Arby's® Signs Franchise Development Agreements for 35 New Locations in Eleven States

By: Arby's | 51 Shares 858 Reads

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Arby's Restaurant Group, Inc. announced today that it has recently signed development agreements to open 35 new Arby's restaurants throughout the U.S.

The commitments are by four new and thirteen existing franchisees for the development of Arby's restaurants in California, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.

"We continue to expand our footprint across the U.S. to meet our growing customers' cravings for fresh, premium ingredients they don't typically find in fast food," said Tom Garrett, President and COO, Arby's Restaurant Group, Inc. "Our existing franchisees remain committed to growing the brand as we continue to welcome new franchisees to the Arby's family."

The following are summaries for each signed development agreement with existing franchisees:

* NOLA Ventures Inc. – A franchisee since 2006, Nola Ventures Inc. currently owns and operates fourteen Arby's restaurants in four states, including Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas. The company has signed an agreement to open eight more Arby's in the New Orleans market.
* PRP, Inc. – PRP, Inc. is the owner and operator of 20 Arby's restaurants located in Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. PRP, Inc. joined Arby's as a franchisee in 1997 and has agreed to open six additional restaurants throughout Mississippi.
* Pilot Travel Centers, LLC – James Barnes of Pilot Travel Centers, LLC is Arby's ninth largest franchisee with 44 restaurants in 22 states. Pilot Travel Centers is the nation's largest retail operator of travel centers with 281 retail interstate properties. The company has signed on to open five more restaurants throughout the U.S.
* John Boos – John Boos, who joined the Arby's family in early 2007, currently has one Arby's restaurant in development in Plainfield Township, MI scheduled to open at the end of the year. Boos has agreed to open one additional restaurant in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
* James Bruno – James Bruno, President of Bruno Enterprises, Inc., is the owner and operator of three Arby's restaurants in Indiana and has signed on to add one more restaurant to his portfolio in La Porte, Indiana.
* Cato, Inc. – Michael Abercrombie, President of Cato, Inc., currently owns nine Arby's restaurants in the Philadelphia, Baltimore and Salisbury markets. Abercrombie has agreed to open one restaurant in Bridgeville, Delaware.
* Shoukat Ali Dhanani - Shoukat Ali Dhanani of Zesta Foods has been an Arby's franchisee since 2006 and currently operates one Arby's restaurant in Sugar Land, Texas. Dhanani has signed an agreement to open one additional Arby's in the Houston market.
* John Gantes – A franchisee since 2004, John Gantes of Arbreck, L.P. currently owns and operates four Arby's restaurants in the Los Angeles, San Francisco and El Centro, California markets. Gantes has signed an agreement to open one additional Arby's in Lake Elsinore, California.
* Little General Store, Inc. – Greg Darby, President of Little General Store, Inc., owns and operates three Arby's in Hurricane, Summersville and Elkview, West Virginia and has agreed to develop one additional Arby's in Sutton, West Virginia. Little General Store, Inc. has been an Arby's franchisee since 1995.
* Lunan Corporation – Lunan Corporation, a family owned and operated franchisee, has been a part of the Arby's organization for nearly forty years and holds the distinction of opening Arby's 3,500th restaurant in Antioch, IL in 2006. Lunan currently owns and operates 62 Arby's restaurants in California, Illinois, and Nevada and has signed an agreement to develop an Arby's restaurant in Tinley Park, Illinois.
* MSE International, LLC – MSE International, LLC currently owns and operates an Arby's restaurant in the Akron-Canton Airport and has signed an agreement to open one more in the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport.
* Jerry Myerscough – Jerry Myerscough a franchisee for over 20 years owns seven restaurants throughout Illinois. Myerscough has agreed to open one restaurant in Springfield, Illinois.
* John Wade – A franchisee since 2004, John Wade of AES Restaurant Group, LLC, owns and operates 11 Arby's restaurants throughout Indiana. Wade has agreed to open one additional Arby's in Delphi, IN.

Arby's is pleased to welcome the following new franchisees to the Arby's system:

Fazil Malik has signed on to open three Arby's restaurants in Houston, Texas.

Dan Gover has signed an agreement to develop one Arby's restaurant in Kanab, Utah.

Carmen Ongoco has agreed to develop one Arby's restaurant in Houston, Texas.

Robert White has agreed to open one Arby's restaurant in Lewisburg, TN.

About Arby's Restaurant Group, Inc.
Arby's Restaurant Group, Inc., based in Atlanta, is the franchisor of the Arby's restaurant system, which consists of more than 3,600 restaurants worldwide, and is owner and operator of approximately 1,100 of those restaurants located in the United States. Founded in 1964, Arby's quick service restaurants specialize in offering slow roasted and freshly sliced roast beef sandwiches as well as its Market Fresh® deli-style sandwiches, wraps and salads with the convenience of a drive-thru. Arby's offers guests a unique, great tasting alternative to traditional fast food with its one-of-a-kind menu items including the Beef 'n Cheddar, Curly Fries and Jamocha shakes. Arby's Restaurant Group also owns and operates the T.J. Cinnamons® brand and is a subsidiary of Triarc Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRY, TRY.B). To learn more about Arby's, please visit www.arbys.com.

NOTES TO PRESS RELEASE

1. Arby's franchisees are independent third parties that Arby's Restaurant Group, Inc. does not control, and numerous factors beyond their control may affect new restaurant openings. There can be no assurance that the commitments under these development agreements will be met and that they will result in open restaurants.

2. The statements in this press release concerning Arby's Restaurant Group, Inc. that are not historical facts, including, most importantly, any information concerning possible or assumed future results of operations of Arby's Restaurant Group, Inc. and any statements preceded by, followed by, or that include the words "may," "believes," "plans," "expects," "anticipates" or the negation thereof, or similar expressions, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Reform Act"). All statements that address events or developments that are expected or anticipated to occur in the future are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Reform Act. All such statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are susceptible to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors. For a description of those factors, please refer to filings by Triarc Companies, Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2006 (in particular the discussions contained under "Part 1 – Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Projections" and "Item 1A - Risk Factors – Risks Related to Arby's"), and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended April 1, 2007 (in particular, the discussion contained under "Part II, Item 1A. Risk Factors"). For those statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Reform Act. All future written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or any person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this note. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements after the date of this press release as a result of new information, future events or developments, except as required by federal securities laws.