CITY BITES TO FRANCHISE

Local Restaurant Companies Form New Joint Venture to Franchise Nation Wide

Homegrown quick casual sandwich purveyor City Bites, Inc. has partnered with Burke & Grow, LLC, an Oklahoma City headquartered restaurant company, to form C.B. Franchise Systems, LLC and expand nationally through franchise offerings. The newly created company will begin the first phase of franchise expansion in late fall of 2007.

Local entrepreneurs and brothers, Mark, Eric, Brad and Gary Blevins developed the quick casual concept City Bites and opened their first sandwich shop to the public in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1986. It has since grown to over 19 locations including a centralized commissary sourcing product to guests throughout greater Oklahoma City. Now, City Bites is taking the next step having partnered with Burke & Grow, LLC to form C.B. Franchise Systems, LLC in an expansion effort to build a national franchise system. Burke & Grow, LLC is a company owned and operated by Jim Burke and Brad Grow formerly President and CFO of Eateries, Inc. operating restaurants in over twenty states nationwide for over twenty years. Phase I of the City Bites franchise offering will focus on neighboring regional markets where City Bites is well recognized for quality of service and product.

City Bites is seeking to take advantage of the hot quick casual market segment, which led all restaurant industry segments with 11.8% sales growth in 2006 (Technomic Information Services). Many quick casual restaurant concepts have outperformed limited and full service restaurants because they better cater to present day consumers who are often on the go and seeking a healthy, great tasting alternative to fast food. In addition to a growing consumer preference, the investment required to open a quick casual restaurant is uniquely low compared to industry wide averages. Many expensive components found in limited and full service restaurants including freestanding land and construction, as well as equipment costs prevent experienced food service professionals and entrepreneurs alike from entering a rewarding and profitable business.

City Bites is seeking to change this situation by effectively reducing the barriers to enter restaurant franchising. Franchisee’s will benefit from less initial cost due to smaller construction confines and equipment packages as well as ongoing food and labor costs which collectively average under 58% of sales. Common franchisee costs such as development and franchise fee’s and sales royalties are reduced from industry averages in order to attract and build franchises. City Bites is committed to the vision of partnership and that the best motivation for franchisee’s to expand operations is by aiding them in becoming more profitable. To this end, C.B. Franchise Systems has developed partnerships with veteran restaurant industry experts in the fields of site acquisition and development, architecture and construction, and corporate services. C.B. Franchise Systems will facilitate pre financing for qualified franchisees. City Bites will offer franchisee’s a turn key solution founded in the skills of successful veteran restaurant professionals.

C.B. Franchise Systems will begin offering franchise territories in the U.S. upon completion of required franchise registration being conducted by its counsel Keith McFall of the law firm Phillips, McFall. At this time, the qualifying public is welcome to contact Whitney VinZant, franchisee of Old Chicago restaurants in Oklahoma City, to discuss City Bites franchising opportunities outside of Oklahoma, Cleveland and Canadian counties of Oklahoma.