Tiffin’s First Franchise Restaurant Is Opening In King Of Prussia

It’s weird to think that King Of Prussia is becoming one of the most interesting restaurant neighborhoods in the region. But seriously? It’s kind of true.

I mean at the KOP Mall alone there’s already a seriously good version of Kevin Sbraga’s Fat Ham, a carbon copy of Hai Street, two Shake Shacks, Mistral scheduled for 2017 (which, okay, is from Princeton, but still), a Vetri Square Pie outpost attached to the KOP Urban Outfitters, and a whole bunch of other places to eat. There’s Papaya Vietnamese and, sure, a whole lot of chain restaurants and a whole lot of steakhouses, but still. It’s a busy town.

And now, on top of everything else, about a mile away from the excesses of the KOP Mall, the first ever franchise restaurant from Tiffin will be opening at the Valley Forge Plaza Shopping Center.

The guy who’ll be opening it, Rajesh Byanjankar, has been with Tiffin for 9 years. He was one of owner Munish Narula‘s first employees. And he is the perfect example of why Narula was looking to franchise his concept in the first place.

“We started to see a pattern several years ago as former Tiffin employees would open their own restaurants,” Narula explained. “It occurred to me I’d rather turn my employees into partners instead of competitors.”

Which is smart. And getting a piece of this KOP boom? Also smart.

Since opening the first Tiffin in 2007, Narula has expanded to 9 locations in PA and New Jersey. And now, with this new tilt toward franchising the concept, it’s looking like there will be even more. As a matter of fact, Narula has spent the past year looking into upgrading his ordering infrastructure and supply chain in order to prepare for what he sees as regional and national expansion.

But first, Byanjankar has to get this first franchise up and running. Right now, he’s looking at an opening date somewhere early in 2017.

Tiffin [f8b8z]