Franchising

Aloha Poke afloat in Florida

Provided

December 1, 2022

Chicago-based Aloha Poke Co. has partnered with husband-and-wife Rody Berotte and Tahnie Danastor to open a store next year in the Fort Lauderdale area.

"At first, I did not know anything about poke food," Rody Berotte said in a company press release. "My wife talked to me about it and made me try it. Because I was born and raised in Haiti, I am naturally attracted to rice, seafood, and almost every ingredient in a poke bowl."

As a young boy growing up in Haiti, Rody Berotte helped his mother expand her business by creating traditional Haitian delicacies. When he arrived in the U.S., he attended the University of Miami while working for a large multi-unit franchisee. Eventually, he and his wife felt it was time to expand his entrepreneurial interests and chose Aloha Poke Co. partly due to the ease of operations, strong digital presence and beautiful, modern store design.

"Aloha Poke will bring a new style of fast casual food to my community," said Tahnie Danastor, an OBGYN with a private practice in Pembrooke Pines. "As a doctor, I see my patients paying closer attention to what they eat. Aloha Poke's fresh fish and vegetables and beautiful presentation mean our customers will eat foods that are better for the body."

Aloha Poke entered the Florida market in 2018 with a store in Boca Raton that has experienced steady growth since opening, CEO Chris Birkinshaw said in the release.

"Rody and Tahnie are a perfect fit within our select franchisee community of similarly driven, experienced, successful entrepreneurs," he said. "We are proud to have them as brand ambassadors for continued growth in the vibrant South Florida market."

Aloha Poke Co., which has 20 locations, will begin 2023 buoyed by a strong 2022 performance in which it recorded a 13% increase in comparable-store sales in the first half of the year, and it is projecting a 15% increase by year's end.