The Houston-based donut chain, which was founded in 1936, has announced a 22-unit franchise agreement with the hospitality arm of private investment platform Virentes Partners Group.
The deal will bring new Shipley locations to Nashville, Jacksonville and Tampa, marking the donut chain’s largest franchise deal signed this year.
Shipley reached 360 locations this year and is on track to achieve back-to-back years of record openings. It has added more than 110 units to its development pipeline so far in 2024 and will enter two new states in the first quarter of 2025: North Carolina and Virginia.
“One of our key expansion strategies has been to partner with experienced multi-unit, multi-brand operators such as Virentes, who are ready to hit the ground running to grow the Shipley brand and open units,” said Shipley Senior VP of Franchise Development Keith Sizemore. “Their commitment to operational excellence will ensure that their locations will execute on our brand values and deliver a great product and experience to new customers.”
Virentes plans to open the first three Shipley Do-Nuts locations in 2025 in the three cities. The company recently hired VP of Operations Andrew Povec to oversee operations and enterprise development and hiring for general managers has begun for the first locations.
