Top Franchising News

Persona Wood Fired Pizzeria has signed a five-unit deal for Houston. This marks the brand’s first franchise development agreement in the state of Texas. The new Persona locations in Houston will be owned and operated by Spicy Ketchup LLC, a locally based franchise group experienced with the Jimmy John’s brand. The group plans to open […]

Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores, a national travel stop company, has signed a deal to add 10 Taco John’s quick-service Mexican restaurants to its travel stop locations. “Mexican QSR is a fast-growing segment of the food industry, and Taco John’s will help us expand those offerings to our customers,” says Joe Cotton, Love’s director […]

Sloan’s Ice Cream today announced a major development deal that will expand the brand into the Middle East. West Palm Beach, Florida-based Sloan’s — a premium brand combining innovative ice cream flavors with over-the-top aesthetics, including bold pink and neon green walls and heaping amounts of candy and toys — has signed a franchise development […]

After success in initial second tier markets, Great Wraps Grill, a restaurant franchise that lives at the intersection of flavor and health, announced its strategy to focus franchising growth on secondary markets across the country. The brand has proven to thrive in these markets due to its flexible footprint that works in various venues including […]

Crushed Red, a progressive Urban Bake & Chop Shop franchise dishing up chopped-to-order salads and artisan-crafted, whole-grain pizzas in an elevated fast-casual atmosphere, is targeting North Carolina for franchise expansion in 2015. The company plans to develop six restaurants with qualified franchisees throughout the market, serving up true artisan flavors and boosting the local economy […]

The Halal Guys has announced the signing of multi-unit franchise deals outside its home market of New York City. Fifteen new restaurants will open in parts of Houston and Austin, Texas, including one unit at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Texas has a number of major markets with prime franchise territories still available or under negotiation, including […]

The Chickery, the Toronto-based fast casual founded by celebrity Chef David Adjey of Food Network fame, has signed a lease in Washington, D.C., to open a corporate location in Dupont Circle. The new site — which takes the place of a burger restaurant — is located at 1300 Connecticut Ave., right next to Chop’t Creative Salad […]

One of Newk’s Eatery’s most successful franchisee teams is bringing the franchise into downtown Pensacola, Florida, with the city’s second Newk’s restaurant. The Newk’s franchisee team, consisting of managing partners and seasoned restaurateurs Kevin Fitzpatrick, Roman Mayer, and Craig Reeder, is jump-starting the site of the former Wintzell’s Oyster House and Copeland’s New Orleans Restaurant […]

The Loop Pizza Grill is growing again in Jacksonville, Florida. Two franchise owners have announced plans to open Loop Pizza Grills in growing communities south of Jacksonville — one in the Nocatee Town Center in Ponte Vedra, and another in Fleming Island. Franchisee Maurilio Gonzalez will be opening a Loop in the fast-growing community of […]

Fatburger has reopened its store on Woodward Avenue, Detroit, Michigan, under new ownership.  Local residents and visitors can return to Fatburger and indulge in the many famous menu items including custom-built burgers ranging in sizes from S to XXXL. Guests can customize their burger with a variety of toppings including bacon, chili, egg, and guacamole. Each burger […]

“From America with love,” says Steak Escape franchisee, Michael Shariff when asked about his new franchise endeavor in Russia. Escape Enterprises Ltd. of Columbus, Ohio, along with partners Michael Shariff, Mikhail Romanov, and the Sherwood Group, have signed a deal with Escape Enterprises to introduce the Steak Escape brand in Russia. The plans are to […]

Fast-casual restaurant franchise, Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, will opens its 150th location on Tuesday, April 28 in Loveland, Colorado. Freddy Simon, the restaurant’s 90-year-old cofounder and namesake, will attend the restaurant opening. Simon will greet guests and sign autographs from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. “We opened the doors to our first area Freddy’s […]

Uncle Maddio’s Pizza Joint continues its aggressive Florida expansion and will soon enter the Orlando market. Existing Tallahassee franchisee Michael Holmes has signed an agreement to build three units in Orlando in the next four years. Holmes, along with his Orlando operating partners Nick Holmes and Tyler Lackey, will open the first restaurant in the […]

Hungry Howie’s Pizza is continuing its expansion in Louisiana, opening its newest location in Gretna on Wednesday, April 29. Franchisee, Ray Williams Jr., continues his expansion across the state with this being his sixth location and first in the Westbank area. Local residents will now be able to enjoy the brand’s eight flavored crust options, […]

