FAT Brands Inc., parent company of Fatburger, Johnny Rockets, Round Table Pizza, Great American Cookies, Marble Slab Creamery and nine other restaurant concepts, is growing its footprint in the Middle East with 136 brick-and-mortar restaurant locations across five countries. In partnership with Kitopi, the master franchisee for this deal, six FAT Brands concepts will be opening over the next five years, including Fatburger, Johnny Rockets, Buffalo’s Cafe, Great American Cookies, Elevation Burger, and Yalla Mediterranean.

United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and Kuwait are the locales of the FAT Brands expansion. While the 136 brick-and-mortar stores will open over the next five years, the FAT Brands concepts will become available within the next year through Kitopi’s existing footprint of more than 70 managed cloud kitchens, otherwise referred to as ghost kitchens throughout the region. The Middle East has proven to be fruitful for FAT Brands, with their brands steadily opening new stores across various countries for over a decade.

“The Middle East was among our brands’ first forays into franchising internationally in 2008 and the region continues to be a priority for FAT Brands’ expansion,” says FAT Brands CEO Andy Wiederhorn. “Our existing concepts in Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, and other countries have seen tremendous growth and popularity among locals. We are excited to introduce them to even more delicious concepts from FAT Brands.”

“Our mission is to satisfy the world’s appetite, by delivering exceptional food on your terms. We do this by partnering with the best brands and providing our customers with access to the food they know and love. Our partnership with FAT Brands is a testament to that,” adds Kitopi CEO and co-founder Mohamad Ballout.