Franchising

Lefty's accelerates Texas, California expansion

Provided

November 13, 2020

Lefty's Famous Cheesesteaks Hoagies & Grill's founder Sam Berry and CEO Allie T. Mallad are opening take-out and curbside pick-up locations in Houston and Southern California.

"In 2020, we have been able to successfully build out and open new locations in our home state of Michigan and expand to Texas and California during the height of the pandemic in response to our customers wanting more Lefty's options in their local communities," Berry said in a company press release.

Lefty's, which serves high-quality cheesesteak in a niche market with a fragmented group of competitive options, isn't relying on the lack of competition alone, as the chain highly commits to freshness, Mallad said. Every morning, team members cook fresh corned beef, grill steak and onions, slice deli meat, hand-patty burgers and also hand-roll corned beef, steak and chicken egg rolls.

The menu approach has definite benefits, according to Mallad, including that it makes for a more financially successful model. Second, Lefty's offers relatively few menu items, which allows the brand to keep the quality of those offerings high. In addition, the chain's sales combined with the inherent appeal of the fast casual restaurant industry, should help it draw attention from potential franchise partners, the release said. In fact, Mallad expects a "gold rush" on the brand over the next several months.

The Detroit-based company, which expects to reach 35-to-40 locations by year's end, plans to hit 75 locations by the end of 2021 and 150 by the end of 2022.

"We are going to be the face of the new norm," Mallad said in the release. "The pandemic has helped us increase the possibility of attracting franchisees from all over the country because of our incredible sales as a carry-out or drive-through fast-casual concept."