News

Freshii signs new Chicago development deals

December 29, 2009

Freshii's first master franchisee, David Grossman, has recently signed two new sub-franchise agreements for Chicago.

New franchisees Alex Blair and Scott Keeney will each open a minimum of one Freshii unit in Chicago. Grossman's master franchise agreement calls for a total of 80 Freshii restaurants to eventually open there. Grossman, a former real estate executive with both General Growth Properties and Subway Corporation, has opened his own locations at Water Tower Place on N. Michigan Avenue and in an Equinox Fitness Club in the Downtown area. The Freshii chain also is headquarted in Chicago.

Scott Keeney, Grossman's first sub-franchisee, is a senior commercial real estate executive based in Chicago with 30 years of experience. He is a 25-year veteran of General Growth Properties, and had direct P&L responsibility of approximately $300 million in annual operating income.

New franchisee Alex Blair, 22, is Chicago's top-ranked personal trainer with Equinox Fitness. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Blair swam competitively and set two NCAA records. He also has experience working in corporate marketing for Abercrombie & Fitch.

The Freshii restaurant chain has 16 units open in Chicago and Toronto, and more than 90 units in varying stages of development in Illinois, Washington, D.C., California, Colorado, Philadelphia, New York City, Houston and Wyoming. The chain also has international development plans underway in Vienna, Austria with the first restaurant set to open in Spring of 2010.

Grossman plans to open eight new Freshii restaurants in Chicago in 2010, including six franchised units and two additional corporate units.

Franchising