• Dae Gee Korean BBQ announced the signing of a master franchise agreement that will bring up to 20 new restaurants to Mexico. The expansion will be led by Puerto Vallarta-based Restaurant Management Group (RMG), whose partners possess more than 100 years of combined restaurant and franchise experience with brands such as Jamba Juice, Nathan’s Famous, Mark Pi’s, Taco Maker, and more. The group plans to develop their locations across various parts of Mexico. Dae Gee, which means “pig” in Korean, offers customers an experience to cook their own meat on grill tops at their tables.
• McDonald’s Russian buyer, Alexander Govor, said the business is growing faster than expected on the first anniversary of the U.S. burger giant’s sale of all its restaurants in the country following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. One year on, Vkusno & tochka, or “Tasty & that’s it,” is reopening restaurants at a slightly faster pace than planned, is hoping to have more than 900 by the end of 2023, and is serving around 2 million people each day, Govor said, as reported by Reuters. Govor said partners in Belarus and Kazakhstan were so far refusing to cooperate, something he put down to problems with the local authorities. “But if they allow them, we are ready to sign an agreement with them at any moment,” he said. Russian authorities and Govor have said McDonald’s has an option to buy back its Russia restaurants within 15 years. McDonald’s did not comment on that option for the Reuters article.
• Slim Chickens announced its new restaurant opening in Perran Sands, United Kingdom. Multi-unit operating group Boparan Restaurant Group and their franchise partner Bourne Leisure are spearheading the opening. The “better chicken” brand offers cooked-to-order fresh food and 17 house-made dipping sauces, along with its devoted fanbase, known as “Slimthusiasts.”
• Studio Pilates International announced plans to open its first U.K. studio on June 10 in Exeter. “While we were in Australia, my partner and I both went regularly to our local studio and we were so impressed with the workouts, the instructors, and the system, so different from anything we’d done in the U.K.,” said studio owner Felicity Kelly. The 21-year-old brand says additional studios are on track to open later this year in North London, Bournemouth, and Bristol.
• Subway has reached an agreement with a master franchisee to open nearly 4,000 new sandwich shops across mainland China over the next 20 years. The deal with master franchisee Shanghai Fu-Rui-Shi Corporate Development Co Ltd. (FRS) is the largest such agreement in Subway’s history. FRS is funded by a consortium of private investors including Asia Investment Capital. Under the terms of the agreement, FRS will get exclusive rights to manage and develop all Subway locations in China. The 4,000 new restaurants represent a sevenfold increase in Subway’s current footprint in the country. “China is a key market with significant long-term growth opportunity, and we look forward to bringing the Subway experience to even more guests in the region,” Subway Chief Executive John Chidsey said in a statement.
• Wyndham Hotels & Resorts announced the opening of the 68-room Istanbul New Airport Hotel, its first Trademark Collection by Wyndham hotel in Turkey. “There is opportunity for midscale and upscale hotels in Turkey,” said Murat Özel, Country Director of Turkey, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. “This new opening reinforces our commitment to our continued expansion in the country.”