News

Naf Naf Grill signs first franchise deal, hires VP of Franchise Sales

April 30, 2019

Naf Naf Grill has signed its first franchisee via a 10-unit area development deal with Indianapolis based early-stage investment company, 316 Investments, through its affiliate Fan the Flame Llc. Locations will open across central Indiana in Indianapolis, Bloomington, Lafayette, Fort Wayne and beyond, according to a company press release. 

"The concept is right on trend and we’re looking forward to bringing Naf’s authentic middle eastern flavors to Central Indiana," Greg Willman, co-founder, 316 Investments, said in the release. "Getting involved early with this development opportunity is very exciting and reminiscent of what Phil (Salsbery) and I did with Qdoba in the very early days of that successful brand."

The duo was one of the first developers and operators of Qdoba Mexican Grill Restaurants and was at one time the largest franchisee in that system with stores throughout Indiana and South Carolina.The company also developed and operated Steak 'n' Shake locations in South Carolina.

"We are lucky to partner with such a dynamic duo with deep category operating experience on this first and exclusive area development deal in Indiana," Paul Damico, CEO of Naf Naf said in the release. "We see a long and prosperous future in this partnership and look forward to what’s to come."

Naf Naf hires VP of Franchise Sales

To help drive growth, Naf Naf hired David Vernon as its VP of Franchise Sales, a newly created role, according to the release. He joins the Naf Naf team from Wingstop where he was chief development officer. Under his leadership, Wingstop grew from 470 restaurants to over 1,000. Prior to Wingstop, Vernon was the VP of  Franchise Sales at Sonic Drive-In where he helped to expand  the brand from 1,500 restaurants to more than 3,000, according to the release.