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V O L . X X V I I I N O. I I I F E B R UA R Y 7 , 2 0 2 2 22 C O M M E R C I A L D E V E L O P M E N T D unkin', Subway, Ace Hardware, Aroma Joe's. Even in Maine where every community boasts mom-and-pop businesses, branded franchises owned and operated by local entrepreneurs are a growing part of the business landscape. Along the way, those businesses are creating jobs and investing in real estate. Take Firehouse Subs, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based 1,200-restaurant chain with six eateries in Maine. It has a new location at Rock Row, a 110-acre, $600 million mixed-use development in Westbrook that opened last December. e Firehouse Subs is near a Chick- fil-A, of the much larger College Park, Ga.-based brand, that opened two months earlier to lines of customers. "We anticipate this is going to be a very busy location, but we intentionally did a very quiet opening," says Michael Koman, a Firehouse Subs franchisee with his wife, Michelle, since 2016. If business stays strong in Westbrook, the Falmouth residents ultimately aim to close their stores in Biddeford and Dover, N.H., and focus on their new- est location. Mirroring a national comeback, fran- chises are growing at a fast clip in Maine, offering aspiring entrepreneurs a quicker, less risky route into business owner- ship backed by established brands. As tenants, they're also highly desirable to commercial developers like Waterstone Properties, the Needham, Mass.-based company behind Rock Row. "While it is very attractive to have national names like Firehouse Subs, Chick fil-A, Starbucks and REI in our tenant mix, it didn't happen by chance," says Josh Levy, a founding partner of Waterstone Properties. "ey were carefully targeted because each provides products and services that guests, workers and residents of greater Westbrook and all of Maine value and want." FEEDING frenzy Mirroring national comeback, franchises are growing at a fast clip in Maine B y R e n e e C o r d e s Michael and Michelle Koman, at their new Firehouse Subs franchise in Westbrook at Rock Row. The Falmouth residents also own locations in Biddeford and Dover, N.H., employing 50 people in total at the three eateries. F O C U S P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY 1,423 franchisee units 864 franchisees 272 franchise brands 51% of units owned by 19% of multi-unit franchisees Franchisees / brands Units FQSR LLC (DBA Kbp Foods) / KFC, Taco Bell 27 DMCP Group LLC / Dunkin' 22 Subway Development of Maine / Subway 21 The Masiello Group / Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate 15 Carrols Group / Burger King 15 GC Pizza Hut LLC / Pizza Hut 14 Ronald Lydick / McDonald's 14 Mark Muscatello / Supercuts 14 Oracle Management Inc. / Dunkin' 13 Vikas Chawla / Smartstyle 13 Flynn Restaurant Group LLC / Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar 12 STC New England LLC / Sun Tan City 11 Lee S. Prior / Domino's Pizza 11 Legacy CP Maine LLC / Wendy's 10 Taylor A. Goble / McDonald's 10 Marvin Mayberry / Subway 10 Top brands Units Dunkin' 161 Subway 103 McDonald's 62 Bimbo Foods Bakeries Distribution 41 Ace Hardware 35 Chester's 32 H&R Block 30 Aroma Joe's 30 Bento Sushi 29 Burger King 27 Domino's Pizza 26 Re/Max 20 Taco Bell 20 Ameriprise Financial 19 Hampton Inn By Hilton 18 Snap-On 18 KFC 18 Noble Roman's 17 Pizza Hut 17 Wendy's 16 FACTS ON FRANCHISES IN MAINE TOP FRANCHISEES TOP FRANCHISE BRANDS IN MAINE S O U R C E : FRANdata