The Chickery, founded in 2012 by celebrity chef David Adjey of Food Network fame, has inked a deal to open five units in non-traditional units across Toronto, the first of which will open in Mt. Sinai Hospital’s new food court project. Mt. Sinai is one of Toronto’s busiest hospitals, and RioCan, which serves as both […]

CKE Restaurants Holdings Inc. (CKE), parent company of Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr., has reached a significant milestone with the opening of its 300th restaurant in the Middle East. The new Hardee’s location will open April 21, 2015, in Yanbu Al-Sinaiyah, King Fahd Street, Saudi Arabia, and will be operated by Al-Ahlia Restaurant Company, a subsidiary of longtime […]

  Burger 21 announced today its second restaurant in South Florida will open in Fort Lauderdale on April 27 at 2949 N. Federal Highway. To celebrate, the restaurant will be giving away Burger 21 t-shirts to the first one hundred guests. Attorney-turned-restaurant owner, Adam Booken, left the corporate world to follow his life-long dream of […]

Steak ‘n Shake, famous for the Original Steakburger and hand-dipped Milkshakes, celebrates the Re-Grand Opening of its Quincy, Illinois, location at 3819 Broadway this Friday, April 24 at 10 a.m. The Grand Opening will be hosted by owners Paul Ledgard Sr. and Cindy Ledgard; partners Alyson Collins & Paul Ledgard Jr.; district manager Dave Atchison; […]

The HoneyBaked Ham Company and Café, a premium food retailer with more than 400 locations nationwide, is announcing an aggressive franchise expansion program to develop 15 to 20 new locations in the year ahead, awarding additional franchises in target markets across the nation. The brand has 190 franchised locations. HoneyBaked is the most recognized ham […]

Fractured Prune Doughnuts is celebrating its one-year anniversary in the Arizona by opening its Tempe location at University House on Tuesday, April 28 at 7 a.m. For more than 40 years, Fractured Prune Doughnuts has beenknown for its always hot, customizable, and made-to-order doughnuts. To celebrate its newest location in Tempe, the first 300 people […]

Juice It Up! will open its newest Texas location in the Pearland Market Shopping Center in Pearland, Texas on Friday, April 24. This is the first location operated by Kahled Ibrahim, president of Matrix Juice LLC. “After experiencing Juice It Up!’s delicious smoothies and fresh, raw juices for myself, I knew that I had to […]

The latest opening of Doc Popcorn at Lalaport Mall in Fujimi, Japan this past week drew crowds of customers at its Grand Opening, which marked the second successful opening of the fresh-popped, kettle-cooked popcorn retail franchise in Japan. Less than one year after the first Doc Popcorn grand opening in Tokyo, the Lalaport Mall PopShop […]

Bowl of Heaven—the innovative, health-casual concept featuring delicious açaí bowls, smoothies, and cold-pressed juices made with plant protein and super food ingredients—opened another franchise store this past month in Tustin, California. Bowl of Heaven currently has eight stores open, 10 new locations set to open in 2015, and more than 65 new franchise units sold […]

Corner Bakery Cafe, a fast casual restaurant concept known for its ingredient-inspired menu and neighborhood cafe atmosphere, is off to a fast start in the second quarter with the announcement of a 13-location deal for greater Cleveland-area, the brand’s first area development agreement in the state of Ohio. According to the National Restaurant Association (NRA), […]

The fast-casual pizza segment has gone from nowhere to seemingly everywhere with head-spinning speed. And while a band of start-ups have debuted in the past few years, Donatos Pizza, the leading pizza chain in Technomic’s most recent Top 150 Fast-Casual Chain Restaurant Report, is dominating the category. And they’re showing no signs of slowing down. […]

Following this week’s announcement that The Halal Guys hired former Qdoba VP of human resources and training, Mike Speck, as COO, comes the hiring of two strong operations and training professionals to the team. Mame Fall and Juan Bustamante, who have a combined total of almost 30 years in the restaurant and hospitality industry, will work […]

Dunkin’ Donuts announced today the signing of a multi-unit store development agreement with new franchise group, Legacy Concepts LLC, to develop 10 new restaurants in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the surrounding areas of Bloomington, Edina, Eden Prairie, and the communities west of the Metro area. The first restaurant is planned to open by the end of […]