The Opening of Go! Go! Curry! Newark Exemplifies How Our Franchise Process Works
Hello friends,
I’m excited to share some wonderful news with you today. Our new family member, Go! Go! Curry! Newark, has finally opened its doors after two years of preparations! It’s the first Japanese curry franchise in New Jersey, and it’s also the first Go! Go! Curry! opening since the COVID-19 outbreak. In this issue, I’d like to explain our franchise business process, using the Newark location’s case as an example. Those who are wondering how to start a food franchise with us, or just thinking about franchise opportunities, we encourage you to check it out.
The Newark Team
Go! Go! Curry! Newark is owned and operated by husband and wife team, Joy and Patrick Lumbres. They say, “We’ve been a big fan of Go! Go! Curry! ever since we tasted the curry at its first location in 2007. And in 2018, we happened to find that they were open for franchise when we placed an online order. Then we started doing research and inquiries. That’s when it all started.”
Franchise Discovery
Once we received the inquiry from Joy and Patrick, we set up a “discovery meeting” with them to get to know each other and discuss the business further. Here they describe their thoughts about the meeting: “It was a few-hours-long meeting where we met the franchising team members for the first time. We learned a lot about the franchising process from them. We also talked about many things, and I remember it was a pleasant time with lots of laughter.” This meeting is important for both parties before doing business together, because in many ways, franchising is like a marriage.
Although this would be Patrick and Joy’s first food franchise, they already had solid business experience, so it was easy for us to proceed to the following step. Training was something they had to approach next. “Even before we started construction on the store, we had some pop-ups, and joined anime conventions and Comic Cons. All of them were very successful, and we were actually overwhelmed with good responses,” they recollected.
Training and Onwards
Onsite training is very important for new franchisees not only to get used to enacting operations, but also to experience diverse customer reactions and build confidence. So, for the final stage of preparations, we allow franchisees to experience operations in some of our New York locations one month prior to their soft opening. Also, on the first week of opening, our training crew members visit their new store and supervise their operations.
The Newark location’s opening was delayed due to the pandemic, but we appreciate their patience. Now it’s finally time for them to shine. We are happy to continue supporting the Newark location after the grand opening. “Your success is our success”—that is the essence of our restaurant franchise business!
About The Author:
Tomoko Omori was born and raised in Japan. She came to the USA alone to become an actress, where she received an AA degree from college majoring in Drama. She received a scholarship to study music at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in NYC.
After working for TV broadcasting and a publishing company, today, Tomoko is the CEO of Go! Go! Curry! America, a grab-and-go Japanese comfort food restaurant franchise. There are over 75 locations in Japan, and 11 in the USA. She says, “Our mission is to serve our tasty curry nationwide in the USA and Canada to enrich the lives of our customers, employees, franchise owners and the communities we serve. Our vision is to create millions of satisfied customers, contented tummies and miles and miles of smiles for everyone!” Tomoko received the Nikkei BP Woman of the year award in 2015.