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| Good Morning Wolf Pack, Today's newsletter covers Tropical Smoothie Cafe's 40-unit Northeast deal, Green Shoot Brands' purchase of Jack Brown's Beer & Burger Joint, and the Crunch Fitness franchisee that keeps opening gyms. Enjoy! Was this email forwarded to you? FROM THE WOLF DEN 1) Aurify Kingstar Signs 40-Unit Tropical Smoothie Deal as Franchisor Courts Multi-Brand Operators Tropical Smoothie Cafe is putting its next stretch of growth in the hands of multi-brand operators, and its first big signing is a 40-store deal across New York and Connecticut. Aurify Kingstar, the operator behind 57 Five Guys, 32 Wingstops and 69 Le Pain Quotidien locations, will open the shops over five years, with the first four or five expected in the Albany area in 2027. The brand sits at about 1,750 locations and expects to reach 1,800 by year end, roughly 430 more than when Blackstone bought it in 2024. Chief development and growth officer Joe Sieve said the company sees "runway throughout the U.S. to more than double that footprint." Per the FDD, the 1,431 stores open at least a year averaged about $978K in sales last year, and opening costs run from $275,500 to $770,500. 2) Green Shoot Brands Acquires 22-Unit Jack Brown's Beer & Burger Joint Jack Brown's Beer & Burger Joint has a new owner. Florida-based Green Shoot Brands, an investment firm and franchise operator, has reportedly acquired the 22-unit smashburger and craft beer chain, which started in Harrisonburg, Virginia and now operates in Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina. Green Shoot runs about 410 restaurants across nine brands, including Little Caesars, Dave's Hot Chicken, Nothing Bundt Cakes, PopUp Bagels, Auntie Anne's, Cinnabon, Jamba and Carvel. The group launched in 2019 with the Fresh Dining Concepts purchase and began diversifying in 2024 under CEO Mike Evans. Jack Brown's founders Mike Sabin and Aaron Ludwig, along with President Jason Owenby, will keep running the company, according to The Tennessean. NRN reports that neither company responded to requests for more information. 3) Fitness Ventures Is Now Crunch's Largest Franchisee and It Isn't Slowing Down Fitness Ventures has more than 100 Crunch Fitness gyms across 30 states, making it the largest franchisee in the system. Gym No. 107 opened this fall in Vancouver, Washington, and CEO Brian Hibbard expects the group to finish 2026 with $350 million in sales. The company plans at least 25 openings in 2027 and has leases signed for most of them. It bought 22-unit Harman Fitness this spring, and private equity firm Meaningful Partners, which acquired Fitness Ventures in 2024 when it had 47 gyms, is backing the growth. Fitness Ventures' gyms average more than $3 million in sales, compared with $2.9 million for the middle third of the Crunch system in 2025, per the FDD. The group also built an in-house AI agent that handles about 70 percent of incoming gym calls on its own. EXTRA SAUCE 💥 Remodels, Menu Improvements Boost Burger King Sales as Chain Drives RBI's Q3 Growth Burger King's global systemwide sales grew 7.6 percent in the third quarter of 2026, helped along by remodeled restaurants and a string of menu and technology upgrades. Improvements to the Whopper and the chicken nuggets were joined by tech enhancements that Franchise Times says helped drive the result. The numbers land as parent RBI keeps leaning on the chain's turnaround to lift its overall growth. Bubbakoo's, Qdoba, Taco Bell Churn Out Sales Increases as Mexican Category Hits $23B The 13 Mexican brands ranked on the Franchise Times Top 400 generated $23.4 billion in sales in 2025, a 5.3 percent increase over 2024. That is a step down from the 6.7 percent growth the category posted from 2023 to 2024. Bubbakoo's, Qdoba and Taco Bell each posted sales gains in the latest rankings. Raising Cane's plans a dozen new restaurants in November Raising Cane's plans 12 new restaurant openings in November, including market debuts in Brick, New Jersey, Fayetteville, North Carolina and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Additional openings are set for Utah, Florida, Michigan, California, Connecticut, Illinois and Alabama. The pace nearly doubles October's seven openings, and the chain finished 2025 with $5.48 billion in sales and 913 locations, per Technomic. Chicken Salad Chick Surpasses 350 Restaurants as Record Growth Pace Continues to Fuel National Expansion Chicken Salad Chick has passed 350 restaurants across 27 states and has awarded more than 100 