Auntie Anne’s opens first ever drive-thru location, at co-branded Jamba site in Dallas

Focus Brands, the parent company of Auntie Anne’s, Jamba, Cinnabon, Carvel, Moe’s Southwest Grill, McAlister’s Deli, and Schlotzsky’s, has announced the opening of the very first Auntie Anne’s drive-thru location in Wylie, Texas.

This co-branded site between Auntie Anne’s and Jamba is owned and operated by franchise veterans Shawn and Crystal Bowling, and is a significant step toward Auntie Anne’s commitment to move real estate beyond its traditional mall locations.

“Consumer research shows that our guests want access to Auntie Anne’s outside of the mall. While we were already underway with identifying ways to enhance our brands’ accessibility, the study results confirmed our strategy to co-brand this location with Jamba,” said Brian Krause, chief development officer of Focus Brands.

“Considering how the pandemic has changed consumer preferences, we recognize the importance of building our off-premise offerings and evolving our development capabilities to provide franchisees with additional opportunities, including co-brand locations that have potential for enhanced revenue. We’re pleased to have an excited franchisee on-board to open the Wylie Jamba and Auntie Anne’s co-brand location and look forward to adding more to our pipeline.”

More than one-quarter of Jamba’s locations currently have a drive-thru, and the brand is looking to add this feature to 50 per cent of its new locations.

“Auntie Anne’s has become synonymous with malls and airports, but for some time we’ve been looking for opportunities to grow outside of those traditional locations to give our guests greater access to a brand they love,” said Kristen Hartman, specialty category president of Focus Brands.

“Today, we have a number of Auntie Anne’s streetside locations paired with Cinnabon and Carvel. The opportunities that become available when we leverage the power of our full portfolio are endless. I’m incredibly excited to see that through co-branding we are able to add the drive-thru experience to the Auntie Anne’s portfolio and can’t wait to see how guests respond to this enhanced accessibility.”