BOCA RATON, Fla. -- NexStore MarketPlace is now offering franchise opportunities in South Florida, the convenience store/gas station/gourmet market/restaurant outlet's founder and CEO Bill Knight told The Boca Raton News.
The original concept store opened in December 2004. The new franchise outlets, called NexStore Express, will serve today's fast-paced, working professionals with quick, convenient, home-style, healthy alternatives to fast foodat affordable prices, he told the newspaper.
NexStore CEO Knight said entrepreneurs [image-nocss] looking to succeed in the foodservice industry want the experience, expertise and brand loyalty that NexStore has to offer.
Knight developed the first combination gas station/c-stores in Florida in 1969, said the report. Since then, he has kept an eye on the market, looking for ways to improve on that idea, it said.
That's what he did with NexStore. While designing the building, he made accommodation for a generator that would keep the place running after hurricanes. He created an outdoor caf a at one end of the eating place so employees at many nearby businesses could get a lunch break. And he keeps gasoline prices among the lowest in the area.
The flagship location in Boca Raton will serve as the commissary, producing the gourmet food for the NexStore Express outlets being developed in Palm Beach and Broward counties, said Knight. We believe this will provide our franchise owners with an enormous competitive advantage. By eliminating the expertise and labor required to prepare the food, they will be able to focus their attention completely on the operational and customer service aspects of the business.
Other commissaries will be used for NexStore Express outlets in Miami-Dade and Martin counties, he said.
Our strategy is to open fully staffed, state-of-the art NexStore Express franchise outlets throughout South Florida and the Treasure Coast, he added. We know that there is a demand for high-quality, ready-to-serve gourmet food in every neighborhood, and we're here to meet that demand. We have created the recipe for success by knowing what consumers need and want. We are ready to pass that along to franchisees looking for a one-of-a-kind opportunity in the foodservice industry.
The typical NexStore Express franchise will be about 3,000 square feet, and will contain the chef's Showcase, the center attraction featuring more than 30 chef-crated gourmet meals along with a grab-and-go display. Each store will also feature a bakery, caf a, deli, grill, sushi bar, salad bar and Chinese station, the report said.
We have tapped the home-meal replacement market and are taking it to the next level, executive chef and COO Roger Bowles told the paper. NexStore was created in response to the growing need for healthy, quality meals that are ready to serve.
The original store is a 12,500-sq.-ft. facility featuring ready-to-go cuisine that includes sushi, pizza and Cornish game hens. It features a bakery, a Starbucks cafe, juice bar and meals to go such as chicken parmigiana and teriyaki salmon.
NexStore's food is cooked on site and "recipe engineered" to give it a restaurant-quality taste. Chefs have a minimum five years' experience in high-volume cooking. Then is a "grab-and-go section: three open-air refrigerated casesone with imported wine, champagne, dessert wine, imported and domestic beers, gourmet soda and water and the other two with 12 soups, sushi, salads and meals, such as chicken parmigiana with linguine and teriyaki salmon with rice. Also, it offers made-to-order sandwiches, sushi and salad stations and a build-your-own-pasta station. The deli has 100 varieties of cheese, and the hot grill station cooks and carves chicken and fish. Cuisines of all stylesfrom Greek and Italian to Mexican and Cubanare represented.
The store has an outside patio with 24 tables and seating for 100 people, as well as a separate 24-hour c-store.
Knight, an Exxon distributor, said NexStore brands its own gasoline to keep the price at its 20 pumps competitive. Unlike other shopping gas stations, customers won't be able to leave their cars at the pump and go into the market. They will, however, have 211 parking spaces to choose from. Knight said he is considering a free valet service at the pump island.
Click here for a video tour of NexStore.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.