Franchise Business Opportunities

Rome News Tribune:

A Johnny’s New York Style Pizza restaurant slated to open in downtown Rome early next year will result in a business shuffle.

Franchisee Robert Blumberg plans a March opening of the pizzeria at 233 Broad St., according to Ann Arnold, executive director of the Downtown Development Authority. Riverside Gourmet, which currently occupies the site, is moving, although a new location has not yet been announced, said Manager Myra Hamilton.

The DDA has applied for a $130,000 Georgia Cities Foundation low-interest loan for Blumberg’s project — to renovate and prepare the building. Arnold said Thursday that he has alternate financing in place “but it always helps to get a lower rate.”

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Pizza Marketing Quarterly:

The 95-unit Pizza Patrón announced today that it has signed a multi-year contract extension with the American Airlines Center (AAC) home of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks and NHL’s Dallas Stars. The new deal cements the collaboration which began in 2008 and introduced the Pizza Patrón brand to new fans from around the country.

The extension makes Pizza Patrón the AAC’s exclusive pizza vendor through September 2015, with an option to extend the partnership at that time. The popular pizza chain recently unveiled its new Latin-themed concession environments to kick-off the 2009-2010 season at the arena.

“I am very pleased to know that we will be a fixture at this world-class venue for years to come,” said Andrew Gamm, brand director for Pizza Patrón. “We accomplished a lot during our first year, and we will continue to work hard to deliver the best possible food and service to each guest that visits the center.”

The American Airlines Center recently completed a number of major new upgrades for the Fall season, including the first and largest 1080 high-definition video replay system of any NBA or NHL facility in the U.S. Additionally, two new massive stadium-size video displays have been installed at both ends of the arena, and a new 360-degree LED display surrounds the interior of the arena bowl.

Franchise Wire:

Maui Wowi Hawaiian, the destination for all-natural fruit smoothies and Hawaiian coffees on the Mainland, has opened a new location at the Glenbrook Square Mall in Fort Wayne, Ind., located on the main level next to Vanity across from The Buckle.

“We are definitely ecstatic to be open at the mall,” says Jennifer Bradtmiller, owner/operator of Maui Wowi Hawaiian, Fort Wayne, “We’ve become quite a favorite at the mall. Holiday traffic is picking up and our customers are becoming raving fans of our Hawaiian Breeze smoothies and Mocha Banana Chillin’. Everyone is going crazy when they taste them!”

The Bradtmillers also operate event carts in the area and have been selling at local farmer’s markets, high school football games and festivals such as The Free River Festival in downtown Fort Wayne and the ever popular Allen County Fair. The Bradtmillers will cater private events and parties for corporations, organizations and individuals looking to bring the Aloha Spirit to their next event.

Columbia Daily Tribune:

Next month, fans of Denny’s no longer will have to travel to Kingdom City to get their fix.

San Antonio-based franchisee Den-Tex Central Inc. has leased the former Pasta House building at 1100 Knipp St., near Stadium Boulevard and Interstate 70, and is scheduled to open a Denny’s there Dec. 13.

Dawn Lafreeda, founder and president of Den-Tex Central, said she plans to hire about 90 people for the 6,000-square-foot restaurant, which will seat about 180. She said that process will begin next week with the management team. The following week, the company will begin hiring servers.

Lafreeda said Den-Tex Central has about 20 restaurants in Missouri and leases property from Drury Development Corp., the owner of the Knipp Street property and next-door Drury Inn. She said it was while having breakfast with some Drury officials that they discussed the former Pasta House building.

The Province:

Some companies came through the recently ended recession with flying colors. In the fast-food realm, we’ve argued, McDonald’s was a victor. But in a time of pinched consumer spending, business has frequently been a zero-sum game. In every sector, it seems, if there’s a winner, there’s got to be a loser. And in the fast-food industry, it sure looks like Arby’s has been one of the losers of this recession.

Arby’s was started in Ohio in the 1960s. The name is, of course, a play on roast beef, and on the names of the founding Raffel brothers. (The conceit of this ad in the early 1980s, that Arby’s stands for “America’s Roast Beef, Yes Sir!” never really caught on.) In the 1990s, the company was acquired by Triarc, the investment vehicle of takeover artist Nelson Peltz. And in 2005, Triarc acquired the largest Arby’s franchisee. Today, there are more than 3,700 stores, with ownership split between the company (1,165) and franchisees (2,574). Arby’s is heavily concentrated in the Midwest. In 2007, its three largest states by number of restaurants were Ohio (291), Michigan (196), and Indiana (181).

