STRATEGIC PARTNERS
March 11, 2012
Tavistock Restaurants has signed its first area development agreement with FB Midwest Development LLC, which calls for the opening of 27 franchised FREEBIRDS restaurants in Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri.
Partners in Kansas-based FB Midwest Development include Kansas City attorney Richard Katz; digital entrepreneur and founder of iBright Studios, Bryce Katz; and Daniel Harf as FB Midwest's operating partner, who for seven years worked with Tavistock as FREEBIRDS chief concept. Harf had also served as the former vice president of operations for Hard Rock Café and Planet Hollywood.
"Since this was our first franchise deal for FREEBIRDS, we took our time to find the right partners. We have known the key players at FB Midwest Development for years and are extremely pleased to have them as our first franchise group,” said Tavistock Restaurants CEO Bryan Lockwood.
Concurrently, FB Midwest Development has announced that it has signed its first lease for a FREEBIRDS restaurant with LANE4 Property Group in Mission, Kan. The company anticipates opening several Kansas City locations over the next six months and then will develop restaurants in Lawrence, Kan., Omaha, Neb., Columbia, Mo., and Wichita, Kan.
“The agreement with FB Midwest Development is just the first of many as we seek area developers who have the operational and financial capability of building 10 to 40 restaurants in one or more markets,” said FREEBIRDS president Jim Mizes.
FREEBIRDS has restaurants in Texas and California, and opened its first Oklahoma location in November.
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