Hawaiian Bros Enters Florida With 52-Unit Southern Rock Deal

Max Piet already runs nearly 200 restaurants for two other brands. Now he is adding a third, and a whole state to go with it.

Hawaiian Bros Island Grill signed a 52-unit development agreement with Piet's Southern Rock Restaurants to bring the brand to Florida, the company announced Oct. 13. Southern Rock plans to open the restaurants across Jacksonville, Gainesville, Tampa and Orlando over six years, with 24 of them in the first three. The group currently operates McAlister's Deli and Dave's Hot Chicken franchises in 13 states.

The brand called it one of its largest development commitments. Grant Kreutzer, senior vice president of franchise development, pointed to the operator's back office as the reason: "Their strong infrastructure makes them exactly the kind of operator we want growing alongside Hawaiian Bros."

The numbers behind that preference are worth a look. Since launching in 2018, Hawaiian Bros has grown to more than 80 restaurants in 14 states, most of them franchised. It says more than 350 additional restaurants are under development agreements across 20 states, held by just 13 multi-unit franchisees. That works out to an average of about 27 committed units per franchisee, and a pipeline more than four times the size of the open system.

Concentration like that cuts both ways. A brand that grows through a handful of large operators gets speed and capital it could not raise alone. It also ties its expansion to those operators' balance sheets and attention, which here is split across other brands. Southern Rock's deal by itself equals about one in seven of the restaurants in the stated pipeline.

The concept is built to appeal to that kind of buyer. Hawaiian Bros cooks with no freezers, fryers or microwaves, and keeps a short menu of plate lunches, which the company says encourages consistent execution. For a group running several brands at once, a simpler kitchen is easier to staff.

It fits a pattern we have tracked all month: franchisors handing whole territories to proven multi-unit operators rather than selling single units, as Krispy Kreme did when it gave New York growth to a 12-shop franchisee.

"This is an important new chapter for Southern Rock, and we look forward to growing the Hawaiian Bros brand with a sharp focus on great teams and strong leadership," Piet said.

The test is pace. Twenty-four restaurants in three years means opening roughly one every six weeks, in a state where the brand has no restaurants yet.