Colorado-based Remote Control Hobbies announced Friday a 70 percent growth in franchise unit sales for 2007. Ken Monblatt, President and General Manager of RCH, Inc - Enterprises, said Friday that new franchise unit sales are a result of a solid franchise business plan. (more…)

ElizaJ, providers of upscale, self-contained restrooms for special events and serving thousands of clients along the East Coast, has recently named Michael Lett as the new Director of Franchise Development.

ElizaJ, headquartered in Harwich, Mass., is one of the largest providers of fine self-contained restrooms for catered outdoor events and Lett will be responsible for sales and marketing of ElizaJ franchises as the company begins its westward expansion. (more…)

A new specialist photography franchise has been launched across Australia and focuses on taking property prices to great heights.

Top Snap Marketing through its unique real estate photography system of interior (using specialised lighting), exterior, aerial (using aircraft and helicopter), elevated (using mobile 20 metre mast), and blimp photography aims to show off property to its best advantage with a view to maximising sale prices.

See topsnap.com for a large portfolio of the photography. (more…)

Manny & Olga's Pizza Systems Inc. announced today the expansion of its newest unit in the Petworth neighborhood of Washington, DC.

With construction getting ready to begin the opening of the store is scheduled for early Summer 2008.

Manny & Olga's Pizza is the Baltimore/Washington D.C. area's best-kept secret no more. The popular franchise company – known for its freshly made, reasonably priced pizzas delivered into the wee hours – has been “discovered” by franchise industry veterans and recognized as one of the “Top 100 New Franchises” by Franchise Market, a national trade magazine that partners with the SBA, SCORE and Small Business Development Centers throughout the country. (more…)

The economy may be sizzling down, but franchising for Planet Wings is on fire and it's fueled by its suicidal hot sauce. The company launched a national expansion plan in October of 2007, and is on course to sell 260 franchises by 2010.

According to Hoover's, Inc., the output of US food and drink places will grow at an annual compounded rate of 4.3 percent between 2007 and 2012. The profitability of individually owned companies, such as franchised locations, depends on several variables such as efficient store operations, constructive marketing initiatives, and fast, efficient service. Thus, Planet Wings has partnered with Medina Enterprises to support business operations as the franchise expands on a national platform. With over 22 years experience in franchise management, Medina functions as the holding company for several different franchises, similar to how YUM! Brands or Focus Brands operate. (more…)

Atlanta-based Church’s Chicken® celebrated the opening of its 1600th restaurant worldwide on December 20, 2007 in Blue Springs, Mo. – a suburb of Kansas City – with top franchisee, Shan Ali of SNSA, Inc., who owns a total of 13 Church’s restaurants.

“Church’s has, for nearly 56 years, continued its tradition of serving flavorful chicken at a great value with little fanfare,” said Harsha V. Agadi, President and CEO of Church’s Chicken®. “As we grow, we remain committed to putting care and intention in preparing our food – we love introducing our freshly prepared chicken and handmade-from-scratch biscuits to new communities across the country.” (more…)

Real Estate is a changed industry. Technology has brought about radical changes to the traditional Brokerage business model, allowing opportunity to lower costs, increase functionality, modernize systems, and streamline the entire process. Sandals Realty felt it was time for the Real Estate industry to reflect these changes and enjoy a modern approach to doing business. (more…)

Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. (Nasdaq:BWLD), today announced that it has completed the acquisition of certain leases and other assets of seven “Don Pablo’s Mexican Restaurant” locations from Avado Brands, Inc. Buffalo Wild Wings, Inc. paid, in the aggregate, approximately $1,200,000 in cash for the lease rights and other assets. (more…)

Villa Enterprises, one of the nation’s fastest growing multi-concept franchisors, has been named the 318th Best Overall Franchise in Entrepreneur Magazines 29th Annual Franchise 500. The Entrepreneur list is considered the world’s best and most comprehensive franchise listing. 800 franchise companies with over 436,250 franchise units across the globe were surveyed to compile this year’s coveted Top 500 Franchise List. The Franchise 500 encompasses businesses representing all sectors of the franchise world from Jiffy Lube, to Gymboree and Pearl Vision Inc. Villa Enterprises was also ranked as a Top 10 Pizza Franchise along side Pizza Hut, Papa Johns and Dominos. (more…)

Outdoor Lighting Perspectives (OLP), a world leader in outdoor residential lighting systems, was recently named one of Entrepreneur magazine’s top 500 franchise operations. The company listing appeared in the 29th Annual Franchise 500 issue, ranking it among some of the country’s most promising franchise operations.
Outdoor Lighting Perspectives was listed as number 235 out of 500, marking the second year the company has been named to the list. OLP appeared in the home improvement category. (more…)

Club Scientific, LLC (formerly Summer Science Day Camps), a Georgia based company is launching a new franchise opportunity and expanding its unique science themed day camps and school enrichment programs.

