January 29, 2024
Provided Image/Twin Peaks
A new franchise agreement will bring 10 Twin Peaks bars to Pennsylvania. The Dallas-based sports bar chain has about 115 locations in the U.S. and Mexico.
Twin Peaks, the lodge-style sports bar chain known for its 29-degree draft beers, has revived plans to open 10 locations in Pennsylvania in the years ahead. The Dallas-based brand had aimed to expand to the state in 2022, but a change in investors delayed those efforts.
The chain, which has wall-to-wall TVs and a women-only waitstaff, signed a new franchise development agreement that will be led by entrepreneur Joe Nolan, who stepped in take over the expansion from a different investment group that had been announced in 2021.
"The original people for the Pennsylvania market wanted to concentrate more in Florida. That allowed the opportunity for this market to come back available," Twin Peaks CEO Joe Hummel said. "Joe is a familiar soul of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia in particular. It was a natural fit."
Nolan, a University of Delaware graduate, is the CEO of multiple businesses including Chester County-based BarVision, which makes wireless liquor pour spouts. Hummel said he and Nolan will be in the state this week doing real estate reviews with brokers for potential locations. They'll be looking primarily in Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Berks, Lancaster and York counties.
"We all know Pennsylvania — and Philadelphia in particular — is very passionate about their sports," Hummel said. "There are so many great teams up there that have legendary fanbases. The lodge complements it quite well."
Hummel said he has a few leads on locations and wants to move the expansion forward, but doesn't yet have anything set in stone.
"We love second-generation buildings. There are some good leads on buildings and potential closures," Hummel said. "We've also done ground-up buildings and we're pretty versatile with our approach. Everything is dictated off timelines and some of those timelines, we don't control."
Twin Peaks was founded in 2005 and now has about 115 locations in the U.S. and Mexico. Apart from one bar in Pittsburgh, the company doesn't have a presence in the Northeast. The business was purchased in 2021 by Fat Brands Inc., which owns the Fatburger and Johnny Rockets chains.
Twin Peaks' frosty beers were developed out of a partnership with a proprietary maker of draft systems in California. Hummel said serving ice cold beer is a pillar of the lodges.
"When it's hitting our frozen mugs, you're getting a beer slushy," Hummel said. "It just makes watching sports and our scratch kitchen that much better."
The menu features a mix of burgers, flatbreads, tacos, sandwiches and wings.
"We want to be a go-to place," Hummel said. "You really feel like you're having a dining-up experience, but your menu prices are favorable toward if you have to be on a budget."
Although a timeline hasn't been set for the first of the Pennsylvania locations to open, Hummel said he and Nolan are excited about opening sports bars in the Philadelphia area.
"We're eager to get going," Hummel said.
