A West Palm Beach-based franchisee has acquired 24 area locations of the fast food chain Burger King, with plans to renovate a handful.
Royal Restaurant Group has acquired two dozen local restaurants in Northeast Florida from two existing franchise owners who wanted to sell, according to Jacksonville Daily Record. The restaurant group bought 23 locations in February and one in September. The news comes after two local Burger Kings at 210 E. State St. Downtown and 1981 Kings Road recently closed. RRG does not own these two sites. Two other separate franchises in the area own about 19 Burger Kings in the area.
The West Palm Beach-based franchise group recently posted several job openings for various positions ranging from team members to district managers. The restaurant group’s Burger King hiring website shows available positions for several area locations, including 13 restaurants in Jacksonville, three in St. Augustine, three in Orange Park, and one in Saint Johns, Fleming Island, Green Cove Springs, Middleburg, and Starke.
Royal Restaurant Group has already started working on two Burger Kings in West and Northwest Jacksonville, according to JDR. The restaurant group will remodel the location at 7320 103rd Street in West Jacksonville, with the city issuing a service availability letter late last month. RRG, founded this year by Randy Pianin and Robert Negron, is also proposing the demolition of a 3,171-square-foot Burger King at 7725 Lem Turner Road in Northwest Jacksonville to rebuild it with a 53-seat, 2,920-square-foot location of the company’s Garden Grill concept.
“We will be renovating several in the area and (will) bring fresh new Burger King images to Jacksonville,” Pianin tells Jacksonville Daily Record. “We have previous experience operating in Florida and see great growth potential in Jacksonville.”