News

Newk's expansion continuing into new year

November 26, 2013

With eight new restaurant openings scheduled for completion within the fourth quarter of 2013, Newk's Eatery, a fresh casual franchise brand, is undergoing exponential growth. Newk's first restaurant was opened in Oxford, Miss., in 2004, by founder Chris Newcomb. Today, the Newk's Franchise Company has grown to include nine company-owned and 54 franchise-owned restaurants.

"Guests are drawn to the flavorful ingredient combinations and freshness of the foods served in our restaurants," said President and CEO Chris Newcomb. "We use quality ingredients that are freshly-prepared in our open-view kitchens, and those hallmarks of the Newk's brand create a 'fresh casual' family-friendly experience that guests and franchisees alike value."

Newk's restaurants have expanded into 12 states with 14 restaurants opened in 2013. Newk's growth in 2014 is expected to outpace this year, Newcomb said. The company has sold the rights to more than 100 new restaurants over the next 4 years, including development plans in the lower Midwest, Texas, the Carolinas and Maryland. Multi-unit, seasoned franchisees value the company's streamlined, low labor operation designed for efficiency, site adaptability and multiple revenue opportunities, Newcomb said. In addition to in-restaurant dining, Newk's offers catering and daily-prepared menu options in the Grab-N-Go refrigerated case at the front of each store.

"Like most Newk's franchisees, we fell in love with both the freshness of the food and the interior design," said Todd Jackson, whose multi-unit agreement includes nine restaurants in Birmingham, Ala., and Houston. "It's obvious that Newk's is going places and we wanted to be involved from the beginning."

Kevin Anderson named as new VP

The company also announced today the promotion of Kevin Anderson to VP of Company Operations. Anderson joined the company four years ago as general manager of a Jackson, Miss., Newk's training restaurant but rose to an area director overseeing company-owned restaurants.

As vice president, Anderson will lead area directors over Newk's nine company-owned restaurants, manage the company's product testing and oversee the manager-in-training program and new store opening training and development. The responsibilities, Anderson said, are designed to ensure each guest has an exceptional quality experience at each Newk's location. To achieve that goal, Anderson will develop and support career paths for managers and shift leads at all levels who exemplify Newk's commitment to outstanding guest service and understand what it takes to run a successful Newk's Eatery.

"Kevin's skillful development of highly productive management teams is an asset to the company's culture and aggressive growth plans," Newcomb said. "By mentoring and developing those teams, he is furthering our goal of being the gold standard for guest service in the casual restaurant business."

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