franchise units so far in 2026, putting it on pace for another record year. The growth is being driven by experienced multi-unit operators as the brand moves beyond its Southeastern roots into the Midwest, Mountain West and Northeast. Nearly 350 more locations sit in its development pipeline. Huddle House Opens Its First Restaurant Inside Athens, Tennessee Walmart Huddle House has opened its first restaurant inside a Walmart, at 1815 Decatur Pike in Athens, Tennessee. Customers can order at the counter, grab a meal before heading down the aisles or stop in for a quick bite on the way home. The location is owned by Brooke and Tyler Goodner, who are entering the restaurant industry through a three-unit development agreement, and the company calls it part of its pursuit of non-traditional growth. Port of Subs Makes History with First U.S. Navy Base Opening at Guantánamo Bay Port of Subs is officially open for business at Naval Station Guantánamo Bay, the first time the brand has opened on a U.S. Navy base. The company calls it a historic milestone for the 54-year-old sandwich brand. The restaurant marks the beginning of its service to the Navy community. HB Protein Smoothies Heads to Las Vegas with Five-Unit Deal from Restaurant Veterans HB Protein Smoothies is heading to Las Vegas with a five-unit development agreement signed by restaurant veterans Justin and Tarrah Long. The brand sells high-protein smoothies and is growing through multi-unit operators, backed by franchise development firm Fransmart. Franchise Times reported in September that its pipeline had passed 250 locations, even though the system had just one corporate store open. Stratus Clean Nears 100 Master Territories as Secondary Markets Power National Franchise Growth Stratus Clean is closing in on 100 master franchise territories as it leans on secondary and tertiary markets across the United States. The commercial cleaning brand reports 96 master territories and more than 5,200 unit franchisees across the U.S. and Canada. It rebranded from Stratus Building Solutions in April and says its three-tier model, built on master franchisees who recruit and support unit owners, lets it grow quickly. Potbelly Franchise Development Team Adds Two Accomplished Executives with Appointments of Robert Bhagwandat and Andie Smirl Potbelly has added Robert Bhagwandat as vice president of franchising and Andie Smirl as director of franchise development. Bhagwandat comes from Checkers & Rally's, where he was senior director of franchise development and acting vice president of development, and will oversee recruitment and sales with multi-unit groups. Smirl brings nearly a decade of franchise experience, most recently as director of franchise sales for Houston TX Hot Chicken, and will guide expansion in priority markets alongside Senior Vice President Jennifer Durham. Yoga Joint Signs Multi-Unit Deal to Launch in New Jersey Yoga Joint signed Steve Clarke, his wife Laura Mays and their daughter Danielle Clarke to bring the infrared fitness brand to New Jersey, starting with a Paramus studio at 305 Route 17 in Q1 2027. Three more locations are planned across Passaic, Morris and Essex counties. The family joined as members before becoming franchisees, and the brand says studios open all of 2024 averaged about $1.84 million in sales, with mature locations topping $2.4 million. Pokeworks Drives Texas Expansion Through Flexible Real Estate Strategy Longtime Pokeworks franchisees Carol and Marcos Blanco have six restaurants open in the Austin market and plan to open a seventh in Round Rock by the end of the year. They opened their first location in June 2020 after relocating to the United States, and say patience in finding the right site has paid off. The brand points to second-generation spaces and its flexible restaurant model as keys to getting new units open. The Brass Tap Signs Franchise Agreement to Open First Delaware Location in Middletown The Brass Tap is entering Delaware for the first time with a franchise agreement for a Middletown restaurant, to be run by Ashil Patel. The upscale American tavern franchise has more than 50 locations and will bring its craft beer, specialty cocktail and wine selection and chef-inspired menu to the market. The Middletown location is in the lease negotiation stage, with an opening timeline still to be announced. WOLF BITES
That’s it for this edition of The Wolf Report. Feel free to reply with any questions or feedback. Thanks and see you Thursday! — The Wolf | ||||
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