Family-owned franchise signs multi-unit territory agreement, bolsters Newk’s Southeast regional growth
Newk’s Eatery recently recognized its 10th anniversary with a celebration at the original restaurant located in Oxford, Miss. The event was an opportunity for former partners and current leadership alike to celebrate 10 years being open. It was also a time for the original store’s general manager, Phillip O’Reilly, to sign a franchise agreement significantly expanding his current Nashville-area contract. With two existing Newk’s in Middle Tennessee located in Murfreesboro and Franklin, MTN Hospitality, the Nashville-area franchisee consisting of O’Reilly and his partners, will boost the total Newk’s restaurants in the area to nine by 2019.
“As seasoned Newk’s franchise operators, O’Reilly and his team have built one of our company’s most successful franchise enterprises,” said Alan Wright, Newk’s Vice President of Marketing and Franchise Operations. “From a corporate standpoint, we are delighted that MTN Hospitality will solidify Newk’s presence in the Nashville market as we begin expansion from the Southeast into the lower Midwest region.”
MTN Hospitality entered Middle Tennessee in 2008 with their first location in Murfreesboro at The Avenue. O’Reilly and his wife, Mary Armour O’Reilly, took a hands on approach by getting involved in the community and participating in local events. As a result, the chain’s 19th restaurant slowly became a popular local lunch and dinner spot. Their second location in Franklin off Cool Springs Blvd. opened in May of 2011 and has since experienced exponential growth.
O’Reilly’s two restaurants are among the company’s top 10 grossing locations, with double digit year-over-year same store sales increases. He attributes the success to consistently providing superior food quality and flavor, exceptional customer service, strong catering business, and community engagement.
These characteristics of the Newk’s brand are shared by franchisees across the company and are an important part of company-wide success.
“Newk’s offers a more upscale, family-friendly dining experience than other fast-casual brands, with higher quality food and a more modest price point,” said O’Reilly. “These features are well received by our guests, contributing to our success in this region.”
MTN Hospitality will kick off its six-unit Newk’s expansion with a location in Boyle Investment Company’s “CityPark” development on Franklin Rd. in Brentwood. Newk’s expects to break ground on the 4,500 sq. ft. restaurant in early fall 2014 and open before the end of the year. Nashville-based real estate broker, Cherry & Associates, is assisting MTN Hospitality in its expansion efforts as they look for other opportunities in the area.
The fast-casual restaurant serves up fresh-tossed salads, oven-baked sandwiches, California-style pizzas, made-from-scratch soups and homemade cakes from its open view kitchen. The culinary-driven dining concept features exceptional ingredient combinations such as the Newk’s Favorite salad consisting of grilled chicken, cranberries, pecans, artichoke hearts and gorgonzola cheese on a bed of spring greens, for mouth-watering flavor profiles.
Newk’s offers a separate catering menu including a variety of menu options appropriate for large events to small office lunches. Newk’s originality is expressed through the Newk’s Roundtable, a circular table in the center of every location that offers complimentary spices and toppings, allowing guests to customize their menu items. Another original concept is Newk’s Grab-n-Go, which gives busy patrons the option to quickly choose a favorite menu item from the select offerings in the restaurant’s open, stand-up refrigerator case.
For more information on Newk’s Eatery, visit newks.com. For local information, visit Newk’s Eatery – Middle Tennessee on Facebook, follow on Twitter @newksmiddleTN, or email newkscatering@mtn1llc.com.
For Newk’s Eatery franchise information, please visit:
http://www.newks.com/franchise/.
As a refreshing casual dining experience in a stylish atmosphere with an emphasis on freshness, flavor and unparalleled customer service, Newk’s Eatery boasts a comprehensive menu of freshly-prepared entrees with sizable portions and exceptional ingredient combinations. Rapidly expanding since the first restaurant opening in Oxford, Miss. in 2004, Newk’s currently operates and franchises 66 units in 13 states. Headquartered in Jackson, Miss., the rights to more than 100 units of the culinary-driven dining concept have been sold across the South. From the restaurants’ open-view kitchens, customers dining in can watch the preparation of fresh-tossed salads, oven-baked sandwiches, California-style pizzas, made-from-scratch soups and homemade cakes and then customize their meals at the signature Roundtable.
For more information visit newks.com, join the Roundtable Club, or follow Newk’s on Facebook and Twitter.
