A Salt Lake City family has signed a franchising agreement with San Francisco-based Curry Up Now to bring the fast-growing Indian fast-casual restaurant chain to Utah. John Netto and the Netto Family Trust has signed an exclusive contract to open 20 restaurants in Utah and Colorado. Sites for the eateries have not been announced.{mprestriction ids="1,3"}

Curry Up Now was founded in the northern California area in 2009 by Akash Kapoor and his wife, Rana. The company currently operates six brick-and-mortar locations in San Francisco, San Jose, San Mateo, Oakland, Palo Alto and Alameda, California, as well as four food trucks. The company has franchised locations in the Atlanta area and has franchise agreements in place for locations in the Northeast.

“Our family loves Indian food and Curry Up Now is unlike any other Indian concept out there,” said Netto. “You might not know saag paneer or chicken tikka masala, but when Curry Up Now puts it in their unique burrito, people try it, realize how much they like it and keep coming back for more.”

Curry Up Now takes traditional Indian flavors and presents them in a friendly, recognizable format, Netto said. 

“There are over 1 billion Indians in the world and not a single national Indian restaurant brand,” said Dan Rowe, CEO of Fransmart, Curry Up Now’s franchise development partner. “I looked for years for the right concept — authentic and craveable food — a concept with real soul and their own unique DNA, a broadly appealing concept for mainstream, and of course strong unit economics so franchisees can thrive. Curry Up Now has the best unit economics of any brand we have worked with, and this is just the beginning for them.”{/mprestriction}