November 28 (SeeNews) - Romania’s Sphera Franchsie Group [BSE:SFG], the holding company that owns the local Taco Bell franchisee, said it is opening a Taco Bell restaurant in the southern city of Craiova, its 15th in the country, following a 480,000 euro ($500,000) investment.
Located in the Electroputere Mall, the venue is Craiova’s first Taco Bell restaurant, Sphera Franchise Group said in a report filed with the Bucharest Stock Exchange last week.
The 110 sq m location employs 25 people and provides both sit-in and takeaway services, a separate press release on Taco Bell Romania’s website said.
Despite challenges to the catering and hospitality industry, Taco Bell Romania inaugurated two restaurants and booked 49.4 million lei ($10.5 million/10 million euro) in sales over the first nine months of the year, 37% higher than the same period last year, the company's general manager Costica Misaca said.
Taco Bell entered the Romanian market in 2017 and its current 15 restaurants span across ten cities.
Sphera Franchise Group operates 176 restaurants within a brand portfolio that includes KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, a PHD subfranchise, and one Paul restaurant in Romania. The holding company also operates several KFC units in Moldova and Italy.
In 2021, Sphera Franchise Group tallied 139 employees and booked a net profit of 29.8 million lei while turning over 29 million lei, latest data from the finance ministry’s website shows.
($=0.96 euro)