Happy Belly Food Group (Happy Belly) has signed an area development agreement in Ontario for the opening of 30 franchise restaurants of PI·RHO Grill, a fast-casual Greek restaurant.
“We are very pleased to announce this area development agreement today for PIRHO. Ontario is the home market for this brand, so accelerating growth locally with 30 additional franchise locations was a key first step for George Plagkis [company founder] and his team at PIRHO to be the leader in Canada,” says Sean Black, chief investment officer of Happy Belly. “This makes 50 units total that is currently signed with area development agreements for Happy Belly brands … This agreement commences the start of our accelerated franchise development model and real estate growth plan for PI·RHO Grill which we plan to leverage across our portfolio of emerging brands.”
In a news release, Black says Happy Belly believes there is “significant opportunity” in the Greek fast-casual space both in Canada and the United States.
“Today, PI·RHO Grill is accelerating growth in Canada and has an early mover advantage, while the market leader for fresh Mediterranean [cuisine], Cava Grill, only has approximately 250 locations in the U.S., so it is early days and we are making our moves to be a leader in Canada for fast-casual Greek,” he adds.
“The opportunities continue with Happy Belly, and I am very excited to work with Sean Black and his team again to grow the PI·RHO Grill brand into what I believe is going to be a category leader in the Greek fast-casual QSR space. I have eaten at PI·RHO Grill many times and each time I leave with a conviction that this concept combined with the experience of the management team at Happy Belly in fast casual has real legs in the franchising world, said Scott Grandin, who is assisting with the development of the franchises.
For franchising inquiries please see www.happybellyfg.com/franchise-with-us/ or contact us at hello@happybellyfg.com.
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