Newk’s Eatery, the nearly 100-unit fast-casual restaurant brand known for its signature hospitality and scratch-made meals, gives franchisees flexibility in restaurant formats, allowing them to find the best possible site for each market rather than forcing them into a single prototype. The restaurant can work across multiple formats, including freestanding restaurants, end caps, inline spaces, drive-thrus and takeaway-window concepts.
“We're looking for a great site first and foremost,” said Chris Cheek, chief development officer. “When we say ‘What is a great site?’ It could be inline, could be freestanding or a drive-thru.”
The flexibility allows franchisees to pursue sites that make the most sense financially and operationally in their local market.
Newk’s has significant experience converting second-generation restaurant spaces, allowing franchisees to often save money compared to building from the ground up, especially when moving into newer former restaurant locations. The franchise can also operate in smaller footprints, which lowers construction costs and reduces the amount of furniture and equipment needed.
“We can go as small as 2,200 square feet or as large as 4,000 square feet,” Cheek said. “By being able to shrink our footprint down, you have fewer tables and chairs to acquire to put into the building. You're actually constructing a smaller square footage inside. So there are some savings on the cost there.”
Newk’s actively supports franchisees with site selection and construction. Because the company operates 29 of its own corporate locations, many of which it developed itself, the leadership team has firsthand experience opening and growing restaurants in the right locations.
“They want it to be the right location for the right demographic, the right traffic counts and the right dayparts,” said Rick Howard, a multi-unit franchisee in Georgia. “It’s very specific. I would say Newk’s is more intentional than a lot of fast-food or QSR brands you see where stores are just lined up down the road together. That’s not necessarily Newk’s approach, and that’s been a big help for me coming into a brand I didn’t know that well at first.”
Newk’s designs its restaurant layouts around the open kitchen. Rather than shaping the kitchen around the dining room, the design process begins by positioning the open kitchen where guests will have a direct line of sight from the front entrance.
“If you look at our architectural plans, we actually call the open kitchen the ‘stage.’ The first thing the architect does is look at where the open kitchen can go so that any guest walking in the front door sees the kitchen first,” Cheek said. “Then the rest of the restaurant lays out around the open kitchen.”
The approach is meant to create a more engaging guest experience by immediately showcasing food preparation and activity as customers walk into the restaurant.
“The first thing you're going to notice is the open kitchen,” said Howard. “And I think that's really big for customers. It's an open book. You see what's going on, which is not always the case in a lot of restaurants.”
Newk’s has also made adjustments to its restaurant materials and finishes to help lower construction costs without changing the guest experience. The brand focuses on achieving the same visual appearance with more cost-effective materials, such as using painted walls instead of tile in certain areas.
“They use all the right materials,” Howard said. “I was so impressed with things like the lighting fixtures, for example, where obviously somebody really thought about what to use.”
Flexible restaurant formats, thoughtful site selection and an efficient buildout strategy give Newk’s franchisees a real estate model that helps them enter markets more strategically while maintaining the guest experience the brand is known for.
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/newks-eatery/.
Newk’s Eatery
SPONSORED
Newk’s Eatery gives franchisees flexibility in restaurant size, format and site selection, helping operators lower buildout costs and pursue smarter growth opportunities in their local markets.
Newk’s Eatery, the nearly 100-unit fast-casual restaurant brand known for its signature hospitality and scratch-made meals, gives franchisees flexibility in restaurant formats, allowing them to find the best possible site for each market rather than forcing them into a single prototype. The restaurant can work across multiple formats, including freestanding restaurants, end caps, inline spaces, drive-thrus and takeaway-window concepts.
“We're looking for a great site first and foremost,” said Chris Cheek, chief development officer. “When we say ‘What is a great site?’ It could be inline, could be freestanding or a drive-thru.”
The flexibility allows franchisees to pursue sites that make the most sense financially and operationally in their local market.
Newk’s has significant experience converting second-generation restaurant spaces, allowing franchisees to often save money compared to building from the ground up, especially when moving into newer former restaurant locations. The franchise can also operate in smaller footprints, which lowers construction costs and reduces the amount of furniture and equipment needed.
“We can go as small as 2,200 square feet or as large as 4,000 square feet,” Cheek said. “By being able to shrink our footprint down, you have fewer tables and chairs to acquire to put into the building. You're actually constructing a smaller square footage inside. So there are some savings on the cost there.”
Newk’s actively supports franchisees with site selection and construction. Because the company operates 29 of its own corporate locations, many of which it developed itself, the leadership team has firsthand experience opening and growing restaurants in the right locations.
“They want it to be the right location for the right demographic, the right traffic counts and the right dayparts,” said Rick Howard, a multi-unit franchisee in Georgia. “It’s very specific. I would say Newk’s is more intentional than a lot of fast-food or QSR brands you see where stores are just lined up down the road together. That’s not necessarily Newk’s approach, and that’s been a big help for me coming into a brand I didn’t know that well at first.”
Newk’s designs its restaurant layouts around the open kitchen. Rather than shaping the kitchen around the dining room, the design process begins by positioning the open kitchen where guests will have a direct line of sight from the front entrance.
“If you look at our architectural plans, we actually call the open kitchen the ‘stage.’ The first thing the architect does is look at where the open kitchen can go so that any guest walking in the front door sees the kitchen first,” Cheek said. “Then the rest of the restaurant lays out around the open kitchen.”
The approach is meant to create a more engaging guest experience by immediately showcasing food preparation and activity as customers walk into the restaurant.
“The first thing you're going to notice is the open kitchen,” said Howard. “And I think that's really big for customers. It's an open book. You see what's going on, which is not always the case in a lot of restaurants.”
Newk’s has also made adjustments to its restaurant materials and finishes to help lower construction costs without changing the guest experience. The brand focuses on achieving the same visual appearance with more cost-effective materials, such as using painted walls instead of tile in certain areas.
“They use all the right materials,” Howard said. “I was so impressed with things like the lighting fixtures, for example, where obviously somebody really thought about what to use.”
Flexible restaurant formats, thoughtful site selection and an efficient buildout strategy give Newk’s franchisees a real estate model that helps them enter markets more strategically while maintaining the guest experience the brand is known for.
To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/newks-eatery/.
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