Weekend round-up: Dog Haus lines up 400-plus units as Paris Baguette tests the drive-thru

Few fast-casual releases crossed the newswires between Friday afternoon and Monday morning. The ones that did were about growth: a territory-based franchise structure at Dog Haus, a first drive-thru for Paris Baguette and another Southern opening for The Peach Cobbler Factory.

Dog Haus names first area directors, with 400-plus units committed

Dog Haus has signed its first four area directors under a new development model, and together they have committed to more than 400 restaurants across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic, according to a company press release issued Friday afternoon.

Each area director takes a territory of roughly 100 restaurants, opening units as an operator while coaching franchisees in that market. The company said the model has room for 15 territories and 1,500 restaurants nationwide, and it expects a second group of area directors by the end of the first quarter of 2027. "Upon joining Dog Haus, the first thing we set out to build was the structure, not the pipeline," Chris Rigassio, president and chief development officer, said in the press release.

The first four are:

• Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchisee Nick Crouch in Florida
• Dave's Hot Chicken operator PG1 Restaurants in North Carolina, Tennessee, southern Virginia and West Virginia.
• Kyle Yancey, owner of Jersey Mike's operator Opportunities Restaurant Group, in Delaware, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia and northern Virginia.
• Jesse Allen in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Founded in 2010, Dog Haus has more than 50 locations in 12 states and Mexico.

Paris Baguette testing drive-thru

Paris Baguette opened its first drive-thru in Moore, Oklahoma, under the direction of Franchisees Mike Issa and Moe Touffaha, who also operate IHOP restaurants, opened their first Paris Baguette in Wichita, Kansas, in 2022. Moore is the brand's second Oklahoma café and its 62nd opening this year, with cafés in Lee's Summit, Missouri, and New Mexico planned for 2027, according to a company press release.

The chain has over 340 North American locations and 600 more in development

"This opening represents an exciting next step for Paris Baguette as we continue to evolve our bakery café experience and find new ways to meet guests where they are," Darren Tipton, CEO of Paris Baguette, said in the release. "The drive-thru gives us an opportunity to bring the same freshly baked products, warm hospitality and everyday joy our guests expect from Paris Baguette to even more people.

The Peach Cobbler Factory opens in Jackson, Tennessee

The Peach Cobbler Factory has added a franchised location in Jackson, Tennessee, owned by Eric Knight, according to a company press release.

The dessert chain, founded in Nashville in 2013, began franchising in 2022, and said it has brick-and-mortar and mobile units operating or in development in more than 26 states. The menu centers on cobbler, banana pudding, cookies, cinnamon rolls and milkshakes, and recently added bundt cakes, according to the release