Restaurant Franchises are growing across the nation and the globe.  Some are open, some are signed, and some are target markets!  We've gathered the latest announcements about what's opening and what's in the future based on the latest signed restaurant franchise agreements and deals announced across the industry. 

Chicken, Chicken, Chicken -- It's not just Popeye's that has Chicken on the brain after last week.  There's a lot frying up in the Chicken franchise space. 

The first Zaxby’s in Chantilly, Virginia is coming this month to 43820 Eastgate Shoppes Drive. A fan favorite for chicken fingers, wings and salads, the new fast-casual restaurant is the first location this licensee team will open with plans for an additional five Zaxby’s in the future. Construction on the Chantilly Zaxby’s began in March led by local engineering firm Tri-Tek Engineering.

The brand is also expanding to Spring Lake, North Carolina in September as well to 130 S. Third St. A. The new fast-casual restaurant is the third location owned and operated by Alan Ward and Fry Guys Management Group 3, LLC. Zaxby’s has 119 restaurants in North Carolina and more than 900 locations across 17 states. Construction on this location began in April.

Slim Chickens, a leader in the “better chicken” segment of fast casual restaurants, will continue expansion of its fresh chicken and unrivaled flavor in Illinois, with its grand reopening in Plainfield on September 5, 2019.  They also inked a six-unit deal with Preferred Development, LLC, with the first location expected to open in Minot, North Dakota. 

Huey Magoo's Chicken Tenders signed a six-unit deal with new franchisee Buck Harris, who will open restaurants in Lowndes, Dougherty, Lee and Taft counties in South Georgia. Harris is a former a Chick-fil-A franchisee and now also owns locations of Chicken Salad Chick.  

That wraps it up for the latest chicken deals.  Meanwhile, pizza is still hot.

Mountain Mike’s Pizza, LLC, a leading California-based family-style pizza chain, known for its legendary crispy, curly pepperonis and Mountain-sized pizzas, is focusing its expansion efforts in northern California’s Humboldt County with a Eureka, California location already in development.

Data uncovered during an in-depth market analysis paired with the brand’s longstanding success throughout northern California makes Humboldt County a natural fit for a concept like Mountain Mike’s, which caters to families, large groups and celebratory occasions. There are currently 211 Mountain Mike’s Pizza locations in operation throughout California, Oregon, Nevada and Utah.

Following a successful restaurant opening in Newington earlier this year, famed New York-style pizza institution, Artichoke Basille’s Pizza, has announced that its second Connecticut restaurant will open in Downtown Hartford this winter. The upcoming outpost will replace the former McKinnon’s Pub at 114 Asylum Street near the XL Center, in the heart of the city and at the epicenter of the revival and renaissance taking place in Hartford.

On the sweet side there’s plenty of new restaurant franchises in the mix as well.  

Doughnuttery, which launched its franchise program in February, signed its first area development deal, a six-unit agreement with Brian Burwell, managing member of Arizona Doughnuttery LLC, for shops in Arizona. A second area development deal, this one for three locations in Virginia, was signed with Doughnuttery of Nova, Inc., led by Leyla Khater, president, and Katherine Ronckovitz, partner. Doughnuttery has four open locations, three in New York City and one in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Baskin-Robbins inked a multi-unit agreement to develop 10 new locations across Upstate New York, including in Syracuse and the Southern Tier, in addition to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pennsylvania. With a portfolio of 40 Dunkin' restaurants and one multi-brand location, the deal was signed with franchisees Manish Patel, Sarika Patel, Krunal Patel and Tarak Patel of Bapa Chambers Rd Ice Cream, LLC.

Fast casual sandwiches, burgers and hot dogs remain in the mix with lots of opening planned coast to coast.   

Burgers, Fries & Shakes, a fast casual, “better burger” chain, is ready to satisfy the taste buds of burger enthusiasts in Orlando. The restaurant franchise is set to have two openings in late 2019 and early 2020 at 8050 International Drive and 3155 South Orange Avenue in Orlando. The Orlando openings mark the second and third MOOYAH Burgers, Fries & Shakes restaurants in the market, joining the existing Oviedo Mall location that opened last fall. The franchise brand is planning to bring an additional six locations to the greater Orlando area, creating a total of more than 200 jobs across the area.

Capriotti's Sandwich Shop inked several multi-unit deals for development in six states. In New York City, husband and wife Ashok and Maleka Isranie signed for three locations; in Phoenix, Arizona, Steve Holdeman of franchisee group Pastrami Boys will open eight units. MAAAFOOD, Inc. and franchisees Daniel Hoffman and Michael Vanderwoude signed a deal for three locations in Hammond, Indiana, while in El Paso, Texas, Tessie Rodriguez plans to open three Capriotti's. Business partners Anthony Reviglio and Ken Cassas signed on for two restaurants in Boise, Idaho, and in Florida, the following franchisees signed for three units each: Todd King (Jacksonville); Mark and Michele Maroulis (Sarasota); Scott Crawford and Stephan Poletta (Tampa).

Crave Hot Dogs and BBQ has an estimated opening date of late October in Houston Texas.  The brand is famous for its delicious Grilled Hot Dogs, brats and sausages along with its amazing BBQ sandwiches. Crave was founded in 2018 by Samantha and Salvatore Rincione. Since then, the company has signed multiple locations in Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas and more.

Dog Haus, the craft casual concept known for its gourmet hot dogs, sausages, burgers and one-of-a-kind creations, opened its second Chicago location inside Kitchen United’s brand new Eats on Sedgwick, located at 831 N. Sedgwick St,. on Sept. 3.

Across the Globe 

QDOBA Mexican Eats®, a leading Mexican fast-casual chain, today announced its continued expansion across Canada through an agreement with multi-unit operator, Burgess Enterprise. The five-unit deal focuses on locations to be developed in and around Northern Ontario, with the group’s first QDOBA restaurant set to open in Sault Ste. Marie in early 2020.

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen signed a new agreement to develop and open more than 1,500 Popeyes restaurants in China over the next 10 years. Franchisee group TFI TAB Food Investments, led by CEO Korhan Kurdo lu, already operates Popeyes and Burger King restaurants in Turkey and Burger King in China. The commencement of Popeyes' operations in China is subject to a regulatory filing in China.

That’s the list of the latest restaurant franchise openings.  Keep an eye on the We Sell Restaurants website for franchise restaurant resales or click this link to see our latest franchise for sale listings.

Robin Gagnon, Certified Restaurant Broker®, MBA, CBI, CFE is the co-founder of We Sell Restaurants and industry expert in restaurant sales and valuation. Named by Nation’s Restaurant News as one of the “Most Influential Suppliers and Vendors” to the restaurant industry, her articles and expertise appear nationwide in QSR Magazine, Franchising World, Forbes, Yahoo Finance, and BizBuySell. She is the co-author of Appetite for Acquisition, an award-winning book on buying restaurants.