Spicy Pickle fast casual restaurants today announced the sale of a multi unit restaurant development to a new franchise developer in Michigan, increasing the total number of franchises the Company has sold to 105.
A new franchisee with extensive restaurant experience has entered into a franchise and development agreement to open the first Spicy Pickle® Restaurants in western Michigan. Terry and Jean Henderson and Tiffany Cornelius will be the principals in the new development. These new franchisees have extensive experience as they have developed for Little Caesars Pizza, Big Apple Bagels & Qdoba Mexican Grill in the past. The development includes Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, Lansing and E. Lansing, and calls for a total of 10 Spicy Pickle® Restaurants over the next several years.
Marc Geman, CEO of Spicy Pickle® Franchising, Inc., commented: “We are thrilled to have our first franchisee in the state of Michigan. The state of Michigan can support a significant number of stores, and having our first location could act as a springboard to additional franchisees and help us penetrate other regions within the state, particularly in the eastern part in and around Detroit.”
Mr. Geman further commented, “Much like our very successful Boulder, Colorado and Austin, Texas locations, the Ann Arbor and E. Lansing areas offer a similar demographic with a high concentration of University, Medical, and Research facilities. There is also a similar concentration in Kalamazoo at Western Michigan University. This also marks the 16th state in which there will be a Spicy Pickle® Restaurant. The addition of this franchisee with their highly capable staff already in place will help keep up the momentum we have established for restaurant openings. Our real estate department has already begun a demographic study in cooperation with the franchisee to find the first location.”
About Spicy Pickle®:
Founded in 1999, Spicy Pickle® Franchising, Inc. (OTCBB: SPKL) serves high quality meats and fine artisan breads, baked fresh daily, along with a wide choice of eight different cheeses, twenty-two different toppings, and fourteen proprietary spreads to create healthy and delicious panini and sub sandwiches with flavors from around the world. As a leading “fast-casual” concept, Spicy Pickle® offers menu items that are far beyond traditional fast food — but without the price point of casual dining. The hallmark of a Spicy Pickle® restaurant is quality, service and an enjoyable atmosphere. The company is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, with franchise locations now open across 12 states and many more in development nationwide.