Franchising

Pokemoto opens 3rd location in 10 days

Provided

August 31, 2022

Pokemoto, Muscle Maker Inc.'s Hawaiian poke bowl restaurant concept, has opened its 11th Connecticut location in Colchester, Connecticut, with nine more signed agreements in the Connecticut market.

This store is the chain's third opening in the last 10 days; the first being in Oxford, Mississippi and the second being a company-owned location in Orange Park, Florida.

"We know Pokemoto is a recognized poke brand in the Connecticut market given our existing footprint and the Colchester, Connecticut location gives us another flag on the map with nine more openings on the horizon for the Connecticut market," CEO Michael Roper said in a company press release. "We're seeing a group of our franchise agreements signed come to fruition after going through our signing, construction, training and opening cycle and it's a great sense of accomplishment for our team — we're ready for more! Our local franchisee is a seasoned franchise restaurant operator, and we expect big things from this location."

"The town of Colchester along with surrounding towns needed something fresh and new, and Pokemoto fit that bill," franchisee Ryan Gwiazdowski said in the release. "Our unique menu offerings paired with our trendy boba teas have been a bit hit so far. The town came out to support our grand opening and we're so grateful to be a part of the community."

Roper said the chain's corporate strategy is coming to fruition and all hands are on deck to keep the momentum going.

"The trifecta of openings over the last 10 days has the team buzzing for more action," he said. "Just last week we opened a non-traditional take-out and delivery focused Pokemoto location within the four walls of our already leased Superfit Foods commercial kitchen space in Orange Park to maximize our resources. No opportunity is off the table for Pokemoto. We've recently brought on two new franchise sales managers, bolstered our advertising campaigns, and launched an aggressive veterans discount to bring more potential franchisees into our Ohana. We have open or coming soon Pokemoto eateries in 13 states, 43 franchise agreements sold to date and 8 locations currently under construction. I look forward to sharing more information about our growth plans in the near future."

Muscle Maker brand's s include Muscle Maker Grill restaurants, Pokemoto Hawaiian Poke and SuperFit Foods meal prep.