Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii, a national coffee brand, announced this week that it signed two new franchise development agreements in the Phoenix market that will bring at least eight new stores to the Valley.
The new agreements will have franchisees focusing on opening Bad Ass Coffee stores in Chandler, Gilbert and in the Scottsdale-North Phoenix market. The initial investment to open a Bad Ass Coffee ranges between $401,500 and $778,000, according to the company’s website.
Existing franchisees Aaron and Lisa Rutter signed a deal focused on the Chandler/Gilbert/East Valley area. The Rutters are expected to open all five locations in the next five years, with the first being in Chandler in the fall of 2024.
The Rutters’ first Bad Ass Coffee store opened in January 2022 in downtown Phoenix in a former Starbucks location at the CityScape development. Then in 2023, the husband-and-wife team acquired the corporate-owned Bad Ass Coffee in Tolleson. They are currently doing a complete remodel of that store and are targeting a January 2024 re-opening.
“Since opening the CityScape location, the downtown community has really embraced our business, and we continue to welcome new and loyal customers into the store,” Lisa Rutter said in a statement. “What attracted us to Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii was far more than a proven business model. It was the product, the vision, the opportunity to be part of something unique.”
Bad Ass Coffee now has more than 30 locations across 14 states, and it lists another six locations on its website as “coming soon.” That list includes locations in Colorado, Tennessee, Florida, Texas and New Jersey. The company indicated in 2022 that it planned to open 150 new locations over the next five years.
Scottsdale couple Don and Kate Johnson also signed a three-unit franchise development agreement with Bad Ass Coffee. They will focus on opening in North Scottsdale and North Phoenix.
The first location in the Johnsons’ portfolio is expected to open in late summer 2024. The couple said they are already planning on going further than the three-unit deal they signed and are looking at having at least 10 in the future.
The Johnsons also own and operate a handful of Jersey Mike’s locations in Southern California.
Even with these deals in place, Bad Ass Coffee is still looking to grow its brand in Arizona.
More than 70% of Bad Ass Coffee’s footprint is operated by multi-unit franchisees and the company said it is targeting Tempe, Glendale and Tucson as expansion markets. It is looking for new franchisees to operate in those areas.
“The development and opening of 11 stores in the greater Phoenix area represent a significant step forward in our Southwest growth strategy,” Scott Snyder, the CEO of Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii, said in a statement. “We have tremendous franchise partners with vast experience, and every new location they open helps reinforce the strength of our brand. With untapped markets across Arizona, we’re on the fast-track to aggressive statewide development.”
