Pokemoto, Muscle Maker, Inc.’s expanding Hawaiian poke bowl restaurant concept, announced the grand opening of its eleventh Connecticut location in Colchester, Connecticut, with nine more signed agreements in the Connecticut market, holding steady as the largest poke player in the Connecticut market. This franchise location opening is the third announced grand opening in the last ten days; the first being in Oxford, Mississippi and the second being a company owned location in Orange Park, Florida.
“We know Pokemoto is a recognized poke brand in the Connecticut market given our existing footprint and the Colchester, Connecticut location gives us another flag on the map with nine more openings on the horizon for the Connecticut market. We’re seeing a group of our franchise agreements signed come to fruition after going through our signing, construction, training and opening cycle and it’s a great sense of accomplishment for our team – we’re ready for more! Our local franchisee is a seasoned franchise restaurant operator, and we expect big things from this location.” says Michael Roper, CEO.
Ryan Gwiazdowski, the Colchester Pokemoto franchisee comments “The town of Colchester along with surrounding towns needed something fresh and new, and Pokemoto fit that bill. We’re excited to be open and serving the Colchester area. Our unique menu offerings paired with our trendy boba teas have been a bit hit so far. The town came out to support our grand opening and we’re so grateful to be a part of the community.”
Roper continues, “Our corporate strategy of Pokemoto being the company’s growth vehicle is coming to fruition and all hands are on deck to keep the momentum going in getting new deals signed and Pokemoto locations open. The trifecta of openings over the lasts ten days has the team buzzing for more action. Just last week we opened a non-traditional take-out and delivery focused Pokemoto location within the four walls of our already leased Superfit Foods commercial kitchen space in Orange Park to maximize our resources. No opportunity is off the table for Pokemoto. We’ve recently brought on two new franchise sales managers, bolstered our advertising campaigns, and launched an aggressive veterans discount to bring more potential franchisees into our Ohana. We have open or coming soon Pokemoto eateries in 13 states, 43 franchise agreements sold to date and 8 locations currently under construction. I look forward to sharing more information about our growth plans in the near future.”
Pokemoto’s strategy focuses on growth through both company owned and franchise locations. Each franchise location sold generates up to $25,000 per agreement when signed as well as an ongoing royalty up to 6% of net sales once opened.