How Squeeze Massage Provides Franchisees With an Expert Real Estate Team to Handle All Aspects of Site Selection and Build Out

With an ambitious plan to reach 500 units by 2027, Squeeze Massage offers an unprecedented opportunity for entrepreneurs to join “The Feel-Good Revolution” with the backing of a supportive and world-class massage franchise. And, as any franchisor will tell you, the art of real estate management is a massive part of that support infrastructure. Location, as they say, is everything and Squeeze understands this deeply.

“Squeeze designed its real estate process and flow specifically with the operating partner experience in mind,” said Kathrina Reyes, Director of Real Estate & Development for Squeeze Massage. “From onboarding through site selection, LOI and lease negotiation, permitting and construction project management we have selected a truly best in class team to make the process as smooth as possible for our franchisees. We know that our operating partners are likely not real estate or construction experts, so we strive to take the guesswork out of the experience.”

Finding and Building the Right Site

The journey from site selection to the opening of a franchise is meticulously managed by Squeeze's real estate team. That team includes three key vendor partners who are instrumental in finding, designing, developing and building Squeeze shops in the very best locations. 

To start, the brand works exclusively with SABRE, an NYC-based real estate firm that assists with territory planning, site selection and deal negotiation. “We start by working with SABRE to engage a local brokerage team, who knows our operating partner’s territory like the back of their hand,” said Reyes. “It is critical that we have a deep understanding of the area’s current offerings as well as growth plans, and also understand cotenancies and adjacencies in the developments we consider.”

Jenny Weinman, a Squeeze Operating Partner out of Los Angeles, says she was initially terrified of the commercial real estate and construction process since she had no prior background in either. But after meeting with the SABRE team, she knew she was in good hands. 

“During my discovery process, Squeeze shared more about all the vendors they hand picked,” said Weinman. “I met several members of SABRE’s team and also spoke with existing franchisees who, like me, came from other industries and were new to retail real estate. Those impressions with and about SABRE made me really comfortable moving forward knowing that Squeeze only works with the best of the best, and has the benefit of knowledge and experience of national advisors like SABRE helping all of us operating partners along the way.”

Weinman says SABRE gave her the tools and data that helped her move forward confidently knowing she had secured the best possible deal for herself. “They are often working with the same landlords and developers for multiple clients, which helped me get a leg up in knowing what deal terms to ask for,” she said. “They have an incredibly well thought out and robust LOI to ensure that my interests are being looked after — even interests that I didn't know would be relevant down the road.”

Victoria Shen, a Squeeze Operating Partner based out of Chicago, says she originally joined the brand because she could see the amount of care that went into crafting the business model, and real estate was a big part of that equation. 

“The support team has been there with the operating partners from the start, which gives us peace of mind, regardless of if you are new or experienced, in owning a business,” said Shen. “It not only gives operating partners like us — who have come from the corporate world and have never owned a business — extra support in introducing us to best practices, but also helps maintain consistency across the board when looking for the best sites.”

Once an ideal site is secured, Operating Partners work with Heitler Houstoun Architects, the architectural masterminds behind Drybar, to maximize revenue generating spaces within the shop. They will also work alongside Sevan Multi-Site Solutions as their project management team, leveraging years of experience and national vendor partnerships from the work they have done with clients such as Amazon, Starbucks, McDonalds, Walmart, Walgreens, Chipotle and more. 

“The real estate selection and buildout was more involved than I expected,” Shen said. “I had managed projects similar to those in the past and didn’t know that I really needed a project management team to help out. They stepped in to make sure the timelines were reasonable and helped find reputable general contractors.” 

A Tailored, Collaborative and Localized Approach

While the Squeeze team has worked hard to build a comprehensive and consistent real estate process across the board, they also understand that each territory and Operating Partner is unique, which means their needs are unique, as well. 

