and though he had previously worked in a variety of roles at a local software company, he had always had the intention of operating his own business through franchising.

 

·Regina, Saskatchewan – Husband and wife team, Amish and Whabis Kubavat, have partnered with Freshii to open locations in Regina, Saskatchewan. Amish got his start in the food service industry after moving to Canada from India, and also opened a retail electronic store from the ground up. Whabis’ background is as a financial planner.

 

·Minneapolis, Minnesota – Another husband and wife partnership, Scott and Susan McPhee, are new members of the Freshii family in the Twin Cities market. Scott has previous franchise experience in owning and operating multiple Tires Plus stores in the same market, and was involved in investing in and managing some commercial and residential real estate after he sold his franchise business in 2010. Susan has worked for the Minneapolis Police Department for 24 years.

Denise Lee Yohn: QSR's Marketing Guru, Growth, News, Pizza, Freshii