Johnny Rockets Takes Manhattan

Racanelli Restaurants, Inc. has signed an agreement with The Johnny Rockets Group, Inc. to expand the All-American hometown hamburger and malt shop to 15 new locations throughout New York City over the next ten years. The Racanelli family has owned and operated Racanelli Restaurants, Inc. for over 30 years, successfully developing Italian restaurants in the tri-state metropolitan area.

The development plan for Johnny Rockets expansion includes four boroughs: Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. The Racanellis will open ten Johnny Rockets restaurants in Manhattan and five additional Johnny Rockets locations spread out among the other three boroughs.

"The operative simplicity combined with the thematic element of a 1940s neighborhood malt shop, not to mention the great food variety, make the Johnny Rockets brand very appealing," said John Racanelli, director of development of Racanelli Restaurants, Inc. "The New York area offers prime locations for Restaurant growth, and Johnny Rockets will make an excellent addition to our portfolio of successful family restaurants."

The Racanellis currently own and operate the Johnny Rockets restaurant located at 8th and Greene in New York City. "We are excited to have a franchisee with such extensive knowledge of the restaurant business," said Michael Shumsky, chairman and chief executive officer of The Johnny Rockets Group, Inc. "With 30 years of experience and their calculated planning and operational abilities, the Racanellis have a very solid business foundation that prepares them for this expansion opportunity."

Racanelli Restaurants, Inc., established in 1971, has successfully grown into a respected member of the Italian restaurant industry with 15 restaurants. With a unique restaurant portfolio, the company continues to implement an aggressive strategy for ongoing growth, fueled by new restaurant openings, such as the Johnny Rockets expansion.

The Johnny Rockets menu offers classic All-American fare including hamburgers, hot dogs, American fries, onion rings, sandwiches, hand-dipped shakes, and freshly baked apple pie. Every Johnny Rockets looks authentic and resembles a malt shop straight out of the post WWII years, with red bar stools, chrome accents, and U-shaped black counter tops. Tabletop jukeboxes belt out tunes for a nickel, and "soda jerk" uniforms outfit the servers.

Johnny Rockets has grown to 137 corporate and franchised owned restaurants in 27 states, and the company's expansion also extends to seven countries around the world and aboard Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's Voyager of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas and Adventure of the Seas.