The Aloha Poke Co. franchise family is experiencing continued growth in 2021, and today, we’d like to introduce you to our newest franchisees Amanda and Corey Tabb, who will open their Aloha Poke in Cypress, TX, just northwest of Houston. Both Corey and Amanda continue to have successful careers in the energy industry and are launching their first Aloha Poke location in late summer 2021. We sat down with Amanda to discuss her reasons for starting their Aloha Poke franchise and learn a bit about their plans for further expansion.
Living Out Their Dream
Amanda and Corey were thinking about business ownership for a few years, but the onset of the pandemic put their plans on hold. As things began to open back up, they continued their search for a franchise concept that would allow them to give back to the community and provide a needed service in their area. Amanda wanted healthier fast casual options, and their nanny came up with the idea of starting a poke business. Amanda and Corey conducted their research and interviewed four different poke brands before ultimately deciding to franchise with Aloha Poke Co.
“Aloha was really organized,” said Amanda. “They were able to produce their FDD (Franchise Disclosure Document) without us having to fill out a full application. I was able to understand upfront what I was getting into. That transparency is important.”
Aloha Poke had the lowest startup costs out of any of the concepts they were looking into and offered a simple menu with high-quality options. But they fell in love with the Aloha Poke Co. franchise team, the idea, and the brand even before they tried the food.
Tomorrow Starts Today
The Tabbs took a trip to Florida, where they met with Aloha Poke CEO Chris Birkinshaw to sample the food and get to know corporate team.
To further validate their decision, Aloha Poke put Amanda and Corey in contact with established licensee Scott Miller and operator Tom Wang to hear about what has worked for them and what their development process looked like.
“The biggest takeaways for me were the return on investment and the ease of operations,” said Amanda. “Scott is an owner of other quick service franchise concepts, and he said that Aloha was one of the easiest to run.”
The Tabbs have the perfect balance of sales, operations, and management experience between them, making this opportunity even easier to operate compared to some other concepts they researched.
What Does the Future Hold?
As first-time business owners, the Tabbs plan is to start with one location and grow from there. Aloha Poke Co.’s business model is built off simplicity, making it much easier to replicate, open multiple locations, and leverage multiple revenue streams. The Tabbs plan to scale their investment with additional locations in Houston’s surrounding suburbs.
“The systems are already in place, and it’s just a simpler business to run. Aloha Poke has already done much of the heavy lifting: the sourcing, the supply chain,” said Amanda. “For us, picking a business with an established process was important because it’s something we are familiar with.”
The Tabbs are now the first Aloha Poke Co. franchisees in the state of Texas, and we wish them nothing but success in the years to come.
Suppose you’re thinking about opening an Aloha Poke Co. franchise – we want to know! Aloha is growing, but we still have room for new franchisees – contact us today.