Cheese Curds/Habaneros lands first franchise in New Brunswick

DARTMOUTH — Cheese Curds Gourmet Burgers + Poutinerie and Habaneros Modern Taco Bar will open its first franchise restaurant in Oromocto, New Brunswick.

The restaurant, located at 201 Bliss St., will seat about 50 guests and feature the extensive Cheese Curds/Habaneros menu, including signature burgers, poutine, Mexican fusion tacos and burritos as well as local beer. The new location is expected to open this spring.

New Brunswick entrepreneur Rick Kirkpatrick signed a franchise agreement with The Chef Inspired Group of Restaurants, the parent company of Habaneros and Cheese Curds, to open the Oromocto location.

"The Oromocto restaurant will be our first in New Brunswick, and our third combination Cheese Curds/Habaneros restaurant in Atlantic Canada,” said chef Bill Pratt, president and CEO of The Chef Inspired Group of Restaurants. “Rick knows the food industry inside and out, but more importantly, he understands the Cheese Curds/Habaneros promise.”

Kirkpatrick added he is a long time fan of the Cheese Curds/Habaneros combination.

“In fact, I sat in one of the Dartmouth restaurants a few years ago, thinking 'this would be a great franchise,'" Kirkpatrick said.

The Chef Inspired Group of Restaurants currently owns and operates two combination Cheese Curds/Habaneros restaurants, as well as several other quick-service restaurants and six food trucks. 

Pratt, a former command food services chief for the Canadian Navy, has more restaurants planned for the near future in Atlantic Canada, and his development team is focused on finding partners to franchise those locations.

The initial franchise fee is $35,000 for a standalone Cheese Curds restaurant and $50,000 for a combination Cheese Curds/Habaneros.

For royalties, franchisees are also required to pay five per cent of gross sales, as well as one per cent investment in the national advertising fund.

Opening a standalone Cheese Curds restaurant costs between $380,000 to $486,000 range for a standalone Cheese Curds restaurant, or between the $515,000-$670,000 for a combination Cheese Curds/Habaneros™ restaurant. This includes the restaurant furnishings and equipment, location build-out, opening inventory, point-of-sale system and estimated working capital to open.