Apopka-based Porkie's Original BBQ aims to open locations across Florida

Steve White, founder and owner of Porkie's Original BBQ, announced today that the restaurant has teamed with NEXT Franchise Systems, a franchise development company based in Orlando, Fla., to assist in the development and growth of the Porkie's franchise program.

Porkie's plans an aggressive, tiered growth strategy through franchising -- aimed at expanding the Central Florida-based barbecue brand across the state of Florida.

Steve said he is excited about partnering with NEXT Franchise Systems and has enjoyed working with the NEXT Team so far. "I have been in the restaurant business for almost 40 years and this is the first time I have ever done a franchise and they are making it fairly simple for me."

Dale Waite, Managing Partner at NEXT said the company partners exclusively with small businesses that have shown success and are primed to become successful franchisors from the beginning.

"We looked at Porkie's BBQ, and we saw a small business doing tremendous numbers, an operation that was streamlined and easy to duplicate, an owner who truly has a passion for what he's doing, and, of course, some of the best barbecue I've ever eaten." said Dale. "Porkie's Original BBQ has unlimited potential for growth, and we look forward to working with them to develop their franchise system and start selling franchises."

Once the Porkie's franchise system is in place, the company hopes to open four to five locations in the next year. "We want to start out slow and we would like to have people that love barbecue. This will set us apart from any other barbecue franchise business. We would like to also have people that love the restaurant business. It is a lot of work, although I have come up with a system that has worked for us very well. I would like to see a couple of restaurants open in the Central Florida area over the next year and make sure that they have all their systems in place and operating at Porkie's standards and then look at opening maybe four or five in the next year." said Steve.

Named the "Best BBQ in Central Florida," Porkie's Original BBQ celebrates its 10th year in business in 2013 and continues to create a devoted and growing fan base of barbecue lovers. Porkie's holds the longest running Bike Night in Central Florida - every Thursday night for 10 years.

Steve said that that creating the best barbecue is an art. "It is not just open up and put it on a grill -- it is cut, trimmed, seasoned and properly cooked with indirect heat and you can only use wood to cook it. Every time we cook it is a challenge, and you just keep on trying to make it better each time. It takes a lot of passion and a lot of time" said Steve. "To do BBQ good in a busy restaurant is very hard to do unless you cheat and use gas smokers. It works for some, but they don't have the passion we have at Porkie's."

ABOUT PORKIE'S ORIGINAL BBQ

Founded in 2003, Steve White and his partner, Mike Kirby, travelled all over Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and the Carolina's searching for the perfect BBQ flavor. Returning home, they formulated a plan and a recipe for the best barbecue in the South. They took the best of what they had seen, tasted and learned, put it all together with what they knew and loved, stirred it up, and Porkie's was born.

All Porkie's sauces are 100% original recipes and made from scratch. Porkie's award-winning ribs are slow cooked on a 20-foot BBQ pit using oak and hickory woods, giving the ribs a hearty taste and a moist texture. Slow and low is the secret to good barbecue, and Porkie's falls right off the bone.

ABOUT NEXT FRANCHISE SYSTEMS

NEXT Franchise Systems is a full-service franchise development company that provides future franchisors with a one-stop solution that is affordable, reliable, and based on each client's needs.

NEXT's services include franchise development documents (FDD) and franchise agreements, franchise marketing, franchise sales, franchise operations manual development, franchise marketing program development, and franchise business model development.