Teriyaki Madness Hires Jake Lowell to Supercharge the Real Estate Support That Already Sets It Apart From Every Other Franchisor

August 11, 2026 // FranchisePR.com // DENVER – Teriyaki Madness (TMAD) is a fast casual Seattle-style teriyaki concept established in 2003. The company has appointed Jake Lowell as Franchise Development Real Estate Manager. This role builds on the brand’s “Real Estate Fast Track” program, a real estate model used to guide franchisees through site selection and lease processes and adds site prequalification for current and prospective owners so they can lock in the right location and sign a lease faster than ever.

Where many franchisors leave franchisees to navigate commercial real estate on their own, TMAD decided long ago that stranding franchisees during one of the most important parts of the process was no way to grow a restaurant brand. For years, Teriyaki Madness has done the opposite – embedding real estate support the very moment the ink dries. Under the direction of Beth Steeler, the authority behind the Real Estate Fast Track program at Teriyaki Madness for over three years, the brand works alongside franchisees through site selection, negotiations, leasing, and connecting every new owner with national broker Bialow Real Estate the moment an agreement is inked.

From there, TMAD overlays serious sales and customer analytics through Sitewise Analytics, a tool that pinpoints locations with the strongest potential so operators are choosing sites on data, not a hunch and a hope. That hands-on approach is why TMAD carries franchisees from a signed agreement to an open restaurant in roughly 18 months, a pace that helped the brand lock in 50 signed leases in 2025 before blowing past the midpoint of 2026 with 31 leases already on the board and zero interest in tapping the brakes.

“Every franchisee is betting on themselves the day they sign with us, and we want to ensure they never feel like they’re wandering the real estate wilderness alone,” Steeler said. “By staying involved from the very first conversation to the lease signature, we help franchisees understand what makes a location work. Bringing Jake onboard lets us do more of that, even earlier, turning a nerve-racking search into a confident decision that sets operators up to open strong and keep growing.”

Lowell’s job is to take that proven model and push it further upstream. By spearheading the collaboration between the real estate and franchise development teams, he stays embedded in the development process early on, so the moment a current or prospective franchisee has eyes on a trade area, he can begin prequalifying sites. For prospective franchisees, that means walking in with real options already on the table. For current operators looking to grow, it means a faster path to their next location. Either way, it carves weeks off a timeline that trips up many brands.

“The whole idea is to stay ahead by not sitting still. The moment we know where an operator wants to build, we can already begin evaluating sites on their behalf,” Lowell said. “That head start is the difference between a restaurant that opens this year and one that opens someday. I’m here to build a real estate engine that gives our franchisees every possible advantage and leaves the competition wondering how on earth we got so far ahead.”

SOURCE Teriyaki Madness