Spicy Pickle Franchising Appoints Chief Development Officer
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Spicy Pickle Franchising Appoints Chief Development Officer

Signs New Franchisee and Upgrades Certain Restaurant Services

DENVER, CO--(Marketwire - January 11, 2011) - Spicy Pickle Franchising, Inc. (OTCBB: SPKL) today announced the appointment of Peter Wright as its new Chief Development Officer.

Mr. Wright is now responsible for franchise sales, real estate, architecture, construction and equipment. Prior to joining Spicy Pickle, Mr. Wright had over 13 years' experience in franchising and licensing in both traditional and non-traditional development channels in the U.S., Canada and other international markets.

His experience includes posts with several prominent brands such as The Counter, a specialty burger concept, Panera Bread Co., and Starbucks Coffee Co. His franchising experience primarily consisted of negotiating development agreements with experienced multi-unit restaurant operators. Mr. Wright's licensing experience included brand development in airports, colleges and universities, business and healthcare locations, convention and special event venues, and hotels. Additionally, Mr. Wright previously worked for Equity Office Properties, a national real estate investment trust; Think!, Inc., a negotiation strategy consultancy; and Xerox Corp. He received a BA degree from Loyola University, Chicago, and completed programs at Harvard University's Division of Continuing Education: Professional Development.

In making the announcement, Chief Executive Officer Mark Laramie said, "Peter is a welcome and necessary addition to our management team. His proven performance in multi-unit and non-traditional development should help us accelerate our growth plan."

In other news, the company reported it has signed a contract with a new franchisee, in Minot, North Dakota. This franchisee will be doing business as Nodak Spickle, LLC, owned and operated by a 26 year resident of Minot. The franchisee is currently seeking a site.

The company also reported it has taken several actions to improve its guests' experiences in the Spicy Pickle restaurants. It has increased the meat amount in all of its sandwiches; is now serving orders on upscale white plates instead of traditional plastic baskets; and is introducing a new, exclusive bread formulation in its stores. In addition, bread will now be baked fresh daily in all stores instead of at night in its commissary, as it was previously done for half of its stores. In the BG Urban Café brand group, the company reported that four of its restaurants have now been rebranded under that new name and format, and they are on schedule to have all stores converted by April 2011.

ABOUT SPICY PICKLE® AND BG URBAN CAFÉ™ BRANDS:

Founded in 1999, Spicy Pickle Franchising, Inc. (OTCBB: SPKL) serves high quality meats and fine artisan breads baked fresh daily, along with a wide choice of eight cheeses, 22 toppings, and 14 proprietary spreads to create healthy, delicious panini and sub sandwiches with flavors from around the world. As a leading "fast-casual" concept, Spicy Pickle restaurants offer menu items that are far beyond traditional fast food without the price points of casual dining. The hallmark of a Spicy Pickle restaurant is great food and quality service in an enjoyable atmosphere. The company is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, with restaurants in 10 states. A Spicy Pickle Franchising subsidiary owns and operates as franchisor of the BG Urban Café brand in the metropolitan Vancouver, Canada area. BG Urban Café locations serve coffee, pastries, breakfast items, lunch, dinner and a wide variety of desserts.

Visit our website at www.spicypickle.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:

Certain statements in this press release, including statements regarding the number of restaurants we intend to open, are forward-looking statements. We use words such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "should," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "predict," "project," "target," and similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions, to identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to us as of the date any such statements are made and we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: factors that could affect our ability to achieve and manage our planned expansion, such as the availability of a sufficient number of suitable new restaurant sites and the availability of qualified franchisees and employees; risks relating to our expansion into new markets; the risk of food-borne illnesses and other health concerns about our food products; changes in the availability and costs of food; changes in consumer preferences, general economic conditions or consumer discretionary spending; the impact of federal, state or local government regulations relating to our franchisees and employees, and the sale of food or alcoholic beverages; the impact of litigation; our ability to protect our name and logo and other proprietary information; the potential effects of inclement weather; the effect of competition in the restaurant industry; and other risk factors described from time to time in our SEC reports.

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