Newk’s Express Café has awarded 24 new franchise locations in the 2011 first quarter. Four separate groups have committed to opening restaurants in Jacksonville and St. Augustine, Fla., Baton Rouge and Lafayette, La., Michigan, Virginia and Atlanta.
“We are very excited about the start of this year. It really shows how far Newk’s has come in a short time,” said Chris Newcomb, president, CEO and co-founder of Newk’s Express Café. “Our franchise development team, led by Steve Hinkis and Franchise Dynamics, has done outstanding work. Since our initial goal was to open 20 locations in 2011, it is clear we will be surpassing that.”
Newk’s partnered with Franchise Dynamics, a full-service franchise sales outsourcing firm. The partnership led to seven development agreements totaling 36 restaurants in 2010.
Terry and Linda Russell will open five Newk’s restaurants in Jacksonville and St. Augustine. Terry — who has been a farmer for 43 years in Cleveland, Miss. — sold his farm to move to Florida, where he will oversee the development of these restaurants.
JKTM Management LLC — a group made up of Kent Ward, James Carmody and Tim and Mona Ward, will start by opening nine Newk’s restaurants. The group, which is currently a multi-unit franchisee of Buffalo Wild Wings, plans to open four locations in Baton Rouge and Lafayette and five additional restaurants in Michigan.
Current franchisee Spencer Mooney is adding to its three-store agreement. Mooney currently owns Newk’s restaurants in Clinton, Miss., and Shreveport, La., and will open another location in Bossier City, La. Now, Mooney has added a five-store deal for Harrisonburg, Charlottesville, Roanoke, Lynchburg and Blacksburg/Christiansburg, Va.
Under the company K & M Deli of Savannah, LLC, Keith Estapa and Missy Moon will open five Newk’s restaurants in the Atlanta area, targeting Peachtree City, Newnan, Buckhead, Midtown and Augusta. Moon and Estapa have experience with Five Guys Burgers and Fries, but they recently sold three of their five restaurants back to corporate. They hope to continue expansion and are also looking at Macon, Columbus and Savannah with plans to open about 10 Newk’s restaurants in Georgia.
