Happy Belly Food Group has expanded its portfolio with the opening of a new Joey Turks Island Grill, a fast-casual restaurant specialising in Caribbean cuisine, located in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada.
The fast-casual restaurant is situated at 1900 Eglington Avenue East, brings Caribbean Island recipes to a largest area in the Greater Toronto Area.
Joey Turks' presence in Scarborough aligns with the city’s deep-rooted Caribbean and island culture, celebrated through various festivals and events, Happy Belly noted.
In the new location, Joey Turks will offer dishes such as savoury jerk chicken and island beef stew.
Happy Belly chief investment officer Sean Black said: “Within four short months of securing a real estate location for our franchisee, we are thrilled to celebrate the opening of our first franchised Joey Turks Island Grill.
“This second location for the brand demonstrates our ability to swiftly execute and deliver on our accelerated growth plan for our brands. In just over 13 months, we have launched the Joey Turks brand from scratch, opened our first corporate location, signed a 30-unit Area Development agreement, and now signed and opened our first franchised location.”
The new location is said to be strategically placed next to popular tenants such as Starbucks and Wal-Mart, which is expected to attract a broad customer base in this densely populated area, the brand added.
The outlet is poised to leverage the brand's demographics, with significant opportunities for in-store traffic and delivery services.
This expansion follows Happy Belly Food Group's recent franchise agreement to grow its Heal Wellness brand in Richmond Hill, Ontario, further cementing its presence in the Canadian market.
Black added: “With a total of 376 contractually committed retail locations in the pipeline across all emerging brands in the Happy Belly Portfolio, our team is heads down sourcing and continually reviewing real estate locations, combing through franchisee applications, and working hand in hand with our area developers to accelerate the growth of our asset light franchising model.
"Our overarching strategy has always been to focus on the development and growth of emerging brands within the food sector. Anticipating the continued rollout of our franchising initiative, we expect these new franchised locations to contribute to the company's overall revenue and profitability."
