In late October, fast casual Newk’s Eatery unveiled its a new design prototype with the opening of its first Lafayette, Louisiana location. Dubbed the ‘Generation Two’ design, the changes represent a fresh, on-trend look for the brand, designed to resonate in new markets and elevate the overall guest experience. “We’ve experienced an evolution over the past year as we’ve expanded our corporate and franchise operations,” said Newk’s co-founder, President, CEO Chris Newcomb. “The new design is the next step, delivering an experience to our growing customer base that reflects our philosophy that fast casual and culinary can be great partners.” The new design was developed by Newk’s Building and Design Project Manager Rachael Myrick in partnership with Houston-based strategic brand design firm Studio B. The Generation Two design aligns with Newk’s aggressive growth plans to double in size in the next three years. The company will test the new design concept in Lafayette and a second new restaurant in Cary, North Carolina, set to open late 2015. Then, earlier in November, the Jackson, Mississippi-based chain confirmed a new development agreement that will bring ten Newk’s locations to Southeastern Florida. The newest franchisees, Pat Tracy, his father Tom, and brothers Matt and Ryan, plan to open their first Newk’s Eatery in late 2016, featuring Newk’s Generation Two prototype. The Tracys are seasoned restaurateurs who opened the first Five Guys Burgers and Fries locations in Palm Beach County in 2007. Today the family operates eight Five Guys locations in Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties. The family also recently opened a new independent American-fare restaurant concept, Red’s Table, in Virginia. This latest agreement aligns with Newk’s aggressive growth plans. The chain will open nearly 30 new company-owned and franchised locations this year, and plans to reach 200 units by 2018. The Tracys are the fifth new franchisees to sign in 2015. “The Tracy family brings extensive experience in the fast casual segment as well as a deep understanding of the region,” said Newk’s Chief Development Officer Chris Cheek. “They are the ideal partners to help execute our rapid growth plans throughout Florida.” Newk’s Eatery’s culinary-driven menu includes soups, salads, pizzas and sandwiches all made daily in open-view kitchens and served fresh for lunch and dinner. Just days later, the company announced that it is expanding its Atlanta area presence this month with two new restaurants. Following the grand opening of a 4150 square foot location at 1181 Hammond Dr. in Dunwoody, Georgia, across from the Perimeter Mall on November 16, Newk’s Eatery is scheduled to open its seventh restaurant in the state at The Forum on Peachtree Parkway in Peachtree Corners by the end of the year. It will provide indoor seating for approximately 150 guests and patio dining for nearly 25 more in the 4025 square foot space. Neighboring Newk’s locations include Brookhaven, Druid Hills, Midtown Atlanta, Lawrenceville and Newnan restaurants. Newk’s franchisee, Glacier Hospitality LLC, headed up by father-son business team Doug and Jay Medley, is setting down deeper roots just outside the metro Atlanta area with the new Dunwoody location in addition to the group’s existing Brookhaven restaurant. Greg LaFoe, Newk’s franchisee and owner and operator of NEC the Forum, LLC is maintaining its focus on Gwinnett County with its Peachtree Corners restaurant and partner location in Lawrenceville. “We aim to keep growing even further into the market over the next five to 10 years,” said LaFoe.
CATEGORY: Quick Casual
Chain Name: Newk’s Eatery
Company Name: Newk’s Franchise Company
Street Address: 2680 Crane Ridge Dr., Jackson, Mississippi 39216
Tel: 601/982-1160 Fax: 601/982-1161
Email: inquiries@newks.com & franchise@newks.com Website: www.newks.com)
Menu Specialty: Made-to-order choices including fresh-tossed salads, oven-baked sandwiches, California-style pizzas, made-from-scratch soups and homemade cakes.
Introduced: 2004 in Oxford, Mississippi
No. of Locations: About 80 in about 13 states with total of about 200 planned by 2018.
Areas of Operation: United States, Focus on the Southeast
Types of Location: Streets, Plazas, Lifestyle Centers, Malls, Freestanding, End Caps, Etc.
BusinessType (corp., franchise, jv): Franchise
Size Req’d: 3500 to 4500 sq.ft.
Special Requirements (patio, drive-thru, etc): Patios
Contact Name: Chris Newcomb-Founder, President, CEO (c.newcomb@newks.com)
Don Newcomb-Founder, Chairman (dnewcomb@newks.com)
Jim Greco – Chief Operations Officer
Bob Nygren – CFO
Alan Wright – Chief Marketing Officer
Kevin Anderson – Vice President, Company Operations
Chris Cheek – Chief Development Officer
Scott Stanford – Vice President Human Resources
Klara Smith – Corporate Counsel
REAL ESTATE REPRESENTATIVES:
FRANCHISE REPRESENTATIVES:
Parent Company: Sentinel Capital Partners, 330 Madison Ave., 27th Floor, New York, NY 10017 (tel: 212/688-3100 fx: 212/688-6513 email: info@sentinelpartners.com)
Related Chains:
Last Report: Restaurant & QSR Expansion Report #146 Last Update:
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