Multi-brand restaurant company Inspire Brands will open its 134th Arby’s store this month at 2107 U.S. Highway 411 South, near the Waffle House and where Secure Self Storage is under construction, according to District Manager Rebecca Clark.
Clark said she is seeking management staff and that construction on the building should begin this month.
The store will be owned and operated by franchisee Brumit Restaurant Group Inc., based in North Carolina, which owns 64 Arby’s restaurants in South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee.
While Blount County has only one other Arby’s (owned and operated by Inspire Brands), Knoxville has the highest concentration of Arby’s stores in the state with 12. Nashville has six, while Chattanooga has five.
Arby’s was founded in 1964 and the company has since undergone multiple ownership changes. It is currently owned by Inspire Brands — formed in 2018 by private equity firm Roark Capital Group, which also owns Buffalo Wild Wings, Sonic Drive-In, Jimmy John’s, Dunkin’, Rusty Taco and Baskin-Robbins.
The company reports $32 billion in annual global sales from more than 33,000 restaurants and employs an estimated 650,000 people.