Club Scientific was founded on the principle that parents want to provide their children with exciting, challenging, and life impacting academic enrichment experiences. The company is committed to demonstrating how science works in the real world by providing activities in veterinary medicine, robotics, forensics, video game creation, food science, paleontology, engineering, chemistry and biology. (more…)

While many start-up franchises are launched every year, few fare as well as the Roni Deutch Tax Center™, launched by the famed “Tax Lady” Roni Deutch in the spring of 2006. Off and running, the franchise has already opened 17 tax preparation centers across the nation and has awarded the rights to an additional 170 in just its first six months.

“The first characteristic I promised to instill in my concept was that it would be like no other out there. I wanted to present our franchisees with rich, new, creative ideas and support structures that would help differentiate the power of our system,” Deutch said. “My team researched everything that was wrong within other franchise systems when figuring out how to create our right one. That, along with the already established brand recognition strength, a powerful support staff, and a selective group of franchise partners have helped create a great launch to our system.” (more…)

Ellianos Coffee Company welcomes Catherine Tune to the Ellianos Franchise Family, as the first franchisee to be awarded a franchise under the new HeroFran program. Catherine Tune has signed on to develop at least three locations in the Tallahassee, Florida and Thomasville, Georgia areas within the next three years.

“We are thrilled to award our first HeroFran franchise to Catherine Tune who has served the State of Florida Department of Corrections for over 25 years,” commented Ellianos Founder and Chairman, Scott Stewart. (more…)

UFood Restaurant Group, Inc. (OTCBB: UFFC), a franchisor and operator of fast-casual food service restaurants and nutritional product retail stores, today announced the sale of a multi unit restaurant development to a franchise developer in the greater Chicago metropolitan area. The franchisee has an extensive background opening restaurants such as International House of Pancakes and Jimmy John’s. (more…)

Blue Moon Mexican Cafe held its first Franchise Opportunity Night of 2008 at the company’s flagship Bronxville, NY, location on Tuesday, January 29th.

The event exceeded expectations by attracting over thirty attendees. Guests began the evening welcomed by company management and treated to a sampling of the company’s fresh Mexican and Southwestern fare. “We didn’t know what to expect given the time of year and the cold weather, but the turnout shows there is significant interest in our concept in this area. People know us, love us and want to grow with us,” said Colleen Grennan, Blue Moon VP, Operations. (more…)

NiteLites Outdoor Landscape Lighting to participate in the 2008 Garden State Home Show scheduled for February 8 through 10, 2008. The show will be held at the Garden State Convention Center in Somerset, New Jersey. Hours for the show are 1:00 PM to 9:00 PM on Friday; 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM on Saturday; and 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday. Admission to the show is $ 9.00 for adults; $ 6.00 for children aged 12 – 17; free for children 11 and under. Seniors will be admitted for $ 8.00 on Friday. The show also offers a 2 for 1 admission for Friday and Saturday after 6:00 PM. The show will feature over 250 home improvement professionals, manufacturers and sellers of home improvement products and services. Information about special guests, prizes, and tickets is available at http://www.macevents.com/show.cfm/eventID/101. (more…)

Spicy Pickle fast casual restaurants today announced the sale of a multi unit restaurant development for Houston, TX, bringing the total number of franchises sold up to 123.

The development agreement includes the greater Metropolitan Houston area including Sugarland and calls for a total of ten (10) Spicy Pickle restaurants over the next several years. (more…)

OneCoach Founder, John Assaraf, to appear on the CNBC show The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch Monday, February 4th, 2008 10p/1a ET to share his entrepreneurial success secrets.

John Assaraf, New York Times bestselling author and founder of OneCoach, will appear on the CNBC show The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch today to share his entrepreneurial success secrets and dispel common myths about starting a business. Assaraf joins Chris Gardner and Kaile Warren on a panel discussion aimed to teach other entrepreneurs how to go from zero to millions. (more…)

Rollins, Inc. (NYSE: ROL), a premier North American consumer services company, announced today that it, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Orkin, has expanded its international presence through the establishment of franchises in the city of Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and for the country of Qatar. Including these latest franchises, the Company now has nine international franchises. (more…)

A Lake City coffee shop has awarded its first franchise under a program that gives preference to military veterans and former law enforcement workers and firefighters.

Ellianos Coffee Co. has eight locations in North Florida and South Georgia, and will add at least three locations through franchisee Catherine Tune. The first franchisee under the company’s HeroFran program, Tune spent 27 years working for the Florida Department of Corrections, rising to the position of major. Tune will open at least three Ellianos coffee shops in the next three years in Tallahassee and Thomasville, Ga. (more…)