Newk's Eatery Remains Open And Dedicated To Its Franchisees And Their Communities

Newk’s Eatery is a growing fast-casual brand that has continued to serve up its original, craveable recipes alongside its signature “generous portion of hospitality” throughout the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020. In fact, the brand was able to keep 80% of its restaurants open throughout the crisis while it introduced various initiatives such as feeding first responders and utilizing contactless ordering, as the brand looked to ensure the health and safety of employees and valued guests.

“Newk’s is known as the backbone of our communities where people go to share a meal, gather, and have experiences together,” explains co-founder and CEO Chris Newcomb. “The Newk’s family is continuing to look out for one another to meet the needs of guests and will continue pivoting and creating initiatives for employees and customer safety.”

Early during the Covid-19 outbreak Newk’s introduced initiatives that helped sustain its operations, including contactless ordering in-store through hardware-less kiosks. This system allows guests to scan a QR code to order and pay without coming into contact with a Newk’s employee. The brand enhanced its standard operating procedures for daily restaurant cleanings by increasing the frequency of deep cleaning and sanitizing to ensure employees stay healthy and facilities remain safe.

“The safety of our guests and employees is our top priority at Newk’s Eatery,” says Newcomb. “We are doing all we can as a company to keep our doors open for our guests and continue feeding our communities through our to-go offerings and delivery.”

Newcomb says the brand has also been working directly with its franchise partners to assist them during this hard time. The pandemic’s impact on small businesses has been great, and the brand is dedicated to supporting its franchisees.

The brand has reopened some of its dining rooms for guests. The number of guests is limited based on local requirements for social distancing at each location. Social distancing signage and hand sanitizer are available. The brand has even created a new Sanitation Specialist position for its restaurants. This person sanitizes tables and seats after bussing takes place and sanitizes high-touch areas in between such as doors, beverage station, counter server area, and restrooms.

Newk’s has vowed to continue its off-premise service long after the pandemic and has expanded to more third-party providers (Uber Eats, FlyBuy, and OLO), as well as curbside pickup and no contact delivery options. The brand’s unique Grab & Go sections in-store have also expanded, offering numerous pantry items to guests can purchase and take home.  

Jackson, Mississippi-based Newk's Eatery was founded in 2004 and currently operates and franchises more than 120 restaurants in 16 states. Newk's Eatery has been ranked in Nation's Restaurant News Top 200 Countdown, as well as Restaurant Business' Top 500 Chains. Newk's has also been selected as a Top Food Franchise by Entrepreneur and is ranked among the Best Franchise Deals by QSR.

Newk's Cares is the brand’s philanthropic arm and is committed to supporting early detection and symptom awareness of ovarian cancer to give every woman a fighting chance. To date, Newk's Cares has raised over $1.4M to support Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance (OCRA). 

If the resiliency of Newk’s Eatery sounds like the kind of investment opportunity you are looking for, visit www.newks.com/franchise/ for more information on available territories and how you can become a part of the growing brand.

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