Kona Poke, the locally-owned poke chain, is looking to soon continue expanding outside of Orlando after its recent Melbourne opening, according to Orlando Business Journal’s recent interview with the founders.
“We are seeking other markets that sort of meet the criteria we found in Melbourne,” founder Ernie Falco III said. “In Orlando, there’s obviously a lot of business and a lot of people, but there’s also a lot of competition, so we are trying to seek out the markets that don’t have a lot of good healthy options. I think we are going to look at some beach markets.”
When asked about Kona Poke’s future, Falco details the company’s aim for up to seven locations, three more than their current four.
“We are trying to replicate our success in a few more locations and we are continuing to grow the brand on a corporate level. We are not franchising and I don’t know if we intend to, initially. From there, we definitely are looking for investor capital to scale the concept up. My partner Matt [Ting] and I are trying to take it to six or seven locations with just us, and then at that point we will look for investment capital.”
What Now Orlando reached out to co-owner Matt Ting to inquire about potential future locations and their respective timeframes, but he was not immediately available for comment. In any case, readers can soundly anticipate the duo to scope out a town much like Melbourne.
“It’s a phenomenal location, it’s on a four-way intersection to the entrance of the mall. It’s probably one of the busiest intersections in the county. We felt like there was a good audience over here and there’s not a lot of fast healthy options in this area. We felt there was a void of healthy options over here, so this market was a good fit for us.”
