For nearly 30 years, Matt Davis and his family have owned and operated HoneyBaked Ham Company locations in North Carolina and beyond. Davis wants to add to the store count, already at 21 locations, and inked a deal to open eight units in four states.
The Honey Baked Ham Company is a brand rooted in family tradition. Founded in 1957, the franchise with 400-plus locations often sees its strongest sales during the holidays as families get together. For Matt Davis, the family tradition around the concept is tied to business, too, as he and his parents have been longtime franchisees. Davis’ father, Marion, opened a Charlotte, North Carolina-based Hickory Hams business in 1993, which was a competitor of Honey Baked at the time. A few years later, Honey Baked Ham bought out Hickory, and Marion Davis became the brand’s first franchisee, in 1998. Davis said in those early years he worked sparingly at his parents’ location around the holidays, as he was also finishing college. As his family continued to run their store, buying and selling a few stores along the way, Davis picked up experience in other foodservice spaces, such as country clubs, fine dining restaurants and corporate cafeterias. He then returned to his family business in the mid-2000s. ”In 2007, my father passed and I stepped in to run everything,” Davis said. “After the economy tanked in 2008, we closed one of our locations and carried on with two stores. In 2013, we were able to begin growing again, and now we’re at 21.”Growth for Davis is set to continue with the signing of an eight-unit agreement across four states. The deal, scheduling development over three years, has Davis’ operation expanding to a pair of Charlotte suburbs, as well as Bel Air, Maryland, Chesapeake, Virginia, and Des Moines, Iowa. Davis’ ongoing commitment to Honey Baked Ham is driven by the company’s consistent support and favorable hours to him and his employees. “They make a great partner,” Davis said. “During the years when the economy was in a downturn, they worked with us to make sure we succeeded. It’s also a simple operation to run, and provides a good quality of life for owners and staff. We’re open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., six days a week, and there’s not another restaurant that can do that.” Jerry DeFeo, Honey Baked Ham vice president of
franchise operations, called Davis’ approach to the business “instrumental” to the brand’s success. “Their existing locations are run with a focus on operational excellence and community connection, which reflects the heart of our brand,” DeFeo said. “The decision to expand further demonstrates not only their confidence in Honey Baked’s potential, but
also the strength of the partnership we’ve built together.” Geographically, Davis said the markets for expansion are based on where he already has established a presence. “I had a good friend years ago tell me, ‘don’t just buy dots on a map,’” Davis said. “You want to create a cluster. We’re going into Des Moines because it’s not too far from Rochester in Minnesota, where we have one. That’s a continuation of that corridor. We already have stores in Maryland, so that’s another cluster we’re adding on to.” It’s a similar story in Chesapeake and the Charlotte area. Davis said to ensure success at his new locations, he will continue to rely on a well-established management team. “We’ve been fortunate in that we found a good staff in district and general managers that we’ve been able to keep for a long time,” Davis said. “We don’t have a lot of turnover, which has enabled us to create the same environment and product quality across all avenues.” DeFeo said Davis’ agreement is part of an effort to strengthen the density in existing regions while growing to new markets with strong demand.“Our strategy centers on filling whitespace across the country while supporting franchisees with a proven business model,” DeFeo said. “We’ve expanded our presence across key regions, adding new locations in both established and emerging markets. This has allowed us to not only reach more guests year-round, but also build on the strength of our business with consistent traffic.” New markets in focus include those in Arizona, California, Florida and Texas, as well as the Midwest. The initial investment to open a location ranges from $448,600 to $858,900. Stores are typically between 2,000 and 2,600 square feet. Average net sales last year for 188 stores open at least three years were $989,787.
