Starbucks franchisee takes Freshii to the UK

February 24, 2017

Every franchising concept has its first franchisee. Starbucks' was Anil Patil. Patil led the coffee concept to the U.K., and now he's ready to do the same with…

Dickey's welcomes Sanchez Smith to its franchisee family

February 24, 2017

New neighbors are often welcomed with cookies or some other edible treat but Sanchez Smith decided to reverse that trend and offer his new home state of…

Tropical Smoothie Cafe to celebrate milestone in March

February 24, 2017

Eduardo Ramos and Corina Groeger will help Tropical Smoothie Café celebrate a milestone come March 4 — the concept's 50th location in Michigan.

Glenn Lunde tapped as Togo's chief concept officer

February 22, 2017

Togo's has named Glenn Lunde as its chief concept officer.

Nekter Juice Bar expects a big year

February 21, 2017

Nekter has re-evaluated its growth potential in its three-year forecast and increased its projection from 300 units from 425.

Vitality Bowls to open 24th Cali location

February 20, 2017

Vitality Bowls cafe will soon open its 24th unit in California under the direction of Chandani Singh who is opening her first location in Santa Clara on March…

Consumer appetite for healthy food boosts Green & Tonic sales

February 20, 2017

Green & Tonic's same-store Q4 sales rose 22 percent compared to a year ago, and its average unit volumes increased 29 percent, according to a press release.

Zoup readying 1st Seattle location

February 20, 2017

Franchisee Kari Hingst is prepping to open Zoup's second location in Washington and its first in the Seattle area, according to a press release.

Saladworks CEO reveals brand's 5-step come-back strategy

Saladworks was facing bankruptcy in 2015, when Centre Lane Partners bought it for nearly $17 million. Since then, CEO Patrick Sugrue has been working to…

2 former McDonald's franchisees trade Big Macs for fast casual pizza

February 17, 2017

Pie Five is going north with its latest opening, while Uncle Maddio's heads south after signing a deal for five restaurants in the Sunshine State.

Dickey's to open 2 Ann Arbor locations

February 16, 2017

Dickey's will open in two new Ann Arbor, Michigan, locations, one of which is the University of Michigan campus.

Johnny Rockets surveys international growth

February 16, 2017

Johnny Rockets is undertaking significant expansion overseas, including the opening of locations in Singapore, Mexico, Switzerland, U.K, Caribbean, Pakistan…

Big Easy-based Blaze bites back with gator sausage offering

February 16, 2017

Blaze Fast Fire'd Pizza is opening a New Orleans location this month and is offering free build-your-own pies on Friday, Feb. 17 with a little something local…

Potbelly Sandwich Shop opens another Little Rock location

February 15, 2017

Ryan Hamra will open his second Potbelly Sandwich Shop in Little Rock in early 2017 as part of a four-unit franchise deal the Little Rock resident signed with…

Slapfish signs international franchising deal with Fransmart

February 14, 2017

Slapfish announced a franchising deal in the U.K. to open 25 units over the next five years, according to a news release.

The Hummus & Pita Co. expands franchising with Fransmart

February 13, 2017

The Hummus and Pita Co. is partnering with Fransmart to expand the concept beyond its four New York City locations, according to a press release.

The Pie Hole opens first international location in Japan

February 13, 2017

Pie and coffee concept, The Pie Hole, has opened its first international location in Tokyo to tap into the growing Japanese coffee market, a press release…

Franchise focus: How 1 brand is taking poke mainstream

by Cherryh Cansler — Editor, FastCasual.com

Pokeworks, which couples high-quality seafood with traditional Hawaiian ingredients, including furikake, hikiki seaweed, mango and macadamia nuts, is expanding…

Pro football player to open Dickey's unit

February 9, 2017

Professional football player Demar Dotson wants to bring barbecue to his team's city so the Tampa Bay Buccaneer teamed up with Dickey's Barbecue Pit to open a…

The Chickery lands 15-unit franchising deal

February 8, 2017

The Chickery is boosting its number of locations with a 15-unit franchising deal with Fransmart in the San Francisco Bay area, according to a news release.