Johnny’s Lunch, an eatery in Jamestown, N.Y., has started to expand via franchising with an unusually large deal. All together, in an agreement inked this week, the first franchisee of the restaurant will open 75 units in metro Detroit over the next few years.
“In the next five years, we plan to have 500 to 1,000 Johnny’s up and going,” Anthony Calamunci, president of Johnny’s Lunch Franchise L.L.C. in Toledo, told CPN this afternoon. “That’s an aggressive plan, but that’s our plan. Going forward, in some of the bigger markets, 100-plus stores would not be unrealistic.”The original Johnny’s Lunch dates back to the 1930s, and is renowned locally in Jamestown for its hot dogs, hamburgers, milk shakes and the like. “Our sauce is what’s really distinctive, a variation of a Coney sauce,” said Calamunci. “A Greek-originated Coney sauce with an Italian flavor. It’s very popular, and people put it on burgers, hots, fries, and so on. It’s a signature item, and as such in the franchise model will be made in one place and distributed, because it makes the restaurant special.”
The original Johnny’s Lunch is a freestanding restaurant, but, according to Calamunci, the first five stores in the buildout plan in Michigan are going to be at in-line retail locations. “There are some freestanding prototypes that we’re working on, but right now we’re focusing on in-line locations,” he said.
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