Newk's Express Café has signed an area development agreement with a new franchise group to bring 10 locations to the North Carolina markets of Winston-Salem and Raleigh-Durham. Kudzu Food Services LLC will open five restaurants in the Winston-Salem area and an additional five in Raleigh-Durham.
Kudzu is currently looking for their first site in Winston-Salem and Raleigh-Durham and will begin the hiring process closer to the grand opening.
Newk's was created by the founders of McAlister’s Deli and provides an express casual dining experience and features a variety of made-to-order choices such as fresh-tossed salads, oven-baked sandwiches, California-style pizzas, made-from-scratch soups and homemade cakes. A selection of wines by the glass and beer is also available.
“Winston-Salem and Raleigh-Durham are the perfect markets for Newk’s,” said Wirt Yerger, manager of Kudzu. “Both areas are vibrant and growing, have a stable business environment, great colleges and a great student population. The Newk’s concept should be well accepted there as it has been in other cities with those characteristics. Even if Newk’s isn’t a household name there yet, it will be soon. We’re excited to build brand awareness in North Carolina.”
Kudzu is based in Mississippi.
Since opening its first location in Oxford, Miss., in 2004, Newk’s cafés have expanded their presence to seven states, mainly across the southeastern part of the U.S. There are currently more than 28 restaurants in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. Six franchised locations were opened in 2009 and 10 new restaurants are expected to open in 2010. Projections call for 25 restaurants to open in each of the next two years.
Newk’s has also strengthened its earnings over the past two years. Same-store-sales for Newk’s Express Café increased 2.6 percent in 2009. Through the first 22 weeks of 2010, same-store-sales were up more than 9 percent over the same time period in 2009. The opening of six Newk’s Express Café restaurants in 2009 also increased system wide annual sales to more than $43 million, an increase of almost 44 percent from the previous year.
Markets targeted for future expansion include Houston; Oklahoma City; Tulsa, Okla.; Chicago; Louisville, Ky.; Orlando; Cincinnati and Richmond, Va.
