Sola Salon Studios, the world's largest and fastest growing salon studios franchise, announced today the signing of a multi-unit franchise agreement with distinguished foodservice operator and franchising industry veteran, Mitch Cohen. As part of the agreement, Cohen, along with business partners Marvin Goldfarb, Al Goldstein and Seth Goldstein of SAMM Property MGMT, will develop six units over the next five years across Nassau and Queens counties in New York, with the first projected to open before the end of this year.

Mitch Cohen is the newest foodservice franchisee to diversify with Sola, joining 15 other franchisee groups that also currently operate leading restaurant brands such as Panera Bread, Tim Hortons, McDonald's, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and more.

"The trend of restaurant operators investing in Sola is a relatively recent development within our brand and has been completely organic. We've found that restaurant operators are attracted to the simplicity of Sola's model when compared to the complexities of today's foodservice landscape," said Christina Russell, CEO of Sola Salon Studios. "When you consider factors like the ease of Sola's day-to-day operations, turnkey real estate model and low labor cost, it's a no-brainer."

Mitch Cohen has more than 37 years of franchise industry experience operating foodservice concepts like Baskin-Robbins, Dunkin', and Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs, and his agreement with Sola marks his first foray into the salon space. Cohen has been a longstanding pillar in the franchising community, serving as co-chair of Dunkin's Joy in Childhood Foundation from 2016 to 2018 where he led efforts in raising $5 million supporting the organization, as well as on the International Franchising Association's Board of Directors since 2016. Currently, Cohen owns and operates five Jersey Mike's Subs locations throughout Long Island, New York and is a founding partner of PerforMax Franchisee Advisors, a team of experienced multi-unit franchisees providing authentic, operator-focused strategies to improve franchisee performance, engagement and trust.

"As the foodservice segment became increasingly crowded over the past several years, my business partners and I began looking into non-food-based businesses where we could diversify our portfolio and gain more market share in our territories – that's when we discovered the salon space. We happened to be neighbors with Sola in a few centers where we operate our restaurants, so we saw the brand's potential firsthand and knew it was something we wanted to be a part of immediately," said Mitch Cohen. "One of our greatest passions working in the franchising industry has been empowering and helping aspiring business owners to fulfill their dreams of being in their own business for themselves, but not by themselves, and we loved that we could do that all under one roof with Sola."

Sola Salon Studios leads the largest segment within the $88 billion salon services market, more than doubling in size in the last five years, and was recently named the salon suites category leader on Entrepreneur magazine's prestigious and highly competitive 2020 Franchise 500 ranking of the top franchise opportunities. Each Sola location features a collective of 20-40 boutique, move-in-ready salon suites all under one roof where hair stylists, estheticians, nail technicians and massage therapists can each individually operate their own businesses without the risk and hassle of traditional salon ownership. Sola also provides various support programs, such as education and technology, to help their community of independent salon owners succeed in business ownership. As the most dominant brand in the segment, Sola Salon Studios has created a turnkey solution for beauty professionals to explore a better life as an entrepreneur, and has led the way as the largest and fastest growing salon studios concept.

Sola is driven by its desire to use real estate to help aspiring business owners achieve their dreams, and is looking for franchisees who feel the same way. The brand is actively seeking qualified candidates – including experienced foodservice operators – to help grow its brand footprint throughout the U.S., Canada and beyond. To learn more about franchise opportunities with Sola Salon Studios, contact Lori Merrall, director of franchise development, at [email protected] or visit www.solafranchising.com.

ABOUT SOLA SALON STUDIOS
In 2004, Sola Salon Studios was established with the opening of its first location in Denver, Colorado. Now with more than 500 locations open in the US, Canada and Brazil, Sola is proud to offer 15,000+ salon professionals the freedom and benefits of salon ownership without the upfront costs and risks associated with opening a traditional salon. Its innovative salon model empowers hairdressers, estheticians, nail techs, massage therapists and other like-minded professionals to take control of their lives and their careers. Sola provides beauty professionals with beautiful, fully-equipped salon studios alongside the support and tools they need to launch their salon business in no time. For more information, please visit www.solasalonstudios.com.