JERICHO, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nathan’s Famous, Inc., the American tradition serving New York favorites for more than 100 years, today announces its partnership with Franklin Junction to expand its reach and provide fans with ready-to-cook meal kits, as well as hot cooked meals, made possible through host kitchens across the country.
“Restaurant delivery sales have seen incredible growth during these unprecedented times,” states James Walker, Senior Vice President, Restaurants. “The idea around delivery-only kitchens is something we began researching and implementing many months ago. When we came across this unique opportunity, we jumped at the chance to partner with Franklin Junction and collaborate on making New York favorites more accessible to Nathan’s enthusiasts around the country.”
The Franklin Junction platform has rapidly expanded its roster of concepts, partnering with more than twenty leading brands from across US and International markets. These concepts are being deployed across a network of approximately 550 host facilities currently on the platform. It’s expected that another 1,000 host facilities will join the Franklin Junction network by the end of 2020.
In Phase I of this partnership, Nathan’s Famous will launch six meal kit options that will roll out in several hundred host kitchens this spring. The meal kits will feature Nathan’s world-famous hot dogs, as well as new menu items including the NY Cheesesteak by Pat LaFrieda, and hand dipped chicken options, combined with the brand’s one-of-a-kind crinkle cut fries. Each meal kit is available for on-demand ordering and delivery through various third-party aggregators like Grubhub, DoorDash and Postmates.
“What’s unique about this opportunity in Phase I is that Nathan’s fans will be able to place an order at any time and cook at their own convenience. With the new normal that many of us are living, mealtimes have shifted, and our customers are looking for easy ways to procure dinner safely and cook as their schedule permits,” continues Walker.
In the coming months, Nathan’s Famous and Franklin Junction will launch Phase II of the initiative, which will offer items from Nathan’s new menu cooked to order. The new menu features a line of hand-dipped chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders, onion rings, a hot honey half chicken, a new line of fresh Angus beef burgers, a fantastic Nathan’s New York Cheesesteak by Pat LaFrieda, as well as additional hero sandwiches and a premium line of milkshakes, alongside it’s famous hot dogs and fries.
To view images of Nathan’s Famous new menu items, visit here.
To learn more Nathan’s Famous, visit www.nathansfamous.com.
About Nathan’s Famous
Nathan’s is a Russell 2000 Company that currently distributes its products in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and ten foreign countries through its restaurant system, foodservice sales programs and product licensing activities. Last year, over 700 million Nathan’s Famous hot dogs were sold. Nathan’s was ranked #22 on the Forbes 2014 list of the Best Small Companies in America and was listed as the Best Small Company in New York State in October 2013. For additional information about Nathan’s, please visit our website at www.nathansfamous.com.
About Franklin Junction
Franklin Junction created the concept of the “Host Kitchen” and is a digital platform helping restaurants monetize excess kitchen and storage capacity by facilitating the production and online sales of additional menu items. Host facilities are matched with a carefully curated roster of exciting restaurant concepts allowing the Host to increase revenue while the hosted brands expand their geographic reach with limited capital expenditure for both. Franklin Junction’s proprietary process determines what products can be successfully sold out of host facilities, from branded hot foods to pre-packaged food items. Host facilities have now expanded to also include retailers outside the food industry who benefit from Franklin Junction’s approach to last-mile micro-distribution, including hotels and convenience stores. Franklin Junction currently has more than 500+ host facilities and 20+ partner brands. For more information, visit www.franklinjunction.com.
Except for historical information contained in this news release, the matters discussed are forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended that involve risks and uncertainties. Words such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intend”, and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which are based on the current belief of the Company’s management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company’s management. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include but are not limited to: the status of our licensing and supply agreements, including the impact of our supply agreement for hot dogs with John Morrell & Co.; the impact of the recent COVID-19 outbreak; the impact of our indebtedness, including the effect on our ability to fund working capital, operations and make new investments; economic; weather (including the impact on the supply of cattle and the impact on sales at our restaurants particularly during the summer months), and change in the price of beef trimmings; our ability to pass on the cost of any price increases in beef and beef trimmings; legislative and business conditions; the collectability of receivables; changes in consumer tastes; the ability to attract franchisees; the impact of the minimum wage legislation on labor costs in New York State or other changes in labor laws, including regulations which could render a franchisor as a “joint employee” or the impact of our new union contracts; our ability to attract competent restaurant and managerial personnel; the enforceability of international franchising agreements; the future effects of any food borne illness, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, BSE and e coli; and the risk factors reported from time to time in the Company’s SEC reports. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update such forward-looking statements.