Black-owned restaurant, Joe’s Gourmet secures franchise opportunity within Walmart

Atlanta-based restaurant, Joe’s Gourmet recently announced the news of its franchise opportunity within Walmart stores.

The restaurant which started as a fish seller on the streets of neighborhoods has since grown into a successful food company. It recognizes the value of traditional entrepreneurship and blends it with the food-driven culture of Americans, especially Black communities, according to Black Enterprise. Joe’s Gourmet consists of a chain of restaurants and fish fry products available in Walmart stores nationwide.

Joe’s Gourmet was founded by Joseph Dowell Jr., Patricia Dowell, Joseph Dowell III, and Maranda Walker-Dowell – a family of passion-driven entrepreneurs. The franchise roll-out is currently processing which will enable other entrepreneurs to run their individual Joe’s Gourmet location.

Co-founder of Joe’s Gourmet, Walker-Dowell told Black Enterprise that the restaurant owners are planning towards expanding the launch of the franchise into more in-store locations. This concept will include the selling of fish, chicken, or shrimp which can be added to a salad or a sandwich.

“So, the [franchise] deal is available immediately. We have one store inside Walmart. We’re opening a second location. And then we have opportunities for people to franchise within the Walmart Stores,” Walker-Dowell said. “It’s a great opportunity because Walmart has a lot of [foot] traffic, and I think for us to be able to take advantage of partnering with such a large company, by putting your store inside of theirs.”

The co-founder added that all the owners decided to franchise because it was a perfect way to let others share in the opportunity they have with Walmart. She further explained that interested individuals would have to sign up to contact them. A selection process is done to ensure that all intending Joe’s Gourmet franchise owners are capable of running their locations. Once an individual has been selected, the Joe’s Gourmet franchise team will offer some assistance to the franchisee to identify a nearby location within Walmart store chains. Once the deal is closed, the franchisee will be trained by Joe’s Gourmet team – taught the business strategies such as how to drive sales, draw customers, operate the business, and marketing.

“We started the grocery side in 2007. It originally started as a street vending business, so father and son were out being street vendors, going to concerts, Essence Festivals, homecoming, all of that, selling the fish of the street, building the brand,” Walker said.

The company said on its website that it is interested in “quality-driven entrepreneurs” who have what it takes to take the Joe’s Gourmet brand and restaurant concept across the nation. It said the brand is identified by its simplicity, speedy growth, high volume production, and easy management. The restaurant concept is structured in a way to ensure that all its franchisees succeed at their individual locations.

About Joe’s Gourmet Franchise

Intending franchisees should visit Joe’s Gourmet’s website to sign up. The company offers individuals an opportunity to jump on its franchise rollout with lesser advertising fees, no utilities, and continuous foot traffic.

Joe’s Gourmet will offer franchisees with necessary support such as operational support, marketing support, and ongoing business development support. All these supports consist of ongoing training in many strategic areas, including unit operations, customer service techniques, pricing guidelines, maintenance, product ordering, and administrative procedures. The company will also coordinate development of advertising materials and strategies, as well as consumer marketing plans and materials. Above all, it will continuously provide franchisees with research methods and techniques to ensure market advantage and profitability.

To become a franchisee, an initial franchise fee of $35,000 is required. The minimum estimated cost is $203,117, which includes the franchise fee.