Peach's Rise & Dine Restaurants Awards 25-Store Agreement in Missouri, Announces Columbus Arena District and Suburban Locations in Ohio.

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Bradenton-based Peach's Rise & Dine[TM] Restaurants has awarded a development agreement for a minimum of 25 locations in Missouri to PRD of Missouri Inc., according to Gary Hoyle, president and CEO of Peach's Franchise LLC, the company franchising the breakfast-lunch restaurant. Hoyle also announced four new locations in Ohio, including two that will be developed by a new franchisee.

St. Louis-based PRD of Missouri Inc. is led by Joseph D. Deavenport, who has 20 years of business management experience in the food and beverage industry. He served 14 years with Coca Cola Enterprises Inc., most recently as vice president and general manager of the company's Central States Division based in St. Louis.

One of the new locations announced in Ohio is in the Arena District, a thriving business and entertainment district in downtown Columbus. The restaurant is scheduled to open in May at 277 W Nationwide Blvd. It will be operated by Buckeye Peach's LLC, the Peach's Rise & Dine[TM] area developer for the state of Ohio. The location is directly across from the Nationwide Arena, home of professional hockey and arena football teams, and is across from the site of a planned minor league baseball park. Buckeye Peach's has secured a second location, also due to open this spring, in a suburban shopping center in Dublin, Ohio.

Two locations will be developed by a new franchisee, Sunrise Management LLC, in the Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area at shopping centers in Marion and New Albany. Michael Gooch, senior vice president of operations/development for Sunrise, possesses more than 30 years of restaurant operations experience with national chains including Miami Grill, RAX Restaurants and Dairy Queen, as well as entrepreneurial ownership of bagel bakery/restaurants. He has led regional development and training for multi-unit development.

"We are gratified that such savvy business people have identified Peach's Rise & Dine as an attractive business model for growth and scalability," Hoyle said. Peach's Rise & Dine[TM] recently announced a 20-store development agreement in Texas in addition to the 50-store development agreement in Ohio. The first Peach's Rise & Dine[TM] Restaurant franchise opened in November 2006 in Sarasota, Florida, and a second is scheduled to open in January in the Grandview community of Columbus, Ohio.

Hoyle also announced the promotion of Shawn Bell, formerly director of training, to vice president of operations. Bell joined the company in 2006. Bell possesses more than 18 years of experience in all phases of restaurant operations and training, including service with B.T.O. Management Corp. in Boynton Beach, FL and ACB Enterprises, a Bradenton-based franchisee of Cici's Pizza. Prior to joining Peach's Franchise LLC, Bell was a district representative for Cheney Brothers Inc., a Florida-based food distributor.

Peach's Franchise LLC was formed in 2006 to franchise the successful Peach's Restaurant breakfast-lunch concept nationally. There are 10 Peach's Restaurants, which are licensed affiliates of Peach's Rise & Dine[TM], on Florida's Gulf Coast. The breakfast-lunch category is one of the fastest growing segments in the restaurant industry, Hoyle said. The Peach's Rise & Dine[TM] franchise initiative is targeting individual owner-operators and successful, multiple-unit franchisees who want to add the breakfast-lunch category to their mix. Hoyle said they are focused on maintaining the "people first" culture of the original Peach's chain, including encouraging franchisees to be active in the community. Peach's has long been involved with numerous local charities, sports teams and youth groups, he said. Information: www.peachsfranchise.com.