DENVER — Smashburger has announced it has two Founders Club franchisees opening the company's first franchise stores in the coming weeks.
The first franchise store to open is in Grand Junction, Colo., and is owned by Areios LLC, a partnership of franchise and restaurant operators Ron Chaulk and Jim Cagle. The June 15 grand opening is the first of several planned along the Western Slope of Colorado.
Areios is planning to open four additional Smashburgers in the Grand Valley within the next 15 months and has agreed to open 30 Slocations in Western Colorado, Kansas City and Eastern South Dakota over the next several years. Areios also was the second "Founders Club" member, a designation reserved for the first four large franchisees to join the Smashburger team.
The second and third franchise stores, owned by SB Alamo Development LLC, will open in San Antonio, Texas, at the Stone Ridge shopping center and the Park North shopping center June 21 and July 8, respectively. SB Alamo is also a Founders Club member and was awarded a 45-unit deal for Texas and New Mexico.
"Our growth strategy is focused on opening close to 40 restaurants this year, a combination of corporate, joint venture and franchise locations," said Dave Prokupek, Smashburger chairman and CCP managing partner and chief investment officer. "The opening of our first franchise locations is significant, considering that in the last six months we've signed deals to open nearly 200 franchise locations over the next several years."
Smashburger's franchise openings will give the company close to 20 open restaurants nationwide and will introduce two new markets to Smashburger's Angus beef burgers. Both Areios and SB Alamo have plans to open more restaurants this year, helping Smashburger reach its expansion goals.
