Article

Franchise Focus: Pincho Factory puts a twist on street food

Family owned street food with a twist concept, continues expansion across Florida.

August 3, 2016 by Molly Wike — Intern, Networld Media Group

Growing up in a family of 12, Pincho Factory Co-founder Nedal Ahmad defined mealtime as a "contact sport," but those family feasts fueled his passion for creating flavorful and unique twists on traditional street food. One July 4th, for example, during a family cookout in Miami, cousin and Pincho Co-founder Otto Othman, and Nedal were grilling their famous burgers and "pinchos," which are basically Spanish kebabs. Realizing that the unique Miami twist on traditional street foodwasa specialty that they had to share,Otto teamed up with Nedal's brother Nizar,challenging Nedal to create a restaurant that allowed them to "have food like this every day."

Nedal was up for the challenge, andin 2010, the cousins and business partners began serving their "street food inspired from around the world." On opening day, bout 400 Florida guests waited in a line that snaked out the door.

"It has been an amazing year for us so far," Nedal said. "We have had hundreds of franchise requests in the past few months to which we have accepted six new partners."

The growth of the chain, which now has five locations operating and 10 under development, has received attention from around the nation. Not only was Pincho named to this year's Fast Casual Top 100 list, but Lee Schrager, founder of the Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival, recently invited the brand to participate in the 2015 Amstel Light Burger Bash. Nedal's "Croquetesa" burger won theAmstel Light People's Choice award,inundating the company with franchise inquiries.

In an exclusive interview with FastCasual, Othman shared insight on current growth strategies as well as future plans for expansion.

FastCasual: Where are you looking to franchise?

Otto Othman:We are primarily focused on the Florida market for now, although we have had a lot of interest from New York, Texas and the Carolinas. We are making sure we grow a strong base in Florida before going out of state while always looking for strong partners who can help us get there.

FC:What kind offranchiseeare you looking for?

Othman:Personality plays a huge role into our decision making. We look for partners who share our values and passion for hospitality. Going forward we are strictly sticking to multi-unit operators who will add value to our company and brand.

FC:What kind of investment will a franchisee have to make?

Othman:The typical investment is between $357,000 and $625,000, which includes a $30,000 franchise fee.

FC:What types of technologies do you use to help run your business?

Othman:With amazing tools like Level Up and HotSchedules, we have built our own proprietary system to help manage our operations. From prepping to recipe books, our franchise partners get a portal which they can access every tool needed to run their operations effectively.

Editor's note: This is a monthly series focusing on a specific franchise. If you think your franchise should be featured, email Cherryh at Cherryhc@NetWorldMediaGroup.