Carry on reading.

Photo: Spencer Platt / AFP/Getty Images.

Avvo:

The majority owner of Burger King restaurants is suing the fast food chain, claiming that the $1 double cheeseburger the franchise promotes is costing them money.

The National Franchisee Association (NFA), a group that controls more than 80 percent of Burger King, filed a suit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against the Miami-based restaurant chain in an attempt to prevent Burger King from controlling pricing models, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

According to the filing, the franchisees voted twice this year to reject a proposal by Burger King to add their double cheeseburger to the $1 menu, as the group claimed the sandwich costs more than $1 to produce and sell.

Despite the NFA’s protests, the company announced that starting on October 19, the fast food chain would add the item to the value menu, the lawsuit says.

Franchising.com:

Rob Goggins, vice president of franchise development for Great Clips, Inc., announced the Grand Opening of the company’s newest franchised salon in the Pekin Wal-Mart Shopping Center, in Pekin, Illinois.

“Our manager-run salon is conveniently located in the Peoria DMA just off State Road 9 in Pekin on the eastern bank of the Illinois River,” said Goggins. “This retail shopping center is anchored by a Wal-Mart Supercenter and, of course, our Great Clips salon.” The demographics of the area are well suited for our value-priced, no appointment necessary service.

“Our franchise owners open to a $55-billion hair-care industry. With more than $700 million in total system-wide sales, Great Clips is the industry leader and our business model is recession resistant. We just recorded our 20th consecutive month of same-store-sales growth.”

Franchise Key:

Belvoir, one of the UK’s largest independent specialist lettings agencies, has announced that it enjoyed “their best show for ten years,” at the 2009 National Franchise Exhibition.

“This was a very successful show for Belvoir and certainly bodes well for our recruitment plans for 2010,” confirmed Dorian Gonsalves, Sales Director. “Mike Goddard, the CEO of Belvoir is also Chairman of the British Franchise Association and his presence, as well as the impact of the talks he was invited to give throughout the day brought a constant stream of visitors to the stand. People met the recruitment team and took the opportunity to chat with existing franchise owners about their experiences, which is something we very much encourage. We also hired a living statue from Covent Garden to entertain people and he proved a huge hit with everyone!

First Coast News:

Bill Mueller said he’s in the category of those who leased their boats to the Florida Boat Club. Mueller said his 2008 Walkaround Seafox was up for sale when he was approached by the club about a lease.

“They would pay me $365 a month and keep the boat for its members and fix the boat,” said Mueller.

The contract states the Freedom Boat Club will maintain the boat. Mueller said he was in the program for four months when the bottom fell out.

Mueller said, “Aug. 25, in the mail I received a letter. They told me they will no longer need my boat and to pick up my boat.”

He did and Mueller said he discovered damage to his boat in several areas. Mueller paid for the repairs because he said the Florida Boat Club did not.

Mueller said, “The repairs are $1,763, there are some other things, but I am not going after that.”

Florida Boat Club operates out of the Beach Marine Building in Jacksonville Beach, but the investors are in South Carolina.
“My frustration is I got my boat back and I’m back to square one,” said Mueller. More.

The Open Press:

The Glass Doctor® of Southern New Mexico franchise owned by Glenda Vincell and her son, Tim Vincell, celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon cutting sponsored by the Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce Nov. 4.

Glass Doctor of Southern New Mexico offers mobile residential, automotive, and commercial glass services to Las Cruces and Dona Ana County. The shop at 132 Wyatt Drive, Ste. C is open 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 24-hour emergency service is available. In addition to glass repair and replacement services, Glass Doctor installs shower enclosures, custom mirrors and storefronts.

“We’re pleased to be a part of Glass Doctor, we know it will help us quickly establish our business,” said Tim Vincell, who manages the shop. “Right away we can provide energy-efficient replacement home windows that qualify for income tax credits, and we can offer the G12 guarantee on windshield replacements.”