Checkers & Rally’s is touching down in the Midwest this month with two significant events in Chicago. First, the brand’s development team attended the Franchise Expo Midwest on September 14 and 15 to meet with strong multi-unit operators that are interested in diversifying their franchise portfolio with a leading burger franchise. Shortly after, the Checkers & Rally’s team will host its annual convention at the Marriott Marquis, where the entire franchise system will gather together and celebrate accomplishments from the past year and look ahead at growth and innovation slated for the next year. Franchisees and company operators will hear from brand leaders including CEO Rick Silva, SVP and CMO Terri Snyder and SVP and Chief Development Officer Jennifer Durham with insight on what is to come for the brand.
“We are looking forward to getting the franchise system together to reflect on the past year, which held a lot of big moments for us,” says Checkers & Rally’s SVP and Chief Development Officer Jennifer Durham. “We had a record-breaking number of openings last year, and are approaching our 900th restaurant opening milestone this fall. We have a lot to celebrate at convention this year when it comes to growth and are on pace to reach our goal of 1,200 restaurants by 2020.”
While the Checkers & Rally’s development team is in the market, they will be narrowing in on growth opportunities throughout the Midwest. Chicago has already seen explosive growth for the brand with 20 restaurants open in Chicagoland, and a capacity to open 80 more throughout Illinois with a heavy focus in Chicago. This summer, the brand opened a new restaurant in Romeoville, with another expected to open just outside of Chicago this fall. Additional openings are scheduled in Elgin, West Chicago, Evergreen Park, Cicero and Wicker Park before the end of Spring 2019. Outside of Chicago, the brand will also be scouting growth in neighboring markets like Milwaukee, St. Louis, Cleveland and Detroit.
“The Midwest is a really strong market for us,” says Durham. “We have a lot of history and loyalty built into the market, but there is still a lot of room for growth. In markets like St. Louis where we are in the trenches with corporate stores, we are looking to mirror our success with franchisee-owned stores. In other markets like Minneapolis, multi-unit operators will have the opportunity to get into a completely untapped market and grow rapidly. Exciting things are brewing in the Midwest for Checkers & Rally’s.”
The Checkers & Rally’s convention will run from September 17 through September 21 at the Marriott Marquis and McCormick Place.
