Carolinas-based Restaurants Pondering Locations In City

JOHNSON CITY (Thursday, March 17, 2005) - Carolinas-based restaurants pondering locations in city

Two Carolinas-based restaurants are eyeing Johnson City.

Salsarita's Fresh Cantina, a Charlotte, N.C.-based franchise known for its Mexican food prepared right in front of the customer, already has plans to open a restaurant at Kingsport's East Stone Commons by the fall. Bruce Holzman, the company's director of Franchise Sales, said franchisee Starlite Ventures LLC is to open three other Tri-Cities locations, with one in Johnson City.

"We are just now starting to investigate specific locations," he said.

Salsarita's would be a direct competitor of Barberito's, another "Fresh-Mex" concept that recently opened at Peoples Crossing. Both tout tacos, burritos, nachos and quesadillas prepared with fresh ingredients. Salsarita's menu offers steak, ground beef, shredded beef, chicken, shrimp and vegetarian fare.

A year ago, the company had five restaurants open and 30 under development. Today, 14 are open and more than 200 are under development.

"Our local expansion plans have been successful and we have more restaurants opening in Tennessee as well as Texas, Florida, Minnesota, New York, Maryland and Virginia," said Salsarita's founder Bruce Willette. "In addition to those states, we are now targeting Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas and Oklahoma."

For more information, visit www.salsaritas.com.

Another restaurant that could be coming to Johnson City is Duke Sandwich Co. The Greenville, S.C., company has decided to franchise after nearly 90 years in the food service industry. New franchisees will be joining the nearly $16 billion a year sandwich industry.

"We've always thought Duke Sandwiches would appeal to people outside of the Greenville market," said company President Andrew Smart. "With the unprecedented growth in both the sandwich industry and franchise investments, we felt as though now was the right time to take this strategic next step."

Smart has created a new division, Duke Sandwich Franchising Inc., to manage franchising inquiries and provide support services to new stores. The franchising division will begin by offering franchise opportunities in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee.

The franchising division has partnered with the Ellis Group, PA, Image Marketing and Sharp Solutions. The Ellis Group will provide architectural services, helping to evaluate potential locations and develop plans for any necessary renovations or construction. Founded in 1983, the Greenville-based Ellis Group specializes in commercial, residential, mixed-use and hospitality facilities and has been engaged in more than 125 hospitality-type projects in 15 states.

Image Marketing of Greenville will design and produce apparel items and accessories for new Duke Sandwich franchisees. The company will also develop a link to the Duke Web site, www.dukesandwich.com, for ordering purposes.

The Arden, N.C.-based Sharp Solutions will offer new franchisees technical support. The company will handle all point-of-sale equipment, including register, inventory and payroll technology.

Each new franchise location will be built to specific guidelines, and will feature Duke Sandwich original recipes and signature spreads such as chicken salad, minced barbecue and pimento cheese; along with a variety of soups, salads and desserts.

"As a 90-year-old company we can honestly say that Duke Sandwich is a proven business with timeless appeal that should be extremely attractive to potential franchisees," Smart said.

View all Duke Sandwich Co. Press Releases

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