One of Newk’s Eatery’s most successful franchisee teams is taking fresh, flavorful eating across the bay to the Eastern Shore with the first location in Spanish Fort, Alabama. Newk’s franchisee group— consisting of managing partners and seasoned restaurateurs Kevin Fitzpatrick, Roman Mayer, and Craig Reeder— is serving up the fast-casual brand’s signature foodie flair in the team’s first Alabama restaurant, which officially opens today in the Eastern Shore Centre. Over the past month, Newk’s Eatery has opened two company-owned restaurants in the Mobile, Alabama, area in both McGowin Park Shopping Center and Westgate Pavilion, in addition to an existing location on Azalea Road that has served the area since 2007.
“At Newk’s Eatery, we deliver fast-casual dining with a fresh, upscale twist,” says Gulf Coast native and Newk’s franchise group COO Kevin Fitzpatrick. “Knowing how valuable guests’ time is—especially now in the midst of holiday shopping—our mission is to provide fast, satisfying service with meals that wow in the flavor category and stay true to Newk’s foodie roots. We’re all about making memories that count around the table, and we’re thrilled now to be able to engage Eastern Shore Centre shoppers and diners in the area with food that will give them both the fuel and flavor they crave.”
The franchisees behind the Spanish Fort restaurant also own and operate a chain of Newk’s Eatery restaurants along the Gulf shores of Mississippi and Florida, including three locations in D’Iberville, Gulfport, and Hattiesburg and two Pensacola locations at Cordova Mall and downtown nearby the Pensacola Bay Center.
At the grand opening in the Eastern Shore Centre, the first 50 guests to walk through Newk’s doors will be awarded a year’s supply of exceptional flavors from Newk’s. Each guest will be given a gift package full of quality premium Newk’s items, along with 52 gold VIP cards—each card valid for one free entrée and drink for each week of the year. The next 50 guests in line will be given a gift package stocked full of Newk’s signature merchandise.
Located at 30500 State Highway 181, the Eastern Shore Centre Newk’s Eatery will open its doors at 10:30 a.m. and offer indoor dining for 140 guests and patio dining for nearly 40 more in its 3,912 square-foot space. The new restaurant will also provide roughly 50 job opportunities for local applicants.
Sourcing the finest, freshest ingredients available—including imported cheeses and prime meats, sushi-grade fish, hand-chopped seasonal vegetables, house-roasted garlic, homemade dressings, and house-infused olive oils—Newk’s guarantees every meal is served fresh and served fast. The restaurant’s culinary-driven menu boasts a wide range of imaginative entrées and reinvented old favorites, including time-tested family recipes from Newk’s founding family, the Newcombs. Newk’s handcrafts each of its fresh-tossed salads, artisan pizzas, hot toasted sandwiches, kettle batch soups, and scratch-made desserts.
The Jackson, Miss.-based Newk’s Eatery currently has more than 90 locations in 13 states and plans to expand to more than 200 units by the end of 2018. Newk’s Eatery was also recently named one of QSR magazine’s “Best Franchise Deals.”
