FAT Brands, the global franchising company that owns restaurants including Johnny Rockets, Fatburger, Round Table Pizza, Twin Peaks and 13 other concepts, announced that it has opened a record-breaking 100 new franchised locations so far this year and is poised for further growth, with approximately 25 additional stores slated to open by year-end. This is the first year since the company’s inception in 2017 that it has surpassed 100 openings in a year.
“With a development pipeline of over 1,000 units, we have been laser-focused on successfully launching new locations across multiple brands,” said FAT Brands CEO Andy Wiederhorn. “Opening 100 stores so far this year is an incredible accomplishment and a testament to our dedicated franchisees and appeal of our family of brands.
“Equally impressive is the type of growth we have achieved. While we continued to expand in existing territories, we broke ground in new countries and states and debuted new co-branded concepts and non-traditional units.”
Following a year of strategic acquisitions in 2021, the company has committed to expanding organically. Notable openings, which spanned 17 states and 14 countries, included new locations in Mexico of the company’s co-branded burger and wing concept, Fatburger and Buffalo’s Express, and Twin Peak. The Mexico openings marked the first of 82 Twin Peaks and Fatburger and Buffalo’s Express units set to open in the country in the coming years. Fatburger and Buffalo’s Express also arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo and was one of the highest volume international openings to date for the co-branded pair. Similarly, Johnny Rockets continues to experience sizzling international growth, notching 12 openings this year.
Domestically, the burger brand made its co-branded debut alongside Hurricane Grill & Wings’ new model, Hurricane Wings, in Washington, D.C.
Round Table Pizza continues to roll its way through Texas, with its fourth location in the state opening in San Antonio. Additionally, FAT Brands’ late 2021 acquisition, Fazoli’s, baked up three more locations in Florida. On the alternative growth front, Johnny Rockets cruised into Royal Caribbean’s Wonder of the Seas, while Fatburger landed in two new casino locations in Las Vegas, The Venetian Resort and the Excalibur Hotel & Casino.
