Protein Bar & Kitchen is coming to Naperville, with a franchise of the fast-casual eatery slated to open in town by early 2025.
As part of a larger push to build out franchising in coming years, Chicago-based Protein Bar & Kitchen has inked a three-unit franchise agreement to open new locations in Naperville and two other nearby communities, the restaurant brand said in a release Monday.
“In 2024, people are prioritizing their well-being, and Protein Bar & Kitchen is at the forefront of better-for-you dining,” franchisee Girish Patel said in the release. “I’m excited to introduce this amazing brand to Naperville and surrounding areas and offer the community a healthier alternative to traditional fast-casual dining.”
Where the incoming franchise spots will go in and around Naperville is still being determined but the hope is to have a lease for a first location agreed to over the next couple of weeks, brand representatives say.
Protein Bar & Kitchen started as a small storefront across from Willis Tower in downtown Chicago. It was founded out of an idea to serve “fast fuel” rather than “fast food,” according to Protein Bar & Kitchen’s website. Initially, its menu centered around blended drinks like protein shakes, but has since expanded to offer bowls, wraps, acai, parfaits, salads and breakfast. True to its name, the brand now supplies more than 15 different protein options.
It’s been working to expand in other ways too.
For a few years now, Protein Bar & Kitchen has had strategic goals to grow through a handful of different avenues. That included licensing non-traditional venue space — specifically airports, college campuses and health-care facilities — and franchising, said Protein Bar & Kitchen CEO Jeff Drake.
Drake, who has been with Protein Bar since 2017, said, “We were working on the company and getting it in that direction for growth when I joined.” The COVID-19 pandemic, however, slowed the push, forcing the brand had to take a break from expansion plans, he said.
Recently, though, initiatives have started to pick back up. Post-pandemic, Protein Bar & Kitchen has opened three airport locations, including in O’Hare International Airport, as well as a location on Northwestern University’s Evanston campus. And in late 2023, it relaunched franchising.
For its initial bout of franchising, the company is focusing on bringing locations to a Chicago market, Drake said.
“(We want to) take advantage of the great branding and brand recognition that Protein Bar & Kitchen has in Chicago as well as be readily available to support our new franchisees as they grow their business,” Drake said.
The brand’s first franchise location opened over the summer in Crown Point, Indiana, with a second currently under construction, Protein Bar & Kitchen COO Jared Cohen said. The three-unit deal for Naperville and nearby was signed with Patel in July, Cohen said.
Asked what made the city the right fit for Protein Bar & Kitchen’s early expansion plans, Drake said, “The lifestyle and position of Protein Bar, I think, aligns really, really well with the lifestyle and the attitude of Naperville.”
Cohen added that for a long time, Protein Bar & Kitchen had built its brand and identity around Chicago Loop workers wanting to snag a quick meal ahead of their morning meetings or on their lunch breaks. But as a company, “we’ve always known that getting delicious, nutritious, protein-packed food and beverages is not just something that people in their offices want,” he said. “They want it as part of their active lifestyles. They want it in the suburbs too.”
Though focused on the Chicago area right now, Cohen and Drake say they view franchising as a “big opportunity for us.” Drake shied away from putting any numbers or targets on how many locations Protein Bar & Kitchen hopes to ultimately launch through franchising but noted that, “We think that the growth will be exponential, if you will.”
“We’ll start gradually and then we’ll really be able to leverage it and grow it out,” he said.
