A California franchisee has signed a deal with Tempe-based Tilted Kilt to bring the pub with female servers in short kilts to the Golden State.
Tilted Kilt has 80 restaurants in Canada and the United States, including several in Southern California. NoCal Tilt Holdings has signed a 10-store deal with Tilted Kilt franchising to to develop the theme restaurants in Fresno, Sacramento and the Silicon Valley-East Bay areas over the next five years.
"We are very excited to grow our current franchise partners and continue to expand the popular Tilted Kilt brand," said Mark Hanby, Vice President of Franchise Development, TKFO, LLC in a statement. "We're extremely confident that an experienced and business savvy partner like NoCal Tilt Holdings, LLC will succeed in expanding our footprint in a tremendously appealing market like Northern California."
The company is scouting sites for the first location, scheduled for a 2014 opening.
"Northern California has been longing for a Celtic-style pub like the Tilted Kilt," said CEO David Kaufman. "Its expansion plans will be in very capable hands under Justin who knows the brand from top to bottom and appreciates what Northern Californians look for in a new sports bar eatery experience."
Tilted Kilt, with the tagline "Best looking sports pubs you've ever seen," was originally developed for the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas in 2003. Bakersfield had a Tilted Kilt location that opened in 2008 but closed two years later. According to published reports, Bakersfield owner Jeremy Helper said the restaurant was successful but he wanted to focus on his family and other businesses.
