Potbelly, which has been squarely focused on unit growth since coming out of the pandemic, has nearly 200 stores under development, the Chicago-based sandwich chain announced Tuesday.
The brand signed 192 new development commitments around the U.S., part of its Franchise Growth Acceleration Initiative. New restaurants are slated for New York, Maryland, Florida, Ohio, Washington, Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
The new Potbelly franchisees have experience with restaurant brands including Burger King, Dunkin’, Wendy’s and Wingstop, the operator said.
“Our 5-Pillar Strategy, which focuses on traffic-driven profitability and franchise unit growth, has yielded impressive results since putting it in place in late 2020,” President and CEO Bob Wright said. “We’re pleased with the continued momentum we’ve seen in 2023 in sales and traffic growth, margin expansion and franchise development commitments across the U.S.”
The latest round of development agreements is part of Potbelly’s long-term goal of reaching 2,000 locations, about 85% of which would be franchised. The chain currently has about 425 U.S. stores but only about 17% are currently run by franchisees.
Potbelly has announced a number of franchising and refranchising deals in recent months as it works toward that goal.
The fast-casual this week also debuted an updated version of its Potbelly Perks loyalty program.
Under the reimagined rewards offering, members can earn rewards more quickly and access more of the menu for rewards redemptions. It also replaces the chain’s former Points program with a bankable Coins format. Points from the previous version will now be converted to Potbelly Coins.
Members earn 10 Coins for every dollar spent at Potbelly, with higher member levels earning more on each visit. In the past, diners needed 1,000 Points to earn an entrée. Under the new system, redemption begins at 200 Coins and options include sides, cookies, shakes, drinks and more.
“The reimagined Perks loyalty program puts Potbelly fans in greater control of their rewards,” CMO David Daniels said in a statement. “Previously our fans had to wait until they had enough points to earn a reward for a free entrée. Now they can earn a reward in as little as one or two visits and have access to the entire menu.”
Earlier this month, Potbelly said in releasing preliminary financial results that it expects same-store sales growth in the fourth quarter of 5.9% to 6.4%, up from earlier guidance of 4% to 6% growth. The chain said it predicts a roughly 12% increase in full-year same-store sales for 2023, with average unit volumes of about $1.3 million.
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