Hawaiian Bros Island Grill has signed a 52-unit development deal with Southern Rock Restaurants, its first move into Florida. The agreement spans six years and covers Jacksonville, Gainesville, Tampa and Orlando, according to Foodservice Equipment Reports.

The buildout is front-loaded: 24 restaurants are planned within the first three years. Southern Rock CEO Max Piet will lead the development.

Hawaiian Bros currently operates more than 80 units across 14 states. Florida will become the fifteenth and, by unit count commitments, one of its largest single-market pushes.

Why a 52-unit deal matters

Franchise development agreements of this size are rare outside the top quick-service brands. A 52-unit commitment over six years averages roughly nine openings per year in one state, a pace that requires the franchisee to secure sites, permits and staffing pipelines well in advance.

For Hawaiian Bros, the deal converts a regional fast-casual footprint into something closer to a multi-region platform. The brand's plate-lunch menu — a Hawaiian format built around proteins, rice and macaroni salad — has so far grown through concentrated markets rather than coast-to-coast scatter.

Southern Rock, the franchise partner, brings the local operating infrastructure. Max Piet heads the group and will direct site selection and rollout across the four named markets.

What the timeline looks like

The structure of the deal suggests a deliberate sequence:

• 24 restaurants in the first three years, roughly half the total commitment.
• The remaining 28 units spread across years four through six.
• Four markets in play: Jacksonville, Gainesville, Tampa and Orlando.

That front-loading signals confidence — and capital. Franchisees typically bear buildout costs, so a 24-unit first phase represents a substantial investment in real estate and equipment before the later tranche begins.

The competitive context

Florida is a crowded fast-casual market. Tampa and Orlando in particular have absorbed aggressive expansion from national chicken and bowl concepts in recent years. A 52-unit commitment gives Hawaiian Bros enough density to support marketing and supply chain economics that a handful of scattered units could not.

The chain's growth model also matters here. With over 80 units across 14 states, Hawaiian Bros has averaged expansion through multi-unit operators rather than single-store franchisees. The Southern Rock deal follows that pattern at a larger scale.

What comes next

The first Florida openings will test whether the island-grill concept travels to a market with no deep Hawaiian food tradition. If the initial 24 units hit their targets, the remaining 28 come with sites already in the pipeline — and Hawaiian Bros exits the deal with a genuine Southeastern foothold.