“Some territories may face low inventory, exclusivity challenges, regionally-higher construction costs, etc,” said Reyes. “With our process and partnerships, Squeeze is poised to tackle all of these challenges and more.”

The Los Angeles market, for example, was full of its own unique challenges, Weinman says, due to high demand and low supply. 

“The real estate team at Squeeze encouraged me to keep going until I found exactly the right deal,” Weinman said. “I loved having the CEO Brittney Driscoll's input and perspective from years of launching hundreds of Drybar stores. Kat Reyes advocated for me and cheered me on, making sure we dot all our i's and cross all our t's and protecting my interests at every turn. I was able to move forward with confidence knowing that the Squeeze Real Estate Committee signed off on my site selection, deal terms, financial projections and more.”

Christina Boucher is a Squeeze Operating Partner in Boston who signed on knowing that location would be everything. From day one, she says the SABRE team, along with her local real estate team, CPG, was very supportive and committed to finding the optimal site in her market. 

“They are a wealth of knowledge and always guiding us in the right direction,” she said. “They give us the autonomy to make decisions with the perfect amount of support and feedback along the way. Their knowledge of the commercial real estate space, the history of the towns and locations we are exploring along with the demos is beyond impressive. We truly enjoy spending time touring Boston with the team and consider them very close partners and friends.”

Similarly, Shen says the Squeeze real estate team performed the initial groundwork in narrowing down the territories and areas for her locations, but made sure she was involved every step of the way. 

“They shared the marketing information and strategies used to recommend locations, and asked us for input before, during and after the site recommendations,” Shen said. “This way, we were able to get a better understanding of each area, from a commercial perspective, as well as put our own sensibilities in it.”

In addition to an in-person area tour soon after execution of their franchise agreement, Squeeze operating partners also meet biweekly with Reyes, along with SABRE, Heitler and Sevan, to review potential locations and discuss LOIs. Once a project is post-lease, the cadence increases to weekly and expands to include the construction team. 

In 2024, Squeeze plans to conduct quarterly "lunch and learns" with the broker teams where operating partners can take a deeper dive into the demographics and psychographics that inform searches, learn about common deal terminology and engage with the team and brokerage partners to dive into industry trends, learnings and strategies.

“We empower our operating partners to feel confident in the process, which — let’s face it — can be daunting to those not familiar with the real estate site selection and development journey,” said Reyes. “We have developed several tools to help educate our franchisees and often receive feedback from them that we have turned a usually confusing process into something that’s Easy Peasy Squeezy!”

Exceeding Expectations

Now, with plans to officially open in the near future, Weinman, Shen and Boucher all say that the Squeeze real estate process was a huge advantage in establishing their local business.

“I'm so glad that Squeeze isn't cutting any corners with me or the other operating partners so that we will all be successful and keep elevating the brand to ensure every Squeeze customer has an amazing experience at every location,” Weinman said. “I move forward confidently knowing that my investment is being protected by a rock solid team where everyone is aligned to ensure that Squeeze is a huge success nationally.”

Boucher agrees that Squeeze has exceeded the initial expectations set when she first joined as an Operating Partner. “The structure is so well thought out and easy to follow and execute on,” she said. “Additionally, they provide exceptional support in each step of the process. We appreciate and value this so much.” 

Overall, Shen says the process relieved her from numerous responsibilities that would have cost her much more time and effort to manage. “There are so many critical items that need to be addressed when starting a franchise — it definitely gives one peace of mind knowing that there is a team of people working to get the best results for one’s business,” she said.

As an emerging brand, Squeeze has made it a practice and priority to conduct construction retrospectives after each project and to collect and apply those learnings to each new shop, resulting in project efficiencies, improved timelines and reduced costs as they grow. 

With over 85 territories in development, the team will continue to adapt to support the evolving needs of Operating Partners and ensure a consistent, high-quality experience across all Squeeze locations.

For more information about owning a Squeeze franchise, visit https://1851franchise.com/squeezemassage