DALLAS, May 15, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Romacorp, Inc. announced the opening of four new Tony Roma's restaurants in four different countries including the first unit in Saudi Arabia. The new restaurants were opened in Glasgow, Scotland; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Maui, Hawaii; and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The restaurants all opened within last four weeks.
"We are very excited to announce these new restaurant openings as we continue the brand revitalization of Tony Roma's," said Marc Buehler, President and CEO of Romacorp. "These restaurants all incorporate our new prototypical design. To be able to open these new units in four very different countries around the world at about the same time is outstanding. It is strong testimony to the strength of our franchise partners, our team and the demand from our new guests who have been anxiously waiting for Tony Roma's."
The Glasgow, Scotland Tony Roma's is located inside a mall with an indoor ski hill. It is the second unit in the UK, following the inauguration of the concept in England. The Kuala Lumpur unit is the second Tony Roma's in that country with two additional units scheduled to open later this year. The unit in Maui, Hawaii is located on the second floor of an historic building in downtown Lahaina with a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean.
"The opening of the first of Tony Roma's in Saudi Arabia is very notable," said Buehler. "This is a very unique market which offers great potential, but also presents many challenges if you make a poor location choice. The location of the first Tony Roma's is on Olaya Road in a very high profile spot. The comments from the guests have been outstanding, and we are very encouraged from their initial response."
"We have great franchise partners who have launched Tony Roma's in these countries," said Ken Myres, Vice President of Franchise Development. "Even though demand for the brand exists, you have to have strong franchisee partners who can develop restaurants in high visibility areas and operate great."
Additional new Tony Roma's are planned to open in the Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and UK markets.
Romacorp, Inc. is the operator of Tony Roma's restaurants, the world's largest casual dining concept specializing in ribs. Romacorp, Inc. currently operates 20 restaurants and through its subsidiary companies, franchises 200 restaurants in 21 states and 32 foreign countries and territories. The first Tony Roma's restaurant opened 35 years ago in North Miami, Florida, and today the concept includes restaurant operations that span 6 continents.