A popular casual dining restaurant is set to expand its offerings in the Magnolia State, but the list of cities for new locations to join the one restaurant in Olive Branch hasn’t been released publicly yet.

The company announced its strong start to Quarter 3 Thursday, signing a franchise development agreement led by new franchisee, Ellis Choi, to debut eight new restaurants in LA County, California, a key target market in the U.S. for the brand. This announcement comes on the heels of a remarkable two quarters of growth, ending the first half of the year with more than 480 locations across 36 states. Freddy’s has set its sights on reaching 500 units later this year.

“As we build upon a momentous first half of the year, we are thrilled to kick off a new quarter with an exciting development agreement that will introduce the Freddy’s brand to a highly desirable target market in California and further fuel our growth trajectory,” said Chris Dull, Chief Executive Officer at Freddy’s. “Our rapid expansion and increased brand exposure in Q1 and Q2 are a direct result of the strong partnerships we have cultivated with our franchisees. We recognize the immense value of these relationships in ensuring our continued growth and solidifying our position as an industry leader in the fast-casual restaurant segment. We look forward to leveraging our recent success and strategic initiatives to drive further growth throughout the remainder of the year.”

The Freddy’s franchisees leading the brand’s latest developments include:

• JRI, the brand’s largest franchisee, which currently operates more than 70 Freddy’s locations in several states, signed a deal that will bring four additional units to Utah County, UT.
• AOM, LLC will be opening two Freddy’s units in Alexandra, Louisiana.
• TX Fred, LLC has plans to open three new Freddy’s locations in Leona, Livingston, and Cleveland Texas.
• Additionally, Charleston Custard is expanding with two new units in Beaufort and Colleton Counties, SC.
• Ken and Samantha Weaver are set to open seven new locations in northern Indiana and Kalamazoo County, Michigan.
• Lastly, Ram-Z has signed a development agreement for four new Freddy’s restaurants in Rogers, Tulsa, and Creek counties in Oklahoma.

These deals are the latest additions to Freddy’s franchise development efforts, with more than 150 units in its current pipeline within target markets, which include Arkansas, Texas, Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina, Indiana, and Michigan, among others. In addition to this significant development momentum, Freddy’s recently celebrated the opening of a corporate-owned restaurant location in Belleville, Illinois featuring its newest restaurant prototype, as well as the brand’s non-traditional expansion and MLB stadium debut into St. Louis Cardinals’ Busch Stadium.

Freddy’s wide variety of traditional and non-traditional restaurants has consistently earned the brand recognition as a leading fast-casual concept and franchise system. Most recently, the brand ranked #70 on Entrepreneur Magazine’s highly competitive Franchise 500 ranking of the top franchise brands, QSR Magazine’s esteemed QSR 50 list at #46, as well as being awarded North America’s Best New National Brand Concept by Airports Council International for the opening of Freddy’s first airport location in 2021 in Oklahoma City’s Will Rogers World Airport.