Earlier this summer, Winter Park-based restaurant management firm, MLD Hospitality LLC, announced that it had inked a five-unit franchise deal for the greater Orlando area with Shipley Do-Nuts. Now, MLD has plans to further expand into the Tampa region next year, vice president of operations, Michael Burns confirmed with What Now Tampa.
Burns declined to comment further on any proposed locations or opening timelines.
MLD Hospitality’s Shipley franchise empire is set to kick off in Orlando later this year, with an initial outpost located at 5919 S. Orange Blossom Trail, followed by another four locations throughout Orange County.
In an interview with QSR Magazine from June 2022, Burns explained his interest in the brand, saying “our family still talks about the day we discovered Shipley. The do-nuts are so fresh — like your mom just made them and served them to you still warm. Nothing on the market compares, and we think the people of Orlando, plus the many visitors to the area, will embrace Shipley Do-Nuts just as we did.”
Similarly, in an article published in the Orlando Business Journal last Thursday, Oct 13, regional development manager for Shipley Do-Nuts Jack Hall is quoted as saying, “We feel that corridor from Daytona Beach to Tampa is a health opportunity for us.”
All told, Burns believes the Orlando market can “sustain up to 50 Shipley locations in the future,” according to QSR Magazine. However, projections for the Tampa market and MLD’s role therein remains to be seen.
