The Greene Turtle Franchising Corp. announced that it has signed a franchise development agreement with a new group of strategic partners that will yield 10 new restaurants in Northern New Jersey and Northeast Pennsylvania. The investor group, Jai Somnath, LLC, consists of multiple experienced franchisees who will bring their extensive business backgrounds to the task of developing and operating nearly a dozen of the family-friendly sports-themed casual dining restaurants in Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris and Passaic Counties in New Jersey as well as Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties in Pennsylvania. The company has launched an active search for available properties and expects to open its first location within 18 months.
The Jai Somnath LLC group has extensive business interests in the hospitality, quick-service, gas and convenience industries, and saw The Greene Turtle as a great opportunity to capitalize on a brand in growth mode with plenty of room to expand.
“We are delighted to be joining The Greene Turtle’s franchise family and to have the opportunity to bring the popular brand to northern New Jersey and Pennsylvania,” the company says. “We have been aware of the company for some time but became especially interested as we saw new locations open up to great acclaim outside of Philadelphia and in Central New Jersey. We think this is a perfect time to leverage The Greene Turtle’s popularity and momentum and we look forward to opening our first locations as soon as possible.”
The Greene Turtle has drawn increasing attention as it stretches beyond its native Maryland. In 2017 alone, the chain has already opened four new restaurants, all franchises, including its first sites in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, its first location situated within a casino, and a new location in Middletown, Del. Several additional restaurants are scheduled to open in 2017 and early 2018, and more than 50 additional locations in Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania already are planned.
The Greene Turtle is a well-established, much-loved brand, offering franchisees a strategic way to increase business in markets where their existing holdings have no room to grow. Locations leverage many assets, including The Greene Turtle’s 40+-year legacy, its broad demographic appeal, and a popular combination of comfort food favorites and regional specialties reflective of the company’s Maryland roots. Greene Turtle restaurants enjoy strong sales of high-margin beverages, incremental revenues via sales of branded merchandise, and the benefits of lasting bonds created by regular community outreach. New features are added regularly to keep the concept fresh, attract customers and cultivate brand loyalty. In recent years, the company has developed a line of Greene Turtle-branded and turtle-themed beverages, introduced an interactive Greene Turtle Rewards mobile app and most recently added mobile and online ordering.
The Greene Turtle is now seeking experienced multi-unit investors for strategic development in Pittsburgh and the western Pennsylvania region as well as southeastern markets in the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida, and in New England.
