JAE Restaurant Group, the largest multi-unit franchisee of Wendy’s in south Florida, has acquired 97 new Wendy’s restaurant franchises throughout Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade Counties, making it one of the largest employers in that area with a total of 5,453 employees.
JAE owns restaurants in South Florida, Tampa, Ocala, Albuquerque and El Paso, totaling 177 units with this newest acqisition, and continues to look for additional locations in these states. The franchisee plans to build 5 additional Wendy’s restaurants in South Florida within the next six to eight months, with an overall company goal to open an average of 8 to 10 locations per year across all markets.
“We strive to remain leaders in the nation’s evolving quick service restaurant industry by delivering an exceptional experience of quality, service and cleanliness to our customers through high quality food, friendly staff, high operational standards, and being engaged in our communities,” said Eddie Rodriguez, chief executive officer of Pompano Beach, Florida-based JAE Restaurant Group. “JAE looks forward to expanding Wendy’s presence and positively impacting communities throughout South Florida and across the country.”
The Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach market locations were sold to JAE as part of Wendy’s System Optimization Initiative to sell hundreds of its company-owned restaurants to franchisees. The negotiations for this acquisition began in early 2015, and concluded this past August with the sale of the 97 units in south Florida. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The shifting from company-owned to franchise businesses is a part of Wendy’s brand transformation strategy, along with its Image Activation program to remodel existing stores.
JAE Restaurant Group and Wendy’s date back to when JAE opened its first Wendy’s restaurant in Hialeah, Florida, in 1993. It is owned by Jhonny Mercado, co-chairman; Andres Garcia, co-chairman; and Eddie Rodriguez, CEO.
Source: Franchise News