Scott Alvarado and his son, Emerson, signed a four-unit franchise agreement. The father and son duo will be partners in their future business endeavor with Robeks.
Smoothie and acai bowl concept Robeks will add seven new stores as part of two recently signed franchise deals. Scott Alvarado will develop four stores in Southern California and Ripu Sidhu plans to open three in the Johnson County area of Kansas.
Alvarado, a California native, has a background as an electrical engineer and owned a manufacturing business, which he grew from $300,000 in sales to $3 million before selling it. The itch to again own a business never left.
“I had that buzz to get back into business again,” said Alvarado. “I had an opportunity to join forces with my son, Emerson, and he’s going to be my partner in this endeavor.”
The two selected Los Angeles-based Robeks for several reasons, the most important to Alvarado being ease of operations. Neither he nor his son have restaurant experience, so Robeks stood out as a simpler idea while still being in the hospitality industry.
After 15 years as a nurse, Robeks fan Ripu Side signed a three-unit franchise deal with the company. Her first store is planned to open in Spring 2023.
Sidhu echoed Alvarado’s observations. A nurse for 15 years and a frequent customer of Robeks, she dreamed of being an entrepreneur herself.
“I’ve enjoyed working as a nurse, but it’s always been my goal to be an entrepreneur,” Sidhu said. “For the last two years, we were looking for a place to franchise with, and I liked Robeks the most.”
Sidhu plans to open the first of her three locations in spring 2023, with a goal to have all of them open by 2025. As for Alvarado, he’s expecting summer of 2023 will mark his first opening.
These two franchisees are part of the bigger expansion plan for Robeks, which has 93 stores spread across 12 states, about half in California. The brand wants to break into a few new markets such as Denver, Salt Lake City, Cincinnati, and the Chicago area, said President David Rawnsley, and is being selective in the process.
“We’re looking for experienced food operators who are with other brands and maybe have experienced a saturation with their brand or category. I think we’re a great addition to their portfolio,” said Rawnsley, though given the simplicity of the model he added he’s confident that anyone would feel comfortable running a Robeks. Unlike most restaurants, there isn’t a need for a grill or cook. Even with the addition of avocado and nut butter toast to the menu, all that’s required is a toaster.
A typical Robeks store is between 800 and 1200 square feet, allowing for a small footprint for franchisees in invest in.
Speaking of that recent addition, simplicity was again the name of the game. Rawnsley knew franchisees wouldn’t suddenly want to hire cooks or squeeze in more equipment. Seeing the trend of avocado toast, and the minimal impact on existing operations, it’s been a winning scenario for customers, franchisees and Robeks as a whole.
“As a franchisor, you’re in business with two groups of people: the customers that walk through the doors of your restaurant as well as the franchisees that make the investment and run those restaurants on your behalf,” said Rawnsley.
The other aspect that Rawnsley believes is attractive with Robeks is its small footprint. Stores are between 800 and 1,200 square feet and the investment cost is on the lower end for restaurants, at $286,650 to $395,050. The average unit volume for the top 50 percent of franchise stores is $898,685; the AUV for the top 25 percent is $1.09 million. Systemwide (not including one corporate store), the AUV is $681,219.
Rawnsley is also confident in the smoothie segment of the market. On the corporate side of Robeks since 2014 and also a franchisee and regional director in Los Angeles, he’s seen trends rise and fall, but said smoothies and healthy living are a more permanent fixture. They are also adaptable. Robeks started serving acai bowls, fresh juice and toast, with eyes on the horizon for the next trend.