August 01, 2025 // Franchising.com // MINNESOTA – HOODZ is opening a new franchise location in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The commercial kitchen exhaust cleaning service is part of the BELFOR Franchise Group family of brands.
The franchise location opened last month, and is owned and operated by brothers Jacob and Zach Johnson, along with Jacob’s college teammate Isiah Lightsy. Jacob has a background in construction and facilities management, and takes pride in being an effective leader and clear communicator. Zach has a financial background, and is looking forward to bringing his prior experience in business development to his new role. Isiah has a background in business management, and is eager to leverage his team building skills as their business grows. As young, hard-working professionals, Jacob, Zach, and Isiah are most looking forward to combining their diverse skills and shared drive to build a business that truly makes an impact.
“We knew we wanted to choose a business that offers services that many business owners will need at some point,” said Jacob Johnson, co-owner of HOODZ of Minneapolis. “From there, we learned about HOODZ and the role their services play in reducing fire risk in commercial kitchens. As our team begins offering kitchen exhaust cleaning services, we look forward to establishing our business as a highly trusted partner in the community and continuing to learn and grow as business owners.”
Nathan Willard, President of HOODZ, is committed to honoring the brand’s focus on keeping customers’ kitchen exhaust systems fully compliant with local regulations and fire safety codes: “HOODZ is seeing an increase in demand for overall commercial cooking throughout the U.S., driven by the rise of eating out and food delivery platforms. With that comes a great deal of grease vapors released into the kitchen exhaust system. With our state-of-the-art training and continued focus on quality, HOODZ has positioned itself as a leader and trusted name in the industry. As Jacob, Zach, and Isiah begin providing professional and reliable service across their community, the HOODZ team looks forward to hearing about all the great work they will accomplish.”
Since its founding in 1972, HOODZ services several industries including facilities within the restaurant, health care, and government fields. Beyond everyday kitchen cleaning and maintenance, HOODZ provides full system inspections to help ensure kitchen exhaust systems fully adhere to all essential local fire codes and regulations. As a customer-first company, HOODZ is committed to providing an expert clean while adhering to National Fire Protection Association (NFPA 96) standards.
SOURCE HOODZ
HOODZ International, the nation's largest and most reputable restaurant kitchen exhaust cleaning franchise, launched in July 2009.