Amsterdam Falafelshop is set to satisfy the munchies of the local fast-casual restaurant scene with a team of North Texas restaurant operators. The brand announced it has signed a franchise development deal with area entrepreneur Chris Kline and a team of his business partners. The developers see Amsterdam Falafelshop as a good fit for Dallas-Fort Worth, with a growing diverse population of young professionals and families looking for a fast-casual option.
“Amsterdam Falafelshop is one of those rare restaurant concepts that is truly contagious with consumers,” Kline says. “As we considered brands to bring to Fort Worth and Dallas, Amsterdam Falafelshop hit on everything we were looking for—award-winning food, incredible reviews, an atmosphere that separates it from any place else, and a venue that truly captures all the senses. We’re thrilled to provide people in this area an environment to relax, chill out, and eat an incredible falafel sandwich, Dutch-style fries, or a fresh-out-of-the-oven brownie.”
Chris Kline and his team plan to select the location for their first Amsterdam Falafelshop soon and anticipate opening in early-2014. It will be the brand’s first restaurant in Texas. Kline and all four of his business partners are U.S. military veterans. The team represents the growing number of veterans finding a path to entrepreneurship through the franchising industry.
The top-it-yourself falafel shop has become a Washington, D.C., favorite, receiving praise from the area’s food critics. In addition to serving falafel sandwiches and Dutch-style fries [“frieten”], shops offer nearly two dozen toppings for patrons to customize their falafel.
“We created a movement that reflects our quirkiness, and we’re incredibly excited that we found the right team to bring it here,” says Arianne Bennett, CEO of Amsterdam Falafelshop, which she and her husband Scott founded together. “You will not find a restaurant concept with the food and environment that we offer in this area—we are confident this will make a huge and lasting imprint in the fast casual food market here.”
In addition to growing in Dallas and Fort Worth, Amsterdam Falafelshop is moving forward with an aggressive U.S. franchise growth plan calling for expansion into other select urban centers where the brand can maintain its originality among a diverse collection of consumers. While additional shops are already in the pipeline in Washington, D.C., Boston, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Salt Lake City, the company is still accepting applications from qualified franchisees interested in further developing key U.S. areas throughout the Northeast, Eastern Seaboard, Midwest, and Southeast. Target markets include the D.C. metro area and Baltimore, Atlanta, the Carolinas, Miami, the New York metro area, Philadelphia, Richmond, and Tampa. Plus, Amsterdam Falafelshop has pinpointed metropolitan areas across the midsection of the nation such as Chicago, Ohio, and other major metro markets in Texas.
