Dog Haus Signs Four Major Development Deals Across Southeast, Mid-Atlantic

Dog Haus, the chef-driven brand rewriting the rules of American comfort food, is ramping up its U.S. growth with four new area directors who have collectively signed development agreements for more than 400 restaurants across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. The group includes some of the largest franchisees from the nation’s top brands, including Jersey Mike’s, Tropical Smoothie Cafe and Dave’s Hot Chicken.

Development model and leadership

The four area directors are the first to sign onto a development model executed by Chris Rigassio, who joined the brand earlier this summer as president and chief development officer. Rather than the broker-style development roles common across franchising, each Dog Haus area director is awarded a territory encompassing roughly 100 restaurants and carries a dual mandate: first, to self-develop restaurants as an operator, and second, to serve as a hands-on coach to the franchisees building alongside them in that market.

“Chris has exceeded our expectations, quickly assembling world-class operators and development leaders to drive our national expansion,” said Michael Montagano, CEO of Dog Haus.

Area directors also join the brand as equity partners, aligning their returns with the long-term performance of the system they build. The model is designed to support 15 territories and 1,500 restaurants nationwide.

“Upon joining Dog Haus, the first thing we set out to build was the structure, not the pipeline,” Rigassio said. “Most brands sell master agreements to salespeople. We are awarding markets to proven, large-scale, multi-brand, multi-state operators. They live in their markets and will provide support in site selection, new store openings, maintaining brand standards and driving unit profitability. Their success will derive from the success of their franchisees, and from building restaurants that will perform for years to come.”

Area directors and territories

Leading development in Florida is Nick Crouch, a 16-year franchise veteran whose portfolio includes more than 135 Tropical Smoothie Cafe locations. Crouch has over 25 years of executive leadership experience spanning hospitality, entrepreneurship and real estate development, including serving as co-founder and CEO of a multistate hospitality company that grew to more than 3,000 team members and $150 million in revenue.

“Dog Haus has all the ingredients to become an incredible national success story,” Crouch said. “It has outstanding food, a differentiated concept, an efficient footprint and a leadership team that understands what it takes to support franchisees. I believe there is a tremendous runway for this brand, and I’m excited to help bring it to new markets across Florida.”

Joining Crouch are additional area directors with extensive experience operating restaurants, developing markets and growing franchise systems.

PG1 Restaurants LLC will develop North Carolina, Tennessee, southern Virginia and West Virginia. The group owns and operates more than 60 restaurants, including Dave’s Hot Chicken locations, with a leadership team representing more than 100 years of collective experience in restaurant operations, development and franchise growth.

Kyle Yancey takes the territory covering Delaware, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia and northern Virginia. Yancey is the owner of Opportunities Restaurant Group, which operates Jersey Mike’s locations across Maryland and Washington, D.C. He began with the brand in 2009 and went on to serve as an area director of franchise support, leading franchisee selection, training and support before advancing to vice president of operations.

Jesse Allen will lead development across Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi. A restaurant industry veteran with more than 13 years of experience, Allen recently exited his Jersey Mike’s portfolio in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and operates Dave’s Hot Chicken restaurants in multiple states across the Southeast.

The four area directors represent the first wave of development leadership as Dog Haus builds the infrastructure for its next phase of expansion. The company expects to announce its second wave by the end of the first quarter of 2027 and sell out the entire country by the end of the year.

Support team and franchisee outreach

To support the area directors and their franchisees, Dog Haus has assembled a dedicated development team spanning real estate, franchise sales and construction, bringing on three former Jersey Mike’s leaders. Lauren Bellingham, vice president of store development, brings nearly 20 years of experience, having worked on more than 1,500 restaurants and most recently overseeing 70 corporate locations. She will help guide development from signed lease to opening, including a planned Dog Haus retrofit next year.

Jerry Kallman, vice president of franchise sales, brings 30 years of experience in corporate leadership and franchise development, having built one of Jersey Mike’s largest area director territories. RJ Cancilla, director of real estate, previously led expansion for one of its largest franchise groups and will support Dog Haus’ real estate, sales and construction efforts through data-driven tools.

“We came to Dog Haus with an ambitious vision for growth, and assembling this caliber of talent so quickly is a strong first step,” Rigassio said. “They’ve built successful businesses, operated restaurants and supported franchisees at scale. They understand what it takes to grow a brand, and it gives us tremendous confidence in where we can take Dog Haus next.”

While territories remain available, the company is seeking qualified franchisees ready to bring Dog Haus to additional markets and join the brand’s growing franchise system.