Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Franchise Management International, Inc. announced the completion of their previously announced merger acquisition of Juicy Lucy's, a popular South Florida hamburger chain.
“We've been working with the management of Juicy Lucy's for a long time,” says Anthony Foster, founder and Chief Executive Officer of FMI, “and are happy to get to this point. Juicy Lucy's has been profitable every year since the company was founded in 1988, and we feel with our experience and expertise in franchised restaurants, we can grow the company significantly and add even further to the corporate profit picture.”
Juicy Lucy's was created as a double drive-thru, quick service restaurant chain serving high quality food, flavored with proprietary seasonings. The featured menu item is the quarter-pound hamburger, which has been rated for the past eight years “Best Hamburger” in southwest Florida, the area of greatest concentration of Juicy Lucy's.
Currently, Juicy Lucy's is dominated by profitable corporately owned operations, and the company feels this strong foundation provides the basis for successful growth through franchising
Juicy Lucy's Inc.'s revenues for the fiscal year ending January 3, 1998 were approximately $7.3 million. An average Juicy Lucy's location currently grosses in excess of $600,000 per year.
According to Foster, “We feel with strong franchise marketing and public relations, coupled with our philosophy of unparalleled support for new franchisees, Juicy Lucy's can become not only a major fast food player within regional markets, but will be a strong competitor in the double drive-thru segment in those markets within five years.”
In an effort to exploit the growth potential in southern Florida, FMI has chosen Ft. Lauderdale for its new corporate headquarters. They have relocated into their 3,500 square foot office space as of April 1. “Our new location allows access to three major airports and provides convenient hotel accommodations to facilitate franchisee meetings and training,” says Foster.
Anthony Foster is no stranger to franchise expansion, having served as Vice President of Franchising for Arby's, Inc., the largest roast beef restaurant chain in the world. Foster was responsible for franchise sales and openings, and prior to that, was Regional Vice President for Arby's, with direct responsibility for approximately 850 franchised restaurants.
As president of All American Food Group, his most recent position, Foster not only helped the company to go public but also helped them grow from eleven to forty-two company-owned and franchised locations during this past year.
FMI has also announced the recent hiring of E. Wayne Wallhausen as Vice President and General Counsel responsible for franchise and real estate contract administration. Mr.Wallhausen is a corporate attorney with extensive experience with all phases of contract matters in both domestic and international markets. He and Mr. Foster enjoyed a very successful relationship while growing the Arby's, Inc. franchise program.
“Although we are delighted with the acquisition of Juicy Lucy's and will concentrate on its development, we will continue to explore other growth possibilities for FMI,” says Foster. “In fact, we have several on the table right now.”
As of this date, FMI has fourteen company owned Juicy Lucy's and seven franchised locations in three states.
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