New York, NY – Wolfnights, the hottest gourmet wrap concept in New York City, signed the lease for a new location at 40 West 55th Street in Midtown Manhattan in a move to more than double its existing footprint and kick off a 10-year growth plan for corporate and franchise expansion.
Wolfnights Founder and CEO Itai Afek is preparing for rapid nationwide growth, with ambitious plans to open three additional New York locations in 2021 and more than 500 new locations across the country in the next 10 years. Opportunities for low-cost restaurant conversions and unprecedented real estate deals accelerated the concept’s growth plans in 2020.
“I signed a lease three months ago for a location at 2675 Broadway in Manhattan and knew that I’d continue to look for spaces when I saw the deals on real estate available in New York City,” said Afek. “I’ll be able to secure and open three locations for the same investment that one location would have cost two years ago. Since they are conversions, I’ll be able to open inexpensively and quickly. I expect to open on Broadway in June.”
Afek has two new locations secured and is actively seeking a third. He plans to open three additional locations in New York City this year, bringing his Manhattan footprint to five stores.
In partnership with Fransmart, the franchise development company responsible for the explosive growth of iconic brands like Five Guys Burgers & Fries and QDOBA Mexican Grill, Wolfnights plans to quickly expand in New York, New Jersey and along the east coast.
“It’s a tenant’s market right now – and the perfect time for businesses to lock in amazing lease terms and take advantage of low-cost conversions,” said Dan Rowe, franchise industry veteran and CEO of Fransmart. “If you had been considering franchising before COVID-19 hit, you should revisit that idea now with a hot concept like Wolfnights before the window of opportunity closes.”
Founded by Afek in 2011, Wolfnights creates the ideal bite®, ensuring that each bite contains salty, sweet, sour, crunchy and chewy, by using the highest quality ingredients to create consistent, one-of-a-kind flavor experiences for customers. Many of the concept’s signature menu items feature a blend of Mediterranean and Thai elements, from spicy pickled pineapple to housemade coconut vanilla sauce. Their fresh dough is baked to perfection for each order on the IronWolf®, a huge iron dome heated by a blazing fire, modeled after the traditional food preparation techniques used in the Mediterranean region.