Aloha Poke Co., the nation's premier fast-casual poke restaurant concept, today announced the opening of its first of eleven stores planned for the Houston-metro market. Husband and wife team, Amanda and Corey Tabb of Cypress, are leading Aloha Poke's entrance into the Lone Star State. The new Aloha Poke is located in the Fairfield Town Center Shopping Plaza at 29040 Highway 290, Suite A05 in Cypress, Texas.

While Amanda continues her successful career in the Texas energy industry, Corey recently retired from the same field. The two approached the idea of fast-casual franchising at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic as a means of diversifying their financial holdings. This business model creates additional revenue streams and provides more control over current finances, while starting a generational wealth portfolio of business ventures to leave their three daughters. The husband-and-wife team set their sights on restaurant franchising concepts that promoted environmentally friendly, sustainable food sourcing, while offering members of their Cypress community a premium, healthy fast-casual food option. 

"We are thrilled to be the first Aloha Poke restaurant in the state we love, the state we are raising our family," said Amanda. "As first-time franchise owners, we decided on Aloha Poke for several reasons including the brand's franchise development program, the projected return on investment, the ease of operations, low labor requirements, and most importantly, the sheer beauty and high-quality nutritional value of the brand's dedicated menu."

Amanda and Corey also believe that the brand's success is founded on its firm adherence to its core values, making the decision to participate in Aloha Poke's franchise business ownership that much more attractive. These values include fresh-packed sashimi-grade fish, clean and simple ingredients, corporate governance that presents a transparent FDD during the discovery process, right-sized brick and mortar build outs, and sustainable food logistics.

The planned Houston expansion nearly doubles Aloha Poke's total franchise location holdings and spearheads the brand's long-term development plan across other metroplex areas including Dallas/Fort Worth and Austin.

"Amanda and Corey are smart, passionate, and driven business owners, and we see them as the ideal franchisees to lead Aloha Poke's expansion to Texas," said Chris Birkinshaw, CEO. "Houston is one of the fastest growing and culturally diverse markets in the nation, and we are very excited that the Tabb family will help introduce our brand and amazing food to new customers here and across the US."

According to industry analysts, the market for poke and similar food concepts is expected to grow by $1.2B by 2024. Aloha Poke franchising is uniquely poised to meet this growing demand with consumers looking for new, innovative ways to eat clean, unprocessed foods while on the go.

"Aloha Poke is the perfect example of where consumer trends are heading within the fast casual space," added Birkinshaw. "The COVID-19 pandemic has created operational challenges for many food and beverage franchises. Our concept, though also affected, has managed to bypass most of the more serious issues faced by restaurants today. Aloha Poke's expansion is credited to the ease of operations, sustainable food sourcing practices, optimized overhead costs, and a health-forward menu, all while meeting consumers' desire for delicious foods that are also clean, simple, and unprocessed."

Aloha Poke Ahead of the COVID-19 Learning Curve

With the pandemic causing sharp acceleration of convenience trends, restaurateurs and brands find themselves challenged to meet high labor and operational costs, anticipate rapidly changing purchasing behavior, and to deliver what consumers want safely and efficiently. In many respects, Aloha Poke was moving toward this re-imagined fast casual franchise concept well before COVID arrived. 

"The restaurant of the future was in development before the pandemic entered our lives," said Paul Tripodes, VP of Franchise Development for Aloha Poke. "Franchise operations oriented towards less consumer friction, less reliance on physical interaction, and more focus on digital have most likely experienced fewer growing pains in the short and long term. COVID simply added fire to the fuel of change within the food and beverage industry. The future of restaurants is being reimagined in the present day."

To learn more about Aloha Poke Co. franchise opportunities, visit https://alohapokefranchising.com and for more information about the brand, visit the company website at https://www.alohapokeco.com.

Proudly reimagining the idea of fast food, Aloha Poke Co. quickly packs ahi tuna, Patagonian salmon, and other clean, simple, responsibly sourced ingredients into beautiful, delicious bowls. Starting as a food stall in downtown Chicago's French Market in 2016, Aloha Poke has grown to 17 locations throughout the Midwest, Southeast, Southwest, and Mid-Atlantic.