MIAMI, Florida, July 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --
GRILLiT, Inc. (OTC: GRLT) (the "Company") today announced its
master franchise strategy and plan. The Company said that
with its new Chief Executive Officer, Ghazi Hajj, now in charge, it
is ready to announce the franchise program and begin its
implementation.
The Company's franchise plan calls for at least 58 franchised
locations across eight states over the next five years, which the
Company plans to fund through a combination of drawdown funds from
its credit facility with TCA Global Credit Master Fund (announced
July 25, 2013) and operating income.
GRILLiT currently has master franchise agreements in
Kentucky, Ohio, New
Hampshire, New Jersey,
Georgia, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and North
Carolina, and is actively seeking franchise operators.
The master franchise agreements each have a development
schedule that the master franchisee must follow which varies from
state to state based on population, which typically calls for 1-2
stores to be opened within year one and 5-8 stores to be opened
each year after year five. The initial level of franchise
activity is overseen by the existing GRILLiT management team.
The Company expects the need to hire one franchise operations
supervisor for every 15 stores opened.
"Our franchise plan is obviously a big part of our future,"
stated GRILLiT Chairman and CEO, Ghazi Hajj. "Our goal is to
have a 70% franchise to 30% corporate store ratio. The
Company has been signing up new franchisees since earlier this
spring, but it has purely been through word of mouth. One of
my first objectives was to lay out a solid franchise plan - based
on my experience - and set it into motion."
The Company plans to announce the details of its first
franchised location this Monday.
Interested potential master franchisees and franchise
owner/operators should contact the Company at
info@grillitinc.com.
About GRILLiT
GRILLiT (GRLT) is a growing Latin-Caribbean fusion restaurant
concept that marries fast casual to nutritious and healthy food.
The company opened its first location in Miami in 2011 and specializes in chef-inspired
custom crafted rice bowls, pasta and wraps as well as salads.
GRILLiT utilizes domestic growers and delivers healthy cuisine
using only fresh proteins, such as never-frozen chicken and Angus
beef. Restaurants offer an inviting and comfortable atmosphere with
an open kitchen and contemporary, industrial design. GRILLiT
currently has two locations and expects to have at least 21
corporate and 58 franchised locations open and operating within the
next five years. The company is targeting Florida, North
Carolina, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia for new growth. For more information,
visit http://www.grillitinc.com.
Forward Looking Statements:
Statements in this press release that are not purely historical
facts, including statements regarding GRILLiT's beliefs,
expectations, intentions or strategies for the future, may be
"forward-looking statements" under the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1996. Such statements consist of any
statement other than a recitation of historical fact and can be
identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as
"plan", "may", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate" or
"continue" or the negative thereof or other variations thereof or
comparable terminology. The reader is cautioned that all
forward-looking statements are speculative, and there are certain
risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results
to differ from those referred to in such forward-looking
statements. This disclosure highlights some of the important risks
regarding our business. Specifically, the reader should not place
undue reliance on statements regarding our ability to build a chain
of health-conscious fast-casual restaurants. Additionally,
there are number of other risk factors relating to our business
more fully explained identified by us in our filings with the OTC
Markets, which are available through http://www.otcmarkets.com.
CONTACT:
Robert L. Tucker
Director of Corporate Development
rltucker@grillitinc.com
Tel: +1(305)514-0326
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FreshGRILLiT
Twitter: @freshgrillit
SOURCE GRILLiT, Inc.