Smoothie King outlined a three-unit Rochester-area development agreement on June 24, with a Penfield grand opening planned for July 18 and additional sites being sought in Henrietta and Greece.
The expansion announcement identifies franchise owner Mohammed Waqas Akram, a New York native with retail-business ownership and commercial real-estate experience. The Penfield restaurant is at 2150 Fairport Nine Mile Point Road, Suite B.
Penfield has a named address and a scheduled event. Henrietta and Greece are communities under consideration, not announced signed leases or completed restaurants. The three-unit agreement describes the operator’s development commitment.
Smoothie King reported 358 locations across the Northeast and Midwest, compared with 193 in 2020, an increase of roughly 85%. New York accounted for 32 locations, up from 15 in 2020.
The company also identified 87 available trade areas in New York. Availability is a franchise-development proposition, not a store-opening forecast. The figures establish a larger regional presence, while the Rochester details show how a particular local expansion moves through different stages.
New stores join a system serving food beyond smoothies#
The brand’s August 26, 2025, Power Eats launch added an operating dimension beyond blended drinks. Smoothie King announced its first nationwide food menu at more than 1,200 locations, beginning with three loaded toasts and two protein boxes.
The toast lineup included peanut butter with fruit and honey; chocolate-hazelnut spread with berries and granola; and avocado with everything seasoning. These are several topping combinations on a shared format, rather than three entirely different meal formats.
The Eggs & Cheese Protein Box contained two hard-boiled eggs, cheddar, Monterey and pepper jack cheeses, berries and crackers. The Peanut Butter & Fruit Protein Box also included a meat stick and cheese alongside peanut butter, fruit and crackers. The meat component makes the ingredient list more informative than the fruit-focused product name.
The announced menu adds several handling tasks: assembling topped toast and supplying packaged combinations containing several components. The release described the products and launch reach, without reporting preparation times, waste rates or food margins.
Earlier development mixed new operators and new formats#
Smoothie King’s October 22, 2025, third-quarter update described 32 new store commitments. It said 55% of signings came from people franchising with the brand for the first time. That percentage concerns agreements, not the share of restaurants opened by inexperienced operators.
The update named multi-unit agreements in Dayton, Ohio, and Fort Worth, Texas. It also reported entry into Utah and Minnesota through restaurants in Washington and Woodbury, respectively. Those openings illustrate a different development milestone from a signed agreement: an operating location in a newly entered state.
Growth also extended beyond conventional neighborhood sites. Two locations at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, in Terminals A and D, brought the brand’s presence there to three.
The same update reported that the national Power Eats rollout had taken place during the quarter, following a Dallas-Fort Worth pilot. Its development tally covered both signed commitments and completed openings. That separation provides a baseline for assessing the Rochester agreement announced the following June.
QSR Pro Staff
The QSR Pro editorial team covers the quick service restaurant industry with in-depth analysis, data-driven reporting, and operator-first perspective.
More from QSR