Parlour Plans To Add Branches

mlive.com:

The new owners of The Parlour have a new name. What’s staying the same are plans to make the restaurant a household name.

Huntley-Valena Hospitality Group, LLC now owns The Parlour in Jackson and Kalamazoo, which was sold in November, said company President Morris Huntley.

Plans are still on track to open 3 to 5 more Parlours this year and double that in 2008. This year, Huntley said he hopes to be open in Dearborn, Mount Pleasant and Grand Rapids. He also hopes they will soon be able to start franchising the restaurant.

The new company name comes from Huntley’s new partner and major investor, Melinda Valena-Sheets, who will serve as the company’s vice president, secretary and general counsel. ‘Given that we’re locally owned, we wanted to advertise that fact,’ Huntley said.

He said Valena-Sheets will handle the administration end of the company, and he will oversee the operational aspect. ‘Our names are on it and we stand behind it,’ Valena-Sheets said.

She said she has had inquiries from other potential investors wanting to see a Parlour in their hometown. ‘We hope to be a continuing tradition in the mid-Michigan area,’ she said.