FORT MYERS, Fla. (May 29, 2014) – Grant-Valkaria will soon have the state’s first Rib City franchise.
According to company President Craig Peden, Rib City’s Grant-Valkaria franchise will be located at the new Grant Station and operated by Grant Station, Inc.
“We are really excited to have Rib City as an intricate component of the new Grant Station,” said Chris Pozgar, president and owner of Grant Station, Inc. “Rib City at Grant Station is a win-win in that it will bring an outstanding, yet affordable, national barbecue chain to our community as well as the numerous jobs this new destination will create.”
Located at 5390 US Highway 1, the site was formerly the Grant Grocer and the town’s original post office. Built in 1891, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The antique-themed Grant Station is planned to be an entertainment destination and will also host an ice cream shop, open-air market and an entertainment barn. It already has a host of water-sport rentals including paddleboards, canoes and kayaks. Guests can enjoy paddling, camping and hiking on the nearby island or Mullet Creek Preserve. This part of the Indian River Lagoon is a popular eco destination.
Grant-Valkaria is located south of Melbourne, between Palm Bay and Sebastian. The town was incorporated in 2006 by joining the two previously unincorporated communities of Grant and Valkaria.
The new location will mark Rib City’s 17th franchise. Plans call for the 70-seat restaurant to open in late 2014, and Pozgar expects to hire approximately 20 employees for Rib City and another 30 employees for Grant Station. He is looking to open additional Rib City locations between Merritt Island and Vero Beach.
Founded in Fort Myers in 1989, Rib City is celebrating 25 years of operation in 2014. The family-owned national barbecue chain currently has 12 corporate restaurants in Florida with 10 locations in Southwest Florida, and 16 franchise restaurants across the country including Washington, Utah, Colorado, Tennessee, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri and Virginia.
“We are proud to be celebrating 25 years and brining our first franchise location to the east coast
of Florida,” said Peden. “Through leadership, dedication and a love of the restaurant business,
we have been able to maintain a superior quality in our products and services.”
Rib City offers a menu of barbecued meats, specialized sauces and complementary side dishes such as made-from-scratch baked beans and coleslaw. Rib City achieves authentic backyard barbecue flavor by slowly cooking baby back ribs and chicken over selected hardwoods – including Red Oak – carefully balancing heat and cooking time to seal in the distinctive Rib City BBQ taste. Meats can be topped with one of four secret recipe sauces: brown sugar-based sweet sauce, vinegar-based tangy sauce, Carolina mustard sauce or hot sauce. Additional menu items include fried okra, three-cheese fries, fried shrimp, coconut cream and Southern pecan pies and more.
Rib City’s complete menu is available online at www.ribcity.com.
Rib City is listed with the Franchise Registry, a list of franchise systems whose franchisees have the benefits of a streamlined review process for US Small Business Administration financings.
