Arby’s Restaurant Group Inc., parent company of the franchisor of the Arby’s brand, announced that it has reached a new development agreement with its largest franchisee, United States Beef Corporation (U.S. Beef), to open 70 new restaurants over the next seven years. This equates to an average of 10 new restaurants per year between 2016 and 2022.

“As an Arby’s franchisee for nearly 50 years and the largest franchisee with 331 restaurants, U.S. Beef continues to exemplify the gold standard when representing our Brand,” says Greg Vojnovic, chief development officer, Arby’s Restaurant Group Inc. “Along with U.S. Beef’s incredible 12 new restaurants and five remodels in 2015, this new agreement will expand their footprint significantly and deliver a deli-inspired delicious Arby’s experience to guests in many new areas.”

As part of the agreement, U.S. Beef will continue its aggressive expansion in markets that include Denver, Grand Junction, and Colorado Springs, Colorado, as well as Boise, Idaho. They have also extended their exclusive rights to develop in their long established markets in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and southwest Illinois.

“This development commitment reaffirms our strong belief in the long-term growth of the Arby’s brand,” says John Davis, CEO, U.S. Beef. “We are thrilled to bring Arby’s to several underpenetrated markets attracting many new guests as well as those who simply haven’t been to Arby’s in quite some time. We are confident that guests will love our high quality, Fast Crafted menu items and the new Inspire design of the restaurants.”

Arby’s remains on track with its goal to surpass $4 billion in total system-wide sales (SSS) by the end of 2018. Arby’s produced an 8.9 percent increase in U.S. system SSS through the first three quarters of 2015 versus one year ago.