The Blackstone-owned chain is leaning on a 300-restaurant operator to fill one of its thinnest regions, with the first cafe due in early 2027.
New York holds about 5.8% of the U.S. population but only about 3.7% of Tropical Smoothie Cafe's stores, according to a Restaurant Dive analysis. A 40-unit deal announced Oct. 19 goes after that gap. Aurify Kingstar, a New York operator that has developed, operated or acquired more than 300 restaurants, including Five Guys and Wingstop units, will build cafes across Albany, Westchester County, the Bronx and western Connecticut, with the first due in early 2027.
Partner Andy Stern said, according to Restaurant Business, that the new holding company was set up "to keep it clean" from Aurify's other franchise agreements. Tropical Smoothie, bought by Blackstone in 2024, says it has more than 1,750 cafes and expects to open its 1,800th by year end.
Revscale Media (illustration)An appeals court called SBS Franchising's arbitration clause unconscionable, letting two cleaners press claims that they were misclassified employees, not franchisees.
EverSmith BrandsThe Riverside-backed commercial services platform will teach owners across seven brands, from 1-Tom-Plumber to U.S. Lawns, to build AI agents in the same building as the walk-in coolers.
Revscale Media (illustration)The franchisee-owned buy here pay here chain is pitching established dealer groups on adding subprime sales and in-house lending to their portfolios.
Chubby GroupA public restaurant company is trading its dining rooms for grocery shelves, selling 47 units to a fast-growing rival in a deal valued at up to $100 million.
WingstopWingstop and Pokeworks wrote their own technology. Hand & Stone added AI to tools it already had. The real dividing line in franchise AI is not build versus buy.
Wendy'sA bankrupt Wendy's franchisee is shutting 41 money-losing restaurants. The franchisor wanted a say in which ones, offered to cover the losses, and was turned down.
