HenDough Eyes Knoxville, Tennessee for Franchise Expansion

HenDough has developed a devout following in both North and South Carolina, establishing itself as a specialized restaurant with a unique offering: chicken and donuts. The brand is now targeting additional franchisees in a new target market: Knoxville, Tennessee, a city with similar demographics to the markets where the brand has already seen success.

There are two current HenDough locations open — one in Hendersonville, North Carolina and the other in Greenville, South Carolina. As the brand has developed a momentous following in these communities, its immediate plans for growth have looked west to a market where clients have already shown interest. “Our customers have been telling us to open a location in Tennessee for a while,” said Paul Klaassen, the brand’s founder.

Paul founded HenDough alongside his wife Sarah, seeking to develop a niche brand with the ability to satisfy a wide range of breakfast and lunch cravings. “Our menu is geared toward meeting a wide range of customers,” Sarah said. “We believe our brand has the ability to succeed in all sorts of markets, but we’re definitely looking to capitalize on the name we’ve already made for ourselves in our part of the country.”

By curating a unique menu, the HenDough brand has been able to establish a devout following. The brand has already created a buzz throughout greater Asheville and Spartanburg with its unique chicken and donut pairings, helping the brand establish some serious word-of-mouth that is capable of crossing state lines.

Knoxville, Tennessee has a metro population of more than 850,000 people. HenDough’s two existing locations, in proximity of Asheville, North Carolina and Spartanburg, South Carolina, are part of areas with smaller market capacities.

“We believe the Knoxville area has the ability to establish multiple locations, and we’re excited to see how our brand can develop in one of the largest markets in the area.”

The population in greater Knoxville has grown by more than 5% in the past 10 years, promoting the city’s opportunities for franchise growth.

Paul and Sarah have addressed Knoxville’s proximity to the brand’s headquarters as an added benefit for franchise support. “We’re eager to let franchisees in Knoxville know that we’ll be able to support their needs on the corporate side,” Paul said. “This is a big reason we wanted to target Knoxville before other markets, and we’re excited to see how Tennessee expansion can help our brand going forward.”

The HenDough location in Greenville was founded in February 2020, just weeks before COVID-19 shutdowns ravaged the restaurant industry. The brand has been able to acknowledge new plans for expansion thanks to the solid performance of both its Greenville and Henderson locations in the past year and a projectable model that has proven itself through adversity.

HenDough anticipates an ability to expand further once a presence in Knoxville is established. “We are 100% committed to Knoxville for our immediate plans for growth, and we believe it will set up our brand for sustained growth in new markets too,” Paul said.

The total initial investment required to open a HenDough restaurant is $205,500-$643,500 (multi-developmental initial investment $235-500-$778,500). The initial franchise fee is $30,000 for one establishment and $15,000 for each additional restaurant. For more information, visit: https://hendough.com/franchise/