Source: Franchise Times
Since becoming an owner in 2024, Jason Ingermanson has become one of the largest franchisees in the Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers system with nearly 100 units. During that time, he also owned the Kansas-based beverage concept Mokas Coffee, which he is now becoming a franchise itself.
Jason Ingermanson launched Mokas Coffee 20 years ago, with dreams of making it a major franchise player in the category.
That goal has been on the backburner, though, as not long after he established Mokas, he became a Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers franchisee in 2008. Over the next decade-plus, Ingermanson built up his Freddy’s portfolio under JRI Hospitality to more than 90 restaurants in 15 states. In recent years, he’s refined Mokas to finally make the franchise leap.
Toward the end of 2024, Mokas Coffee completed a multi-year planning stage and published its franchise disclosure document. The Kansas-based brand has four company-owned locations, and its first franchise location is in development.
“We were holding back with Mokas because when you’re starting out in business, you only have so many funds to distribute out, and Freddy’s was the place to put it at an earlier point because it had the momentum,” Ingermanson said. “But over the last few years, while operating Mokas, we opened a couple additional locations and started refining our systems for growth.”
Those additional locations, which began opening in 2020, were built as prototypes for future franchise units. In addition to designing what future models will look like, Ingermanson said work was also done to add a full food menu, while also improving operational systems and training programs.
He said much of the groundwork laid for Mokas’ franchise launch was inspired by his ownership experience with Freddy’s, which he joined when the burger brand had 17 locations, compared to the more than 600 today.
“We’ve learned what the franchise relationship is like and it’s one we enjoy being in on the franchisee side,” Ingermanson said. “We especially learned what the franchisor needs to be able to provide when you’re at a low amount of stores and expanding. We saw the opportunity it gave both young entrepreneurs and high investment owners.”
Ingermanson said the brand is looking for both types of franchisees as it expands in the south-central United States. Mokas Coffee is selling franchises across nine states, including Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
“There are multiple franchise candidates out there,” Ingermanson said. “We have the investor candidates who want to deploy their capital. We want to T-up the brand for those looking for a good return on investment, but we also want to pair that with a young entrepreneur who gets the same opportunity I had with Freddy’s.”
Regardless of what background future franchisees have, Ingermanson said the Mokas team is open to multi-unit deals, but doesn’t want larger agreements.
“I like smaller groups of development,” Ingermanson said. “We don’t like signing any deals for more than five or six to start with. We want to create the environment where we can offer the franchisees the right amount of support. Being spread too far across several states isn’t one of those situations that we’re looking for with a franchisee.”
The one exception, Ingermanson said, is in situations with a larger developer with its own resources to provide the right level of operations. But for the most part, the goal is to have deals capped at 10 units, as the brand establishes itself in the region.
“Our goal is to begin with those states in our backyard and focus our support for franchisees to thrive,” Ingermanson said. “The more profitable we can make our franchisees, and the more brand recognition we can create, the more apt they are to sign on for additional territories. We’re not trying to plant 2,000 stores in three years, because when you grow that fast, sometimes you don’t wait for the dust to settle and realize what that means for your owners.”
The brand inked its first franchise deal with entrepreneur Christian Coleman, who’s opening a unit in the Kansas City market. Along with that location, Ingermanson said three company-owned sites are in development. To help set itself apart in a competitive category as more stores come online, he said the brand is banking on its all-day breakfast menu.
“Something that differentiates us is how we put the same passion and focus on food as we do on coffee and beverages,” Ingermanson said. “We’re not just focusing on the coffee, which we roast in house. We want to deliver both things, food and beverages, equally.
“Most coffee brands that have been around about as long as us, there’s a big focus on drive-thru only, and I would say 90 to 95 percent beverage with smaller attention being on some sort of breakfast,” said Ingermanson. “It’s a sort of, ‘we also have food’ approach. We look at Mokas as something for someone who wants great food, even if they don’t care for coffee. The data we’ve pulled shows we’re trusted with our guests on delivering in both segments.”
The average square footage of a Mokas Coffee ranges from 2,400 to 2,800 and the initial investment is between $945,000 and $2.